Easter Dinner

My friend Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake tagged me today.  She was a sweetheart and left me a note letting me know it was ok if I didn't respond.  She knows how incredibly busy I've been.  But, two things have happened.  One, reading Liz's blog about what she'd fix for her perfect Easter dinner got my creative juices going.  And, two, the Boston Bruins are in the playoffs.  One would have to sleep in the office to avoid the noise emanating from my husband.  That's AT the office - like three miles from my house.  So, here I am well beyond my bed time thinking about Easter dinner...  By the way, if you've not found Liz yet, please go visit her.  That skinny chick can not only bake but she can COOK.  And, she's a delightful human being!!  

Here's the deal.  Each blogger tagged is invited to post 5-10 Easter (or any other festivity if you don't celebrate Easter) menu suggestions from previous blog posts...with photos and links back to the recipes. Include appetizers, entrees, desserts...whatever you'd like. Then invite 10 more bloggers to do the same...sharing links to their blogs.  I know it's really late for them to post their dinners but I'm going to tag them anyway.  The toughest part of all of this - narrowing the field to ten.  I know I'm leaving about 30 more wonderful bloggers out of this!

Easter this year will be low key for us.  My husband's brother is coming down from Chicago for the weekend.  I've got appointments most of Saturday.  Connie's favorite short ribs are for dinner Saturday night.  I found them on sale at the grocery this week.  They've been browned and are ready to head for some low and slow cooking.  Sunday one of our favorite restaurants has a very reasonably priced brunch.  We'll run up to my brother's house and spend a bit of time at their Easter open house.  Then, it's time for more work for me and yard time for Connie.  I'm hoping to get enough of a dent made that I can head out to the yard later in the day and spend some time dividing some of the surprise lilies, crocus, daffodils and daylilies.  I know, it's the wrong time of year for the bulbs but I can find them now!  So, that's the plan.  Well, then again, we may all be slugs and sleep late and decide to fix brunch at home.  You never know how plans will turn out!

Easter Dinner

We'd have to start with my favorite cocktail:  The Boss Tweed.  It's a Scotch drink that Scotch haters will probably like!  I love, love, love it!  And, Connie makes it perfectly!

While we sipped our cocktails, we'd have two of our favorite appetizers.  This, by the way was the toughest call.  I have SO many appetizers I love.  The Rosemary Baked Goat Cheese is like that served at the restaurant where we had our first date.  Yeah, it's not only one of my favorites but puts a big grin on my face because it brings back wonderful memories. 

The second is a relatively new one to us.  I found it in a cookbook I bought on one of our adventures.  It's so different and so good it pretty much muscled its way to the top.  Bloody Mary Grape Tomatoes.  Did I mention that I love tomatoes too?

For dinner, I'd have to go with lamb.  Lamb chops are kind of like salmon for us.  What, you say?  They're nothing alike.  Ah, not in taste, but in preparation.  In both cases we've found THE recipe.  We on occasion try another and shrug our shoulders and say, Gosh, I wish I'd had the rosemary lamb or the marmalade and dijon smoked salmon.  I keep threatening to just never make another lamb chop recipe and probably should follow through.  This is so good.  And, did I mention its easy?  Now, the bad part...  I've not yet posted the recipe.  Darn, means I'll need to make them again :-)


Side dishes.  No question on the salad.  Casa d'Angelo Salad.  My lifetime favorite.  Seriously. For the last 33 years this has been my favorite salad.  It's the family salad now.  I make it for about any event.  It shows up at my brother's house all the time.  And, my niece who cannot even handle opening the tin of anchovies, craves this. 

Potatoes.  Not that Connie would ever choose potatoes over rice or noodles.  But, I can almost guarantee that if I offered him the individual potato gratins he'd choose those over rice or noodles.  Well, maybe not Jane's Rice.  Me?  There's no question.  These are my favorites.

Vegetable.  This was the other tough call.  Roasted broccoli?  Roasted cauliflower?  Asparagus candy?  Melissa's carrots?  Gads but I love vegetables.  Thank you, Mom!!!  She's the one who insisted that we TRY everything.  Even though I didn't like green peppers I had to eat some.  Now, I love almost every vegetable.  In the end, Asparagus Candy won out because it's different and a bit elegant just like the lamb and potato gratins.

Rolls.  No contest.  Pumpkin Yeast Rolls.  With apologies to my cousin, Bernard Clayton.  The pumpkin rolls from the Tate's Bakeshop cookbook.  OMG.  I don't crave bread, but I crave these.  Seriously crave these.  Next time, I'm doubling the recipe and freezing some.

 

Dessert.  Again, no contest.  Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Bread pudding with Rum Sauce.  I love pie, as does Connie.  But when our friend Doris made this bread pudding we both fell in love with it.  I've never seen Connie eat leftovers of any other dessert except pie - until this came along.  It's good.  No, it's beyond good.  My jaw hurts right now!

There you have it.  Easter dinner in 3000 calories or less - lol.  Now, here are ten of my favorite bloggers who I'm going to tag:

Dennis at More than a Mount Full
Drick at Drick's Rambling Cafe
Gina at SPCookie Queen
Judy at Tastemonials
Kath at In The Kitchen with Kath
Kate at Diethood
Pam at Sticks, Forks, FingersSommer at A Spicy Perspective
Susi from Susi's Kochen und Baken Adventures
The Mom Chef