Friday, April 06, 2007

Easter Dinner


My sister, Elizabeth asked about Easter Dinner. This year it's Josh's birthday, so we will be having birthday dinner on Sunday (more about that later), but this would be my perfect Easter meal:

Gabby's Ham - It does take awhile (about 6 hours) and makes a ton, so if you don't have that much time, or that many mouths to feed I would try Ina Garten's Baked Virginia Ham. She uses a large ham (14-16 lbs.), but I would use a small ham and roast it for about half the time.


Potatoes - Steam extra small (tootsie pop size) new potatoes until the skins split and they are soft. Butter generously. Finely chop green onions and garnish.



Roasted Asparagus - 1 lb. of asparagus serves 4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus, place on baking sheet drizzle with olive oil then toss to coat completely. Spread in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until tender but still crisp. Optional: Sprinkle with 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese and return to oven for 5 min. or until cheese melts.

Parker House Rolls, Popovers, or store bought baguette or ciabatta.

For Dessert: Because it's "spring" (it was lightly snowing this morning), I like to do a dessert with fruit. Here are two options:

Good Vanilla Ice Cream topped with caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought) and fruit (any of the following raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, pineapple, bananas). About an hour or two before serving, wash/cut fruit, put in bowl together and sprinkle generously with sugar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.



Strawberry Country Cake - The BEST strawberry shortcake ever (another Ina Garten recipe).

6 comments:

Erin said...

After I posted, Josh changed his mind. He wants this meal (with Strawberry Shortcake) for his birthday dinner, so this is what we'll be having for Easter dinner! Yum, yum.

Elizabeth said...

Thanks for the ideas - I want to try most of this. I was wondering how do you steam potatoes?

Erin said...

I use a steamer pan - it's the kind with the holes in the bottom. You can also use a steamer basket - the kind that sit in a pan. Or just boil them the good old-fashioned way.

Liz Stanley said...

mmmm i need to make this strawberry shortcake! looks so good

Anonymous said...

Erin,

I think you're my new favorite blog. I LOVE Ina Garten.
One question: Is that a fully cooked ham you bake for 6 hours? (I wasn't thrilled with my Easter ham and didn't even notice which part of the pig it was from)

Elizabeth said...

I made the parker house rolls and they turned out like passover bread - crackers that never raised. I dont know what I did wrong...and have started to buy pre-processed food. Sad I know.