Hi there! Happy Spring! The birds are chirping, streams are running, and we’re spending lots of time outside, so our spring is off to a great start. I am loving the timing of Easter this year for some reason. It’s actually my favorite holiday to cook for. Little kids in spring clothes, lots of chocolate and jelly beans, cheese and mimosas is basically a recipe for a great day. Baskets, brunch, and going to Mass fill us with joy and the rest of the day is always so sweet.
Over the last few years, I’ve started to make a few dishes that are from some other food stars…think Giada, Ina, and Julia. I thought I’d share them with you here because we’ve grown to love them and I can’t wait to add them to the table.
- Trader Joe’s Ham – I don’t know what they do to it to make it so yummy but its the best I’ve tried.
- Artichoke Gratinata – this will be my seventh or eight year making this for Easter. It’s so light, flavorful, and a wonderful textural combination and goes so well next to lamb or ham. I always think, why do I wait until Easter to make this? It should be in my dinner rotation too its that easy. SO looking forward to this on Sunday.
- Tomatoes Provencal a la Julia I have been making these since I still lived at home out of my mom’s copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. They are also a dish that I’m like ‘why don’t I make these all the time?” as I somehow save them for our Easter feast. The garlic and herbs give it such big flavor. The stuffed half of a tomato just looks like a nest and is so cute for spring.
4. Eggs Benedict with Julia’s Hollandaise Sauce – This is a family tradition from my childhood. It is actually a surprisingly easy brunch to pull together – poach eggs while the butter melts, Candian bacon fries and English muffins toast (so global!). Then just blend the Hollandaise sauce in a blender and serve. I usually pull it together while my kids recover from their sugar coma and play with the few surprises they got in their Easter basket. Ok, I’m getting so excited for Sunday now.
5. Ina Garten’s Four-Hour Lamb – I am actually going to make this for the first time, but I love it when the meal is 90% tradition and 10% something new that might become a tradition. My husband doesn’t like ham so we usually look to find a protein for him that he’ll like. Sometimes its steak, once it was chicken breasts because that’s what he wanted (insert eye roll here), and we’ve tried different lamb recipes. I’m excited to turn leftovers into gyros the next day.
6. Ina Garten’s Sour Cream Cake – Ok, true confession, I have been known to run to Trader Joe’s and grab their cinnamon coffee cake some years that get too crazy. But I’ve loved making this with my kids the days before Easter, and it is definitely the gold standard. A great recipe to have in your repertoire for any coffee/pot luck/brunch situation.
7. Cheese Puffs – This holiday tradition goes way back in my family. I know they look funny (and its a super old pic) but they are so good! A burst of buttery crunchiness with cream cheese and onion and Worcestershire flavors.
8. Lamb Cake – This is from Mom Loves Baking, and she must have the same mold as my mom since ours looks EXACTLY like this. My mom uses a pound cake mix, though, so look for one in your grocery store. You can find the molds on Amazon if you don’t have one already.
Happy Easter everyone! Hope you have a blessed day and happy eating. xoxo Katie