My sister's deviled eggs for Easter got center attention on my cake stand.
This past Sunday, I hosted Easter dinner for a few friends. I made things easy on myself, though, and had each friend bring a dish. I asked my sister to bring deviled eggs (above), which she makes for most of her parties. My friend Sarah brought the salad and another friend arrived with asparagus that we then cooked in my oven (we dubbed it "holy asparagus" as it traveled with her to church that morning). All I had to worry about were a few appetizers, the main course, and dessert. Still sounds like a lot, huh? But, no, I was strategic and kept things simple (I wasn't going to end up prepping all day as I did for my Thai cooking day). Check out my Easter food gallery after the jump.
I bought a boneless leg of lamb from my butcher and followed Heather's Easter recipe in our April issue (page 98); I swapped out the fresh lemons for jarred preserved ones on the advice of another food editor. I marinated the lamb overnight and just had to prep the potatoes the next day, then it all went in the oven. Once that was taken care of, I set out cheeses and bread that I bought at a local bakery. I cut up some vegetables and paired them with my favorite dip, green goddess. My recipe is based on one from Gourmet magazine—its just yogurt, mayo, tarragon, parsley, splash of white-wine vinegar, and the secret ingredient, anchovies; it all gets blended in the processor.
I made Champagne Punch, using Prosecco, to drink with the appetizers. For dessert, I made "mess." I loved this dessert when I tried it last year in our test kitchen, and it is so easy to pull together that I didn't even make it until it we were ready to eat dessert. (I made the purée for it and the simple syrup for the drink the night before.) The dessert was a perfect light ending to a filling meal.
1 I set out some veggies with green goddess dip on a big platter and a cheese plate on my largest cutting board. My soy sauce ramekins are the perfect holders for honey and cranberry jelly, to go with the cheeses.
2 Onion-topped focaccia from a local bakery.
3 Prosecco punch with mangoes, blueberries, and kiwi.
4 My friend Sarah's salad with almonds and mandarin oranges.
5 Lamb, potatoes with the roasted lemons, and our holy asparagus.
6 Strawberry mess.
7 Dinner the next night was lamb sandwiches. I mixed the roasted lemons and garlic from the lamb marinade with mayo and yogurt to make a spread.
From: Katelyn Likes This | 4/16/10 at 9:44 am
Mmmm, deviled eggs.