This year for Easter, I put together the following menu for 6 dinner guests. You can click on the links to find the recipes I used:
APPETIZER:
Deviled Eggs with paprika, chives, and thyme
MAIN COURSE:
Mashed Potatoes with Herbed Gravy
French Cut Green Beans sauteed with bacon and shallots
DESSERT:
Strawberry Shortcake
My recipe modifications:
For the asparagus tart, I added some freshly cracked pepper since I like the taste of it with the salty cheeses:
For the herbed gravy, I just used some store bought chicken stock, flour, salt, pepper, freshly chopped garlic, and fresh thyme and parsley. The mashed potatoes were made by one of the guests.
The strawberry shortcake was made with leftover puff pastry from the asparagus tart, Brushed with some honey after it was baked. I made some fresh whipped cream with a shot of triple sec, tbsp vanilla, and a few tbsp of powdered sugar. Instead of just sliced strawberries, I made a compote the night before by adding a little water, sugar, vanilla, and strawberries simmer in a pot for about 10 minutes and stored in the fridge. Assembled the shortcake and dusted with powdered sugar. Easy Peasy.
All the other recipes I followed for the most part. The ham turned out sweet and savory with a nice brown sugar crust. Lot's of leftover ham for some breakfast and fried rice later this week. Overall with quality ingredients and simple recipes - you just can't beat that. Dinner turned out to be fun to make and delicious, and I will keep these recipes in mind for other holiday occasions as well.
I also can't forget a shout out to an awesome lunch earlier that day! Chili Lime grilled corn and BBQ ribs - compliments to chef Meghan!
She could seriously sell these ribs for a living - they were that good. Sorry folks, I would post a recipe, but she explained its all in her head, and no method to her madness.
You must also be noticing the fancy picture quality on today's post. Well, my first gen Samsung Galaxy died on me, that's right, it practically self destructed in my hands. I had to get a new phone and went with the HTC Windows phone - pic quality is ridiculously good for a cell phone. Or maybe it is because I have been living with a prehistoric camera I think this one is so awesome. But anyway, the point is that this weekend has been all about food - so that meant lots of excuses, I mean, opportunities, to take pictures.
This weekend I also got to visit a french confections bakery in St. Augustine's called Bon Ami...TWICE. I found my little french macaron heaven!
I hope that you all also had a restful spring break and blessed Easter weekend, and ate as much good food as I did!
