Happy Easter

We kind of went crazy with some recipes from an Easter cookbook that Sara got some time ago. I think Mom found it in a clearance bin at W-S. The first was clearly the most popular, as all of the Orange Strawberry Compote was devoured. The Strawberries were sliced, the oranges supremed, and then an orange juice reduction macerated the mixture for a couple of hours. Paul enjoyed this one in particular (which made up for how he was feeling earlier, see below).




The next recipe is 'matchstick carrot salad'. We didn't have the patience for true matchsticks, so we went with kindling size instead. The carrot is cooked for just a few minutes so it is still crunchy, but not raw. The vinaigrette was not to strong but kept things bright.








Asparagus Risotto was the main starch. 2 cups of rice makes alot of risotto. We should have cut the recipe in half, but it sounded so good. The asparagus was roasted and cut into small pieces before joining the rice. 1/2 cup of Romano cheese finished the dish. This one got mixed reviews. Scot thought it was like alfredo. It certainly was creamy enough.







We did a traditional ham as our main dish. I must have had the thermometer in a weird pocket because it was not registering much heat change, but then I moved it and the temp was over 140. Oh well, I like it dry anyway :)










Our luxury item was a rack of lamb. First time I've tried it. I rushed things a bit, so didn't realize there was still quite a bit of fat on the outside. That said, it cooked nicely, then was coated in dijon and herbs. Scot loved it, but the other kids-- not so much.











The kids were raring to go, and we used the fancy china. Not the goblets though. For some reason they never remember to place napkins. Paul couldn't resist and started to climb on the table, which is a recurring problem, which led to...












...a timeout. Our rule is time based on age. 1.5 minutes is an eternity for this guy. Frankly it is for Sara too, since Paul wont sit by himself. He didn't climb on the table again though.












He was back in Paul form though in time for dessert, as he 'helped' Sara mix the whipped cream into the lemon custard. Then he helped himself to a taste. You can see from this picture that he doesn't miss too many meals. We had to take his shirt of after dinner to wring out the fruit juice from the compote. Drinking from bowls with a decorative rim is tricky business. Paul has not mastered it.






Yesterday, Sara and the kids made 'eggshells' by dipping balloons in white chocolate. Then the lemon creme was added. The pictures showed a bright yellow center, to really look like an egg. Maybe next year we'll go for realism. This year we worked on technique. The cream was quite good, but very rich.






We hadn't cleared the dinner table, and our desire for fancy presentation had waned, so the kids ate them right in the kitchen. I think they liked them. They wouldn't stop eating long enough to answer my questions.








We recovered some presentation skills, so Sara added this dipped strawberry from yesterday to the finished 'egg' cup. I didn't turn off the flash so the custard color washed out a bit.

If you are still reading-- thanks!! We love you all and are grateful for the Resurrection that is the cause for this Easter celebration.