Real Food. Real Life.

Dishrag Diaries

Easter Feaster

Posted by DishragDiarist on April 26, 2011 in Appetizers, Main Dishes/ Meals, Side Dishes, Snacks/ Drinks with 1 Comment


OK, I know what you’re thinking: This post would have been helpful about a week and a half ago when I was trying to plan my Real Food Easter meal. At this point, I really don’t care what you had for dinner two days ago!

Well, I understand you thinking that. But consider this a very early post for next Easter. Although hopefully by then I’ll be together enough to get a post out on time. (A girl can dream, right?) Either way, I thought it would be helpful to see a full company-ready menu using mostly Real Food, along with some better compromise foods.

So, onto the menu and recipes!

Easter Menu

Drinks & Appetizers

Jenn’s Favorite New Cocktail (Recipe below)

Pate (Should have been homemade, but I picked up a delicious one at Wegman’s)
Sheep’s Milk Cheese
Wasa Light Rye Crispbread (Not a favorite)
Mary’s Gone Crackers
(Yum)

Roasted prosciutto-wrapped asparagus spears, served with fresh sour cream

Deviled eggs: Hard-boil your eggs, then use homemade mayo, Dijon mustard, (salt and pepper if desired) and sprinkle with paprika to serve. Make them gorgeous by using this to pipe the filling.

Fresh veggies with ranch dressing

Buffalo mozzarella cheese, organic cherry tomatoes and garden-fresh basil ribbons with extra virgin olive oil

Cold shrimp (choose wild-caught) with cocktail sauce (use organic or homemade ketchup, and add horseradish to taste)

Amy’s Organic Pizza Snacks (for the teens :) )

Main Meal

Easter Ham (Recipe below)

Pineapple Stuffing (Recipe below)

Butternut Squash, Apple & Gorgonzola Gratin (I subbed a delicious raw buttermilk blue cheese for the Gorgonzola)

Five-Spice Apple Chutney (I can’t wait to share this with you when we talk about lacto-fermented foods)

Omi’s Famous Mashed Potatoes (My mother-in-law’s specialty)

Roasted Carrots and Parsnips

Wine from Potomac Point Winery

Dessert

Desserts are not my strong point, so my lovely sister-in-law and mother-in-law brought along a cake and a cheesecake. I also ordered a Maple and Black Walnut Pie and a Five-Berry Pie from a local farm. All with farm-fresh raw vanilla ice-cream. Mmmmm.

Dessert wine from Narmada Winery with organic dark chocolate

Organic decaf with raw half-and-half

Jenn’s Favorite New Cocktail

Serves 6, in large martini glasses

In a pitcher, combine 1 can organic coconut milk (shake well!), 1-1/2 cups freshly-squeezed organic orange juice, 1/2 cup peach schnapps and 1 cup Malibu coconut rum.

In batches, shake in a martini shaker and serve ‘up.’

Easter Ham

This was my first year making a farm-fresh ham. Imagine my surprise when I realized that “ham” from my farmer is actually a raw pork roast! I know I’ve mentioned that I do stupid things, but I’d always thought that all “ham” is cooked. Not so with fresh hams. Turns out what makes a ham a “ham” is just that it comes from the hind leg of a hog. Anyway, would have been good to figure all of this out before trying to heat it for Easter dinner. But, on the bright side, I now know that this recipe works for cooked or uncooked ham.

*1 ham (Figure 1/2-3/4 lbs. per person for bone-in, and 1/4-1/3 lbs. for boneless.)
*1 can organic pineapple slices
*1/2-3/4 cup raw palm sugar (I never measure, so this is approximate. You can’t mess it up!)
*Whole cloves

Remove ham (thawed if necessary; allow five hours per pound) from refrigerator at least an hour prior to cooking.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Score the ham with a shallow criss-cross pattern using a chef’s knife. At each intersecting line, insert a whole clove.

Meanwhile, remove the pineapple slices from the can, reserving the juice. Slice each pineapple ring in half, and place all over the ham. (With the slices cut in half you can position them to completely cover the ham.)

In a small bowl, whisk together the pineapple juice and palm sugar. Pour over ham.

For cooked ham: Cover with foil and place in a 325 degree oven until heated through. Remember, a cooked ham tastes best served close to room temperature, not hot. (This heating method is very flexible, I usually just stick it in with whatever else I’m cooking.)

For uncooked ham: Cook at 325 degrees (or adjust if it will be sharing the oven with something else). Cooking times vary greatly depending on the cut. For a bone-in butt portion (also called a half), “they” say to factor about 30-35 minutes per pound. For a whole ham without the bone, about 25 minutes per pound. Mine seemed to cook faster. Food safety rules say to cook all pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. With a healthy ham from a farmer I knew, I’d go less and let the ham come close to temperature while resting out of the oven. But that’s just me…

If desired, pour strained drippings/ glaze into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce, then pour over sliced ham to serve, or offer to guests in a side gravy-dish.

If you don’t think that recipe is the one for you, try this one. Sounds yummy!

Pineapple Stuffing

*1/2 cup butter, melted
*1 cup raw palm sugar
*4 pastured eggs
*6-7 slices sprouted bread (ends OK), torn into chunks about 1-1.5″
*1 can organic pineapple chunks, drained

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk together melted butter and palm sugar. Add in the eggs. Gently fold in bread pieces, and then pineapple chunks.

Place in a casserole dish and cook uncovered (or loosely tented, depending on how crispy you want the top) for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Thank you to Ca’s Grandma for introducing me to this dish originally. It is a favorite at every gathering!

I hope that you and yours had a blessed and meaningful Resurrection Sunday.

What was on your table?

{Just in time for Mother’s Day! Check out the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund’s Pampered Chef fundraiser! A great way to stock up on stoneware and other items, or buy your mom something special (like this cute Lunch-To-Go Tote Set). Runs through April 30, 2011. Please help spread the word!}

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  1. NormanoApril 27, 2011 - 7:19 am #1

    It all tasted sooooo good.

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