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Aside from Easter being at the beginning of Spring and there being the odd sunshiny day, birds-a-tweeting, tulips blooming and puppies being born, Easter is awesome because of the food. Traditional Easter fare is, in my opinion, often overlooked and overshadowed by the Holiday Big Boys like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Here are my top 5 favorite edible things about Easter:
1. Ham - I love ham! I love it on pizza, I love it in sandwiches and I love it dragged through a dollop of mustard. I love it sliced, shaved, falling apart and cooking. I love the smell and the ritual of cooking a ham. I. Love. Ham. This Easter, I made a Coca-Cola Ham that slow cooked for what seemed like an eternity in my oven, making my entire building smell like Heaven. I put a shoulder ham in a roasting pan and poured Coca-Cola over it, up to about 1/3 of the way up the ham. I sprinkled brown sugar, cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg over the ham and into the Cola. I basted the ham frequently as it cooked, topping up the Coke to prevent any burning. Towards the end of the baking time (about 15 minutes per pound) I sprinkled brown sugar over the top of the ham to make a crust and continued baking for about a half hour, careful not to let the sugar burn. I let it sit for about 30 minutes before cutting into it, and let me tell you, it was delicious.
2. Scalloped Potatoes - Nothing goes with a ham better than scalloped potatoes. It is a rich, filling, creamy side that defines comfort food and is even better the next day. The absolute best recipe I have come across is from my lovely Tyler Florence: Scalloped Potato Gratin
3. Easter Eggs - Decorating Easter eggs is one of my favorite holiday traditions, perhaps because I fancy myself a bit of an artist. My favorite method of decorating eggs is the Ukranian method, Pysanky. The smell of the blacked wax and the dipping of eggs in dye. It's just so much fun. With Pysanky, you empty the eggs of their contents, but with some Easter Egg decorating methods, you're working with a boiled egg, which of course, means you must refrain from gobbling the egg as you decorate. A feat my 20 month old son was unable to conquer this year! Go learn Pysanky: Learnpysanky.com
4. Hot Cross Buns - Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, raisins, bready, icing-y goodness. Here's a bit of history and a hot cross buns recipe: Hot Cross Buns - A Good Friday Tradition
5. Chocolate: Although I am not as much of a chocoholic as your average woman, I still love the odd taste. My favorite Easter treats are Cadbury's Mini Eggs. I don't know how they get them so damned good, but they are fantastic. My son's didn't stand a chance after he found them during his Easter egg hunt. For a more adult chocolate treat, my absolute favorite chocolate ever, only for special occasions, is Lindt's new Dark Chocolate Mousse Petits Desserts. They must be enjoyed at room temperature and allowed to melt in your mouth. They are just so inexplicably wonderful.
What are some of your favorite Easter edibles? Hope you all had a Happy Easter!
1. Ham - I love ham! I love it on pizza, I love it in sandwiches and I love it dragged through a dollop of mustard. I love it sliced, shaved, falling apart and cooking. I love the smell and the ritual of cooking a ham. I. Love. Ham. This Easter, I made a Coca-Cola Ham that slow cooked for what seemed like an eternity in my oven, making my entire building smell like Heaven. I put a shoulder ham in a roasting pan and poured Coca-Cola over it, up to about 1/3 of the way up the ham. I sprinkled brown sugar, cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg over the ham and into the Cola. I basted the ham frequently as it cooked, topping up the Coke to prevent any burning. Towards the end of the baking time (about 15 minutes per pound) I sprinkled brown sugar over the top of the ham to make a crust and continued baking for about a half hour, careful not to let the sugar burn. I let it sit for about 30 minutes before cutting into it, and let me tell you, it was delicious.
2. Scalloped Potatoes - Nothing goes with a ham better than scalloped potatoes. It is a rich, filling, creamy side that defines comfort food and is even better the next day. The absolute best recipe I have come across is from my lovely Tyler Florence: Scalloped Potato Gratin
3. Easter Eggs - Decorating Easter eggs is one of my favorite holiday traditions, perhaps because I fancy myself a bit of an artist. My favorite method of decorating eggs is the Ukranian method, Pysanky. The smell of the blacked wax and the dipping of eggs in dye. It's just so much fun. With Pysanky, you empty the eggs of their contents, but with some Easter Egg decorating methods, you're working with a boiled egg, which of course, means you must refrain from gobbling the egg as you decorate. A feat my 20 month old son was unable to conquer this year! Go learn Pysanky: Learnpysanky.com
4. Hot Cross Buns - Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, raisins, bready, icing-y goodness. Here's a bit of history and a hot cross buns recipe: Hot Cross Buns - A Good Friday Tradition
5. Chocolate: Although I am not as much of a chocoholic as your average woman, I still love the odd taste. My favorite Easter treats are Cadbury's Mini Eggs. I don't know how they get them so damned good, but they are fantastic. My son's didn't stand a chance after he found them during his Easter egg hunt. For a more adult chocolate treat, my absolute favorite chocolate ever, only for special occasions, is Lindt's new Dark Chocolate Mousse Petits Desserts. They must be enjoyed at room temperature and allowed to melt in your mouth. They are just so inexplicably wonderful.
What are some of your favorite Easter edibles? Hope you all had a Happy Easter!
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2 comments:
Oh how I love hot cross buns! I am going to bake some in a few weeks when I start having hot cross bun withdrawls. My favourite are from Cobs Bread :) Yummy.
ohhhh cobs bread... if there is one thing i could never, ever, ever live without, it's bread and cobs bread does bread like bread should be done. the best bread north of san fran.
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