Day 316-- Easter Brunch Menu

Happy belated Easter! Without a doubt, Easter is one of my more favorite holidays and it keeps getting better.  I mean, Easter is all about brunch, chocolate, spending the day with people you care about, and a healthy sense of "renew" and "fresh beginnings".  

This Easter I really wanted to make a feast and bring people together.  Here was my menu.

Deviled Eggs with Chives

Prep time: none

Cook time: 25 minutes

Total time: 25

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

6 large eggs

2 tbsp mayo

1 1/2 tps mustard

a splash of lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon of chives

This is how you hard boil an egg:  You place your eggs in a pot with 1 inch of cold water on top of them. Bring to a boil, and as soon as it hits the boil point remove the pan from the heat.  Wait about 5 minutes to the water to cool enough to be able to scoop the eggs out with your hands.  Place the eggs in ice water for 1 minute.  Remove from the ice water and crack them slightly.  Place the eggs back in the water for about 5 minutes.  Take the eggs out and remove the shell completely.  There's a slight membrane that slides off easily.  Cut the eggs in half length wise and wiggle the yoke out. Combine the cooked yokes, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, paprika and a small bowl.  Fill the eggs and sprinkle the chives and a few dashes of paprika on top of them.  Done!

Mixed Green Salad with Grapes, Strawberries, and Bacon "Bunny" Ears

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5-7 minutes

Total time: about 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Small head of green leaf lettuce

1/4 cup grapes

4 large strawberries

1 avocado

1 cucumber

4 stripes of bacon

Get out 4 small bowls, soup bowls, or use a large cucumber slices to create large rings aka a cucumber bowl.  Fill each bowl with lettuce, a few grapes, 1 strawberry cut into slices, and 1/4 of the avocado cut into cubes.  Start cooking the bacon.  Get a Y-shaped peeler and cut 4 long slices of the cucumber.  Wrap the cucumber slice ends to create 4 rings.  Once the bacon is cook, cut each strip into two pieces.  Once the bacon is cooled, place a cucumber ring on top of each salad bowl and place two pieces of bacon inside the salad popping out of the ring to look like bunny ears.  Done!

Cornish Game Hens with Rosemary and Lemon

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 1 hr and 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 cornish game hens

salt and pepper

1 lemon, quartered

4 springs rosemary

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

Pull out your hens and clean them with cold water.  Pat dry and leave out for about 10 minutes for them to completely dry out of the water.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Once they're dry, rub olive oil all over the hens (this will help with the golden color) and sprinkle generous amounts of salt and pepper.  Stuff each hen with 1 spring of rosemary, 1/4 of a lemon, and 1 clove of garlic.  Arrange in a shallow baking pan.  Bake for 25 minutes.  In a mixing bowl whisk together the white wine, chicken broth, and 2 tblsp of olive oil. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and pour the wine/broth/oil mixture over the hens.  Roast for 25 more minutes, and every 10 minutes baste the hens with the juiced in the pan.  Done!

Cheddar Herb Biscuits

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4-5

Ingredients

2 cups of all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

*1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (if you like a lil kick)

 2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives

1 tablespoon parsley

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with wax paper  In a bowl mix together all of the ingredients until a dough forms.  Use an ice cream scooper to scoop about 12 biscuits onto the baking sheet.  Brush the tops with melted butter.  Place in oven and bake for about 15 minutes.  Done!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Prep time: 10-20 minutes (depending on how many strawberries)

Cook time: none

Ingredients

1 large bin of strawberries

2 tubs of dipping chocolate (that hardens to a shell)

Follow the directions of the chocolate tub to melt it.  Mine asked to microwave for two minutes, and stir every 30 seconds.  Dip each strawberry inside the chocolate and lie on a wax paper to dry and harden.  Once all of the strawberries are done, arrange on plate in a pretty spiral.  Done! 

Food review

Excellent.  Everything was just excellent.  I think I'll scale back on the mustard next time for the deviled eggs, and I must be a wimp about cayenne pepper because half of the people eating them didn't notice spice at all.  Otherwise, the hens were absolutely perfect and so were the huge batch of chocolate covered strawberries.  And I was surprised that people liked the salad the best with the surprise use of cucumber, fruits, and bacon.  Lil sweet and salty.

And like what Easter is about.  It seems like many of us have been in our own worlds lately with too much work or not enough work and other outside stresses, and isn't it something how a good meal with the door open seems to bring neighbors and roommates out of the drag and into smiles and shared beer?  I love that.  And I love that we ate on the porch with mixed matched plastic lawn chairs and no tables.  I fucking hate kitchen tables.  And I hate fine china even more.  The way I see it, formality makes people act formal which is unnatural for the kinds of people I like to spend time with.  I've had so many better memories eating food while standing in door frames, or sitting on stairs, or sitting on communal couches.  I like my holidays loud and a little messy, and I think it makes life more fun.  It truly was an enjoyable holiday, and even though I had to work the last half of Easter it was nice being able to show up with plates in my hand for my beezies at the front desk.  Cheers, Happy Cooking, and Happy Spring!