After Easter A Week Of Leftovers

 Easter feasts usually mean one thing - a week of good leftovers. There's so many  delicious savory and sweet dishes to make with them. They're even better than the actual dish!

Ham may be the star of the Easter table but it can also be the star of leftovers too.One of the best dishes  whether fro breakfast or breakfast for dinner is ham and eggs. There's nothing like buttery scrambled eggs with big chunks of ham. You can also make a tasty Denver omelet with it too by also adding chopped green peppers and onions along with tangy cheddar cheese. Ham also makes a great base for croquettes too.Make them Cuban style by adding Bechamel sauce for a creamy middle. You can make them Americans style too with green onions and garlic powder. What about the leftover asparagus.If you just served it steamed then jazz up the leftovers Piedmontese style with a sauce for melted butter and Leon and a topping of Parmesan cheese. They;re also good  in a salad .Cut  into bite sized pieces for easy eating.Add them to omelets too for a tasty green dish.Letiver Easter eggs can be turned into  Egg salad for lunches and a light supper. Add bacon bits to it for a flavorful variation . Also deviled eggs topped with scallions is another treat.

There is also a lot of candy too. Those chocolate eggs and cute Peeos along with chocolate chicks and lambs are fun nibbles. However you can also eat so much of them. Both chocolate and marshmallow treats can be served with ice cream. Peeps go well with chocolate ice cream and chopped chocolate eggs can be used as a layer between scoops in a sundae.A fun repurposing that's a great vacation activity is making Easter bark. This is taking any kind of chocolate, milk, dark, white or pastel and melting the morsels in the microwave. The melted chocolate is then poured onto a parchment line baking sheet.Sprinkle or stick on the candy and let it set.. Break it into big or bite sized pieces for fun snacking. Another idea is using the candy, especially if it's the Easter M&M''s or Cadbury's chocolate eggs.It's the same recipe as a regular chocolate chip, using brown sugar and flour .Another idea is making shortbread cookies and then icing them with frosting. Decorate with he leftover candy bits for a burst of chocolate-y goodness.

Easter leftovers can be just as delicious as the original dish or candy. Repurpose both savory and sweet into tasty dishes everyone will love.It'sa  great way of stretching the  holiday table another week!

A Sweet Happy Easter

 Happiest of Easters to readers around the world!!! Enjoy this holy day full of joy and hope with the best of meals and the sweetest of candy!

Here are scenes from my Easter displays.I'm waiting for those chocolate eggs and bunny!!!!!

Good Friday Thoughts

 This is the day, Good Friday , for thoughts and reflections. The best of the should focus around helping those in need ,especially during these hard times. Start planning gardens that will help food pantries and  neighbors, friends and families in need. Start thinking about what you can do for the community and the world in general. 

ONe small step leads to many big ones.

Pray. Reflect Think.

The Perfect Easter Dessert

 Easter dinner deserves a special ending.  Imagine a torte with a silky filling and full of delicious chocolate and Earl Grey tea This can be made and it's lovely nod to those homemade coconut nests that are a staple of every Easter basket. It's also easy to make, another plus on a busy cooking weekend.

New contributor and Britsh pastry chef and cookbook author Nicola Lamb gave this rich recipe in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. This is a perfect no fuss recipe for a holiday y centered around the main course. The crust is nothing more than those coconut nests that are filled with jelly beans or Peeps. The coconut flakes are first roasted to give it that crisp crunchy quality that also holds up to a creamy filling.It takes three cups of coconut flakes laid flat on a parchment lined bakings sheet.They're toasted in a 325 degree Farenheit oven for ten minutes. They're then cooled completely on the pan. The dark chocolate for them is melted in a bowl over hot water. (a double boiler can be used for this too) or microwave the chocolate in ten minute bursts. Slightly crush the coconut flakes (doing this will make them easier to press into eh tart pan) and then add the melted chocolate. Add the season and mix well. Press the mixture into a pan that's been lined with parchment paper. The crust should be half an inch thick . Chill for about half an hour or until firmly set.

The cremeux filling may sound fancy but it';s really not. It's just the French word for creamy meaning the texture.It;s a step up from ganache according to Ms. Lamb.It's more of a custard thanks to the addition of one large egg. Their addition along with the addition of sugar gives the filling a deeper, more complex flavor.It's silky, spoon able and lighter in texture than ganache. In most cremeux recipes the egg yolks sugar and cream are cooked together at 179 degrees Farenheit but this could curdle the mixture. Ms. Lamb adds two tablespoons of cornstarch to eliminate this potential problem. Hot Earl Grey tea is added to give the chocolate a note of brightness. Most times the tea is infused in the dairy but doesn't;t give the right jolt for flavor.l Make the tea as if making a cup for oneself.It also gives the filling hints of bergamot and Chinese black tea.The cremeux is poured directly into the crust and then chilled for at least four hours. Grated chocolate is dusted over the top for more chocoalte-y goodness.

This chocolate Earl Grey infused  cremeux tart is the perfect Easter dessert.It isa great ending to any dinner .It's also a sweet treat to enjoy with family and friends. 

A Sardinian Twist On Passover

 Passover dishes don;t necessarily need to be traditional. They can also slip by with being non-kosher.Better yet they can have a delicious Mediterranean twist that will elevate the Seder. This is what makes the meal memorable.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark delivers a different spin on matzoh as well as a recipe in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. She has a matzo recipe from chef Hillary Sterling of Co Siamo in Manhattan.Her inspiration came from a trip to Sardinia where she got to taste their amazing flatbread.This is a crackly paper thin flatbread which reminded her of the schmura matzo she had when she was a child in Brooklyn. The main difference between pane carasau and matzo is that the flatbread is enriched with olive oil and salt for flavor. Traditional matzo is just made with solely water and flour. Chef Sterling realizes that it's not kosher for Passover but that's not her intent. She wanted people to have a better memory of it, with a tastier version. She also teaches her staff how to make it with them rolling out the dough to very thin textures and t o nake it quickly on a pizza stone at a very high heat.The end result is a brown crisp with a satisfying crunchiness.

Chef Sterling does have a new cookbook out.It is more Italian than Jewish.Ammazza, her book  - which get's its' title for the Roman word for Wow! has nothing to do with matzo. However, she does include a Passover chapter featuring her takes on the classics. There is a recipe for kumquat mustarda, a nod to the tradition of putting an orange at the Seder. It's also a spin on mostarda de frutta, an Italian condiment in which candied or preserved fruits are preserved in a mustard infused syrup. There is also a recipe fpane cartsau,or roasted eggs with Pecorino cheese and black pepper. She also includes her grandmother'z booze infused Jello dish.Ms. Clark liked her harissa vinaigrette which  Chef Sterling pairs with roasted beets.This is a vegetarian stand in for the lamb shank. Ms Clark pairs the dressing with roasted carrots This is not kosher but it could be put on the Passover table. The carrots are first roasted with olive eoil and thyme while the harrisa is made with harissa paste,red wine vinegar and orange zest.OLive oil is then added to emulsify this. The dressing will be poured dover the carrots and stirred.

Passover dishes need not be so traditional. Add a Sardinian spin along with a Middle Eastern one with olive soil and harissa. It'll liven up the Seder table.

Global Easter

Easter is celebrated all over the world. While the holiday is relatively the same, the foods to enjoy are different. The main courses are varied as are the sides. The desserts , no matter where they originate are perfect for egg hunters bfg and small. What;s fun is planning your holiday table with this international buffet.

Ham us a big Easter main course.It['s was done because pigs were slaughtered in the fall and their hams were cured throughout the winter. Come Sprtng these were ready to be cooked. Germans and British families as well as Americans love a good ham for the holiday. However in Germany there is also rouladem, those delicious beef rolls stuffed with spinach. A lot of families also serve lamb along with spargill or white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce. Asparagus is in full season right now there and it;s figures heavily in German Spring dishes. The Italians have strong food traditions too.Thye too enjoy a good roasted lamb which symbolizes the Pascal one,Spring veggies like artichokes and peas figure heavily in their side dishes. The Italians, too, love asparagus but it;s shaved and served with shards of Pecorino cheese,The Spanish go the fish route ,celebrating with cod which is also a symbol of Easter. There are also many vegetarian dihes too.There so also a bean soup that starts off the meal.

Across the Pyrennes is France. They have always had a cool style with regards to holiday cooking. They celebrate with a Pare Berrichon. This is a mix of pork veal and whole hard boiled eggs wrapped in a puff pastry crust.It is a rich bite complete with the addition of Cognac shallots.,garlic and herbs.They eschew the ham and lamb of their neighbors and go for a poulet roti or roast chicken..It is covered with butter, from under the skin to being basted with a garlic butter to ensure a crispy skin. The French influence is seen all over the world, especially in the Caribbean island of Haiti. Their griot recipe is a platter of crispy, marinated pork It;s also served with pikliz a shredded carrot and cabbage slaw, along with fried plantains. There's also white rice and beans too to round out the meal. Another Caribean island that goes all out for the holiday is Jamaica.Jamaicans love making  Escovitch fish, which can either be red snapper, or parrot fish covered in a tangy red sauce made of pickled carrots, onions, peppers and Scotch Bonnet peppers. There is also fried fish and sides of rice and operas too.

ANy of these dishes would be perfect for the Easter table. They can be sophisticated or spicy. They celebrate joy with their mix of complex flavors.

An International Passover

 Jews all over the world will be celebrating Passover on Wednesday. Almost every  continent has traditional dishes for this holy week.It;s nice to incorporate these into traditional family tables for something different.

One of the most exotic of Jewish food is from the Sephardic sect. These are Jews from Spain,Portugal, NNorthAfrica and the Middle East.Their dishes reflect this with various spices and lamb dishes. There is mina de matza, similar to moussaka.This is a layered dish with soaked matzoh filled with spiced meat,spinach or cheese,Many Sephardim create kefkes de prasa,a deicious leek, egg and matzoh patty fried golden in oil. Potatoes and beef are added to them at times to create a heartier dish.North Africa is represented with fish and chickpeas.This is white fish cooked with tomato paste, garlic paprika, pepper and olives along wit chickpeas, The one thing that they shared with the Ashkenazi sect is tzimmes.Where they make theirs with sweet potatoes and dates the Sephardim add lamb to theirs for a sweet and savory flavor.There are also Spanish style pepper salad too along with a Tishpishti  cake made with ground nuts and matzoh meal.

A sizable Jewish population migrated to the Caribbean.There the dishes were influenced by African and tropical flavors. Fried chicken even gets makeover with using matzoh meal instead of regular white flour. Cinnamon and ginger  are added a long with paprika and cloves are added for zing and color.Red  Red is a Ghanian based dish ,suitable for the holiday .This is a savory dish full of black eyed peas, tomatoes, and onions. habanero give it a distinct fire  along with red palm oil. The bitter herb dish can be replaced by mustard greens or cilantro.Matzoh ball soup can also be served but there's a twist The matzoh balls are stuffed with turnips greens for more color and taste. Sweet potatoes are used in many of the dishes because they also represent hope in African cultures. South American Seders have their own take on dishes. too.There is the specialty huevos haminados taken from Mediterranean Jews .These are eggs cooked with coffee grounds, onions and olive oil.It results in eggs in a creamy brown sauce that has a unique flavor, There is also a matzoh babka made with matzoh eggs and nuts, probably taken from German Jews relocating to Argentina.

Passover has many dishes from all over the world.Try them for a different taste. They're interesting and exciting.