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!!!!!

Gearing Up For Holiday Cooking

 Three major holidays happen this month and that means prepping the kitchen for holiday cooking. Ramadan, Easter and Passover happen within weeks of each other. it means planning and shopping along with scanning over recipes to see what works.

Ramadan starts tonight and ends on May 1st.There is fasting from dawn to sunset but that doesn't mean there can't be tasty dishes. The fast has to b broken each night with iftar the traditional meal. Of course the fast is usually broken by eating Medjool dates but there are other dishes that can be enjoyed by the family or by a crowd.Samosas are perfect, They're fun , finger foods and can be filled with either meat or potatoes. Think chicken or potatoes highly spiced with a variety of different spices like cumin and turmeric.Another tasty and quick to make dish are kabobs. A good choice is lamb or again chicken interspersed with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers.You could have stuffed veggies too or stews like one with lentils and beef. Sweets could be lokaymat, sweet dough balls fried and soaked in honey. Passover also begins this month and with it comes traditional recipes along with new spins on the classics.Of course there will be matzoh ball soup, highlighted by fluffy matzoh balls lightened a splash of seltzer. Brisket is always served. This savory cut can be seasoned with brown sugar, rosemary and a dash of paprika. What to serve with it? A vegetable kugel would work .it's a host of different veggies baked into a savory cake held together with potato starch and egg. A different dessert would be flourless chocolate cookies instead of the traditional cake.

Easter , itself, brings tradition and new spins.Most families serve ham with some kind of glaze. Southerners love one made with a good splash of Coke or Dr. Pepper. This cuts the meat's saltiness. Martha Stewart offers one with a cognac and brown sugar glaze. For a light  Spring-y meal Cornish hens will work. They have a more delicate taste than chicken and are perfect with an orange based glaze. Asparagus are a must , whether at a Seder or Easter meal. As for desserts, a cake would be nice. Think a bunny one, with  coconut frosting and jelly bean eyes. For all the holidays, make sure you have all the ingredients and the gadgets to prep them. Do you have enough pans for roasts along with plastic bowls and containers for left overs? What about linens? Is it time to get a new Spring tablecloth along with linen napkins. If it's warmer weather then what about having an outdoor holiday feast. Do you have enough outdoor chairs and plastic tablecloths? Now is the time to start buying for it all, along with planning. 

This is a month for holidays. Make sure you're ready with your recipes and ingredients.Planning and prepping will ensure a smoothly run holiday meal.

Easter And Passover Catered Or Home Cooked?

Nothing beats a holiday with a table full of food and tradition especially the. Easter and Passover ones. With them comes the question of catered or home cooked? Would it better and easier on the home chef if the whole brunch or dinner was cooked? Or are family recipes important and vital in keeping up tradition?

Easter may be the easier dinner - especially in the States - to have catered. Every family has different traditions. Southern Italians and Greeks are the most traditional, cooking and baking foods and bread recipes that have been passed down for centuries.Everyone else usually just makes ham and a few sides.Some groceries such as Acme and Stop & Shop will work with you to create the perfect holiday dinner. They'll offer sliced ham and/or turkey along with sides such as potato  and macaroni salads along with throwing in a festive Easter cake.Easter brunch is always popular and there are shops and caterers who will bring in such brunch favorites as quiche, scrambled eggs and even French toast.Of course, all of this can be made at home and there is a lot of control as to the ingredients. If you don't want an elaborate Easter meal, then think of a German style one.It's a roast ham with do it yourself potato salad and handcrafted baked beans. All these are labor intensive but the homemade taste is worth it. Dessert can be a simple lamb, bunny or egg shaped cake, and again these can be baked on Holy Saturday.

Passover is a bit trickier because there are strict family traditions involved.  Some Kosher markets can cater the entire menu, creating even better versions of tsimme  - a sweet stew of carrots and dried fruit and charoset - the sweet paste of apples, cinnamon, and raisins, symbolizing the mortar used in building the pyramids. Many caterers will offer such traditonal dishes as kugel but with a hip twist such as broccoli and spinach added.The main courses could be an entire brisket or roast chicken or both if you're hosting a crowd. caterers can also supply chopped liver and gefilte fish too. yet there is something in making decades old family recipe too.Relatives may want the family version of charoset which is not only rich in flavor but also stories too. They also make want just your matzoh ball soup, because of the way you make the balls or because you add scallions for bite and color. Unlike Easter, Passover lasts  a week and you could easily cook one night and have the second night seder catered. It's up to you and what you can handle.

Catering or home cooked? What makes for a better holiday meal. It's up to you and what you want.

Your Easter Checklist

This is the week to go shopping for your  big holiday meal. It's a chance to decide what you'll have on Easter and what will work for your Easter Sunday brunch , lunch or dinner. Shop early  - you 'll appreciate it later on in a busy week.

As every home chef knows list making is crucial when planning any get together. Write down who's invited with a star or two next to people who have allergies or dietary restrictions. It'll make shopping easier. The second part is planning. Do you want a buffet brunch or a sit down dinner? If you're thinking about brunch, or you want to make a variety of  omelets or create a breakfast strata or casserole. Do you want to go  full out and include French toast or bunny pancakes for the kids?If that's the case  then you can start buying the  eggs  now. The bread can be bought the day before.If you're thinking about a sit down dinner then you can shop for  the ham or lamb now and freeze it. if Baked beans usually go with ham. This is the time to buy them  along with frozen dinner rolls and any canned veggies.It's also good to buy those aluminum roasting and baking pans too. It saves on washing after as well as expanding your arsenal of pans.. Grocery stores are also having pre Easter sales on Easter themed paper tablecloths and napkins.Snap these up too before they 're gone.

 Since Easter is a big baking holiday map out what you want to bake.If you're planning on making the classic Southern Italian wheat pie, then you're going to need wheat berries along with ricotta. The first is kind of hard to come by, You may have to go to a specialty grocery like whole Foods to buy them. If you're thinking about making a specialty cake, a rabbit , carrot or egg shaped one, then you will have to go to a store like Target or K-Mart for molds.Cakes for this holiday are usually plain chocolate or vanilla ones, with the occasional lemon or vanilla. What makes them special is the elaborate decoration. There's the question of homemade or canned icing. If you;re planning on homemade buttercream, then make sure you have enough butter sticks on hand. The same goes for cream cheese icing too Buy the sticks now and st\ash in the fridge. Home bakers can also do just as well with canned icing, Just make sure you have enough if you're making a large cake. Lamb and bunny cakes are the most popular ones at this time and they require a lot of flaked coconut to get that "fuzzy" look.Also make sure you have decorations like jelly beans, Peeps and chocolate eggs for cupcakes - and for after dinner nibbling too.

Now is the time to make the shopping lists and head to the store. Be prepared for all that cooking and baking. It'll make your Easter meal, whether , brunch ,lunch or dinner that much more easier.