Easter Recipes

Plan a festive Easter meal

Easter, usher of spring, is time to plan a festive Easter meal. All of the bounty of spring that's available makes Easter food as delicious as it is as fresh and green as spring itself. Sitting down with family or friends to Easter brunch or a well-prepared Easter dinner is a highlight of the holiday. Easter recipes can be traditional or nouveau, but all tend to feature eggs, ham, spring lamb and spring produce. Be sure to set the table with fresh springtime colors, Easter flowers and a centerpiece basket full of colorful Easter eggs.

Easter Brunch

Brunch offers an array of recipes that combine breakfast and lunch. It seems fitting to celebrate a holiday about new life and a new season with a morning meal.

  • Eggs Benedict - Toasted, buttered English muffins, two poached eggs, Canadian bacon and hollandaise sauce - a popular Easter brunch treat.
  • Strawberry Crepes with Mascarpone Filling - Crepes are flour, egg and milk beaten in a thin batter, cooked in a buttered crepe or sauté pan until a very light brown. Place a dish over crepe pan and flip to remove. Brush inside of crepe with strawberry jam mixed with a dash of lemon juice. Mix mascarpone cheese with powdered sugar until desired sweetness. Place inside jam-covered crepe, roll up. Shave bittersweet or dark chocolate over top of rolled crepe and serve.
  • Steak and Eggs with Garlic Grits - Grill or pan-fry steak sliced very thin. Fry eggs over easy. Prepare grits according to instructions, and add 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with steak and eggs.

Easter Dinner

Easter dinner may include traditional fresh or smoked ham or leg of lamb, served with rosemary potatoes, tender green asparagus or the New England tradition of steamed fiddlehead fern.

  • Lamb with Mint Jelly - Remove fat from leg of lamb. Make a rub of garlic, rosemary, marjoram and bay leaf. Baste lamb with mint jelly lightly. Rub with spices and herbs and bake until tender.
  • Old English Apple Rings - Core, peel and slice 3 to 4 apples into 1/4 inch rings. Add to small pot with 2 cups water and 1/2 cup sugar. Parboil until partially tender. Add 1 cup maraschino cherry juice, 1/2 teaspoon bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon. Cook until tender.

Easter Desserts

Easter desserts can be as whimsical as an Easter bunny cake or Easter cookies in the shape of bunnies, flowers or crosses. They can be old-world traditions like Kifli, delicious Eastern European filled pastries. Or they can be more complex and formal Easter cakes, like Italian cheesecake made with mascarpone cheese.

Another Easter dessert idea is a traditional trifle. Ingredients are ladyfingers, sliced strawberries, kiwis, blueberries, 1 small can crushed pineapple, drained, and 16 ounces farmer cheese sieved to creamy consistency. Beat farmer cheese with 2 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Beat to pudding-like consistency. Gently blend in fruit. Place ladyfingers in a trifle bowl along bottom and sides. Add cheese and fruit filling. Sprinkle cocoa over top. Add a dollop of whipped cream.