Easter Dinner

Happy Rainy Spring, here in Portland anyway. Thought I'd give you my Easter menu for this Sunday in case your wondering what to do.

Kirstin and I will be serving:

Honey Roasted Ham

Mustard Sauce

Roasted Asparagus

Smashed Potatoes

Loving Rolls (My girls name for those soft little white rolls at the market)

Strawberry Cake

Pecan Pie (baked by Michael, we'll see)

I hope you will try a couple of these recipes, it's not a difficult or time consuming menu, since we'll all be going to church on Sunday, it's not so labor intensive. HAPPY EASTER and COOK ON..............

HAM: I'm buying the spiral honey ham from the market, remember it only needs to be warmed up, it's already cooked, you can add a little honey and orange juice glaze, which adds a nice fresh flavor to the ham.

Smashed Potatoes

This recipe is a new twist on an old family favorite. Leave the skins on the potatoes for added nutrition.

2 1/4 pounds potatoes

Splash of milk

1 Tbsp. butter

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Sprig fresh rosemary

Olive oil

Scrub your potatoes clean, cut them in half, and put them into a pan of salted, boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes until tender. Stick a knife into them to check they're soft all the way through. Drain in a colander and return them to the pan. Add the milk, butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mash until smooth and creamy, adding another splash of milk if necessary. Pick a rosemary leaves off the woody stalk and lightly push them into the potato. You can drizzle with a little olive oil, or use olive oil instead of butter.

This recipe is taken from Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion). © Jamie Oliver, 2009

Roasted Asparagus Roasting brings out the sweetness of the Asparagus, this is the only way I cook asparagus anymore, so good.

In place of the lemon juice, you can drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over the asparagus. Add a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese for an extra touch.

1 lb asparagus spears (thick spears are best for roasting)

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher Salt

Freshly grated black pepper

Lemon juice

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Rinse clean the asparagus. Break the tough ends off of the asparagus and discard.

2 Lay the asparagus spears out in a single layer in a baking dish or a foil-covered roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over the spears, roll the asparagus back and forth until they are all covered with a thin layer of olive oil. (Alternatively you can put the asparagus and oil in a plastic bag, and rub the bag so that the oil gets evenly distributed.) Sprinkle with minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Rub over the asparagus so that they are evenly distributed.

3 Place pan in oven and cook for approximately 8-10 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus spears are, until lightly browned and tender when pierced with a fork. Drizzle with a little fresh lemon juice before serving.

Serves 4.

Finally, the Strawberry Cake mmmmmmmmmm

Strawberry Cake

2 cups white sugar

1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs (room temperature)

2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup strawberry puree made from

frozen sweetened strawberries

Cream Cheese Frosting (See below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com Printed from Allrecipes.com 3/27/2010

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

5 TBSP softened butter

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Beat cold cream cheese (not rock solid, but it means you can use it straight out of the refrigerator) with softened butter and vanilla until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar that has been sifted after measuring. Continue to add more sifted powdered sugar until you reach a consistency and sweetness that fits your taste.

No softening the cream cheese (though you do have to plan ahead with the butter). No whipping to a certain point that occurs for all of ten seconds before it's ruined. The hardest part is not eating the frosting straight from the bowl by the spoonful.