We began planning for the dinner about 2 weeks ahead of time because we really wanted to make it the best we could. I started by buying some Easter decorations for the house and Steve started reviewing websites, blogs, magazines and cookbooks for possible Easter dinner recipes.
One of my favorite decorations for the table was our bunny napkins. I found this idea/decoration on Martha Stewart's website and thought it should be pretty easy - I just needed to go out any buy linen napkins. The napkins were fun to make and really helped make the table look complete.
Here is the menu that we created:
Appetizer:
- Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese on Baguettes
This is a quick and tasty appetizer that I make frequently (sometime just for Steve and I to snack on). I just buy a package of smoked salmon from Sobeys, a tub of whichever cream cheese I'm in the mood for (chive and onion is always good), and a french baguette. I cut the baguette into 1/2" slices, spread on the cream cheese (as much or as little as I like) and then top with 1" slices of smoked salmon. This used to be the point where I would then serve/eat the appetizer, but I started to add dill to each one and it was delicious - I would definitely recommend doing this added touch.
Main Course:
- Balsamic Maple Glazed Ham
- Balsamic Glazed Carrots
- Green Bean Casserole
Note - I substituted the Cream of Mushroom Soup for Cream of Chicken - it was delicious!
- Creamy Chive & Onion Sweet Potato Mash with Pecan Topping
- Creamy Herb & Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This is my own recipe. I used 3 large yellow potatoes, cut them into 1" chunks and placed them in the steamer for about 20 minutes. When the potatoes are ready to be removed from the steamer I place them in a saucepan over a medium heat and mash them, adding milk and cream cheese (I used herb & garlic) until they are the consistency I am looking for. It's very simple but very satisfying.
Dessert:
- Creamy Layered Lemon Squares
- Chocolate Bunnies
On my trip to Vancouver I visited Granville Island's public market and stopped into the ChocolaTas store. I picked up a package of 3 chocolate bunnies for each person that would be at the dinner (5 in total) and placed them at each person's place setting. The bunnies were a great hit and were delicious!
The meal was delicious and the flavors all worked well together (something that we tried to be intentional about when we were selecting all of the dishes).
I am not always the biggest fan of sweet potatoes, but the recipe we used worked really well and had a variety of flavors which made it great. We found this recipe when we were looking through the Sobey's Inspired magazine. My Dad really loves sweet potatoes so we wanted to make them for the dinner because he was coming over, but we also wanted to put our own spin on it - everyone was really pleased with this dish.
The green bean casserole was something I remembered seeing on TV commercials for many years but never had the urge to make it until this year. The casserole was extremely easy to make (just opening cans, mixing ingredients and baking in the oven). This was a great creamy and crunchy (because of the French's fried onions) dish - everyone really liked this one too - none of us had tried it before.
The carrots were a simple compliment to the ham, as both of them had balsamic vinegar tastes. And of course the ham was the main feature. Steve found the recipe for it and spent some time in the days leading up to Sunday looking at a variety of tips and videos to gain insight into how to cook the perfect ham. All of Steve's hard work paid off because the ham was juicy and had a wonderful flavor!
The dessert was not like anything I had ever made before but I was eager to try it (Steve was really excited for this one!). We decided to make it the day before to ensure that it would be settled when for the next day (it has Jello in it). It was a great Easter dessert because it was light and the strawberries were a nice hint at spring/summer.
Overall I loved every single dish that we made and I would make all of them again! It was a great day of cooking and family - thank you to my Dad, brother and my brother's girlfriend for coming over and sharing the holiday with us!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekend and will try some of these dishes at their future holidays dinners. Bon appetit and enjoy!
Everything looked great. Steve would remember that we used to call it "straightening the edges"or I guess the more recent term is 'quality control'. Either way, taste test is a strategic part of the pre dinner.
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