Easter Dinner Traditions and Recipes

Growing up, our Easter dinner was just as large as Christmas or Thanksgiving, especially on my Mom's side. My Grandma (Babka) Ann was a devoted Polish Catholic, and many of the traditions that were honored in Poland when she was a child are still part of my annual Easter celebration.

One of these traditions my Mom has shared with me through the years was the Blessing of the Easter Basket. Large meals were commonplace only during the holidays, and Easter was especially important because it represents the Resurrection of Christ. Because such a big to-do was made about dinner, Mom said that Babka's basket would be carted off to church Easter morning to be blessed by the priest.

A typical basket may include:

Butter - Often the shape of a lamb or cross.
Babka - The Bread of Life, decorated with a cross or a fish.
Horseradish - The Passion of Christ, also used as bitter herbs at Passover.
Pysanky (hard boiled Eggs, dyed)- Decorated with symbols of Resurrection.
Polish Sausage - God's favor.
Ham or Lamb - Joy and abundance.
Smoked Bacon - Overabundance of God's mercy.
Salt - Prosperity and justice.
Homemade Polish Easter Cheese - Moderation.
The Lighted Candle - The Light of the World.
Ribbons and greenery - Spring, renewal, and Resurrection.
Covering Linens - Like the covering of Christ's shroud.

PYSANKEY

This year, I'll be hosting Easter dinner at my house. It's going to be small gathering, with only two others in attendance, but I'm exciting about offering a meal that includes many of the foods served at every Easter dinner I've enjoyed since, well- birth. I will be tweaking my menu a little, making it more "Toni", but I think it would make Babka proud!

As of today, here is the tentative menu~

Pickled Eggs

Deviled Eggs

Homemade Easter Cheese

Beets and Horseradish

Ham

Polish Sausage
Lamb

Potato and Gruyere Gratin

Roasted Asparagus
Garden Vegetable Salad

Cheesecake Parfaits

Easter Cupcakes

EASTER CHEESE

If you're not familiar with Easter cheese, it isn't really cheese at all. It's made from eggs. There are a few variations of this recipe, but the one I most enjoy is the one I grew up eating. It's not the sweet, custardy kind that most are familiar with.

12 eggs
1 quart whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Crack eggs into a large saucepan and beat with a whisk. Whisk in milk, pepper and salt. Cook over medium-low to low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture fully forms curds and the whey separates. This will take 20 to 30 minutes. Using higher heat or failing to stir will result in a big pan of scrambled eggs.

Drain the mixture into a colander lined with several layers of cheese cloth. Use the cloth to shape into a ball and twist the top to remove excess moisture. Secure with a twist tie. Hang to dry. You will need several hours, but it's best to make this they day before. Hanging it on the kitchen faucet is the most sensible place to hang the cheese. When it is a firm ball, you simply slice into chunks and serve alongside your Easter ham.

There are other variations of this recipe, some include sugar and nutmeg, which makes it sweeter, but I much prefer this version.

My Grandmother raised seven children in a time when money wasn't so easily obtainable. With little education, the best she could do as a single mother was work in a clothing factory. But, if there was one thing she could do exceptionally well, it was sew- (not to mention cook all that scrumptious Polish food!) Being one to "think out of the box" so to speak, she knew that buying cheesecloth was a luxury and instead had a brand new pillowcase handy every Easter to make her Easter cheese. I remember seeing that freshly laundered pillowcase hanging on the clothesline outside drying her cheese!

MASHED POTATO GRATIN

A few nights ago, I was thumbing through the channels and I came across an episode of Jacques and Julia. (I can't tell you how much I adore the both of them... but that's another post perhaps.) Jacques had thrown together -literally- the most simple potato gratin, made with mashed potatoes and Gruyere cheese. I didn't write down the specific measurements, or ingredients for that matter, and I've been hunting high and low to find that recipe. I've come across some similar types, so using my memory and a few variations of that recipe that I've found online, I'm going to make the gratin in place of standard mashed potatoes. The best thing about it is that I can make the mashed potatoes the day before, then on Sunday just mix in the rest of the ingredients and bake! How easy is that? Of course, if you're not a fan of Gruyere, you could easily substitute Swiss, Cheddar, etc.

3 pounds mashed potatoes
3 eggs, whipped
1/4 cup butter, plus more to grease baking dish
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper to taste
sliced scallions, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare baking dish with butter. (If potatoes are cold, warm them up before adding the other ingredients.)

In separate bowl, combine mashed potatoes, butter, cream, eggs, salt, pepper and 1 cup of cheese. Spread into buttered dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake about 25-30 minutes, until edges are brown. Sprinkle with scallions before serving.

CHEESECAKE PARFAITS

1 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 package (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding

1 1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip

24 vanilla wafers, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups mixed fresh blueberries and strawberries

Beat cream cheese, with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add pudding and mix well. Gently fold in 1 cup Cool Whip.

Layer wafers, berries and cheesecake mixture in 8 parfait glasses. Repeat layers, top with Cool Whip.

I plan on dipping the rims of my parfait glasses with pink colored sugar, and adorning the glasses with a Marshmallow Peep, for, you know- extra Easter charm.

Blog Side Note: I didn't realize under after I had finished with this post that it was written on my what would have been my Babka's 86th birthday! What special memories I have of her at Easter...

Easter Blessings ...

Each Spring, God Renews His Promise.

Long, long ago in a land far away,

There came the dawn of the first Easter Day,

And each year we see that promise reborn

That God gave the world on that Easter morn...

For in each waking flower and each singing bird,

the promise of Easter is witnessed and heard,

And Spring is God's way of speaking to men

And renewing the promise of Easter again,

For death is a season that man must pass through

And, just like the flowers, God wakens him, too...

So why should we grieve when our loved ones die,

For we'll meet then again in a "cloudless sky"

-For Easter is more than a beautiful story,

It's the promise of life and eternal glory.

~Helen Steiner Rice

Recipe of the Week; CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE

It just would be St. Patrick's Day at my house without a little corned beef and cabbage! I love the brisket corned beef with the seasoning packets that are usually on sale around this time! And cabbage, I paid a whopping 33 cents per pound at the local supermarket! I put mine in my slow cooker, and come quittin' time my laddies and I enjoy a taste of Ireland for supper!

Just don't forget the potatoes!

I'm going to attach a very good variation of this traditional Irish feast, courtesy of the folks at Taste of Home. So, grab yourself a green beer and get cookin'!

INGREDIENTS

1 corned beef brisket with spice packet (4 to 6 pounds)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 to 3 bay leaves
16 to 24 small potatoes, peeled
8 to 12 medium carrots, halved
1 large head cabbage, cut into wedges
Minced fresh parsley, optional

HORSERADISH SAUCE:
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 to 1-1/2 cups cooking liquid (from brisket)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup horseradish

SOUR CREAM AND MUSTARD SAUCE:
1 cups (8 ounces) sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Place brisket in a large Dutch oven; cover with water. Add brown sugar and bay leaves. (If spice packet is enclosed with brisket, add it also.) Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Add potatoes and carrots. Return to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 30-40 minutes or until meat and vegetables are just tender. If your Dutch oven is not large enough for cabbage to fit, remove potatoes and carrots and keep warm (they can be returned to cooking liquid and heated through before serving).

Add cabbage; cover and cook about 30 minutes or until tender. Discard bay leaves. Remove cabbage and meat.

Strain and remove about 1-1/2 cups cooking liquid. Let meat stand a few minutes. Slice meat across the grain. Serve with Horseradish Sauce or Sour cream and Mustard Sauce. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Horseradish Sauce: In a small saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour. Add 1 cup cooking liquid; stir until smooth. Add vinegar, sugar and horseradish. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Adjust seasoning with additional vinegar, sugar or horseradish if needed. Thin sauce if necessary with the remaining cooking liquid. Yield: about 1-1/2 cups.

Sour Cream and Mustard Sauce Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until well blended. Yield: 1 cup.

Organization- It's in the bag!

I had a revelation the other day.

Regardless if it's a hectic Monday morning or a leisurely Saturday afternoon out strolling the thrift stores, one thing remains constant. I've always got my trusty purse right at my side.

A woman's purse is her story. A sleek and slim purse is typically owned by a sleek and slim 20- something with no kids. A large, frumpy bag belongs to a Mom with kids that needs to hold everything from diapers to a screwdriver. Thankfully I got to dump my frumpy bag about three years ago. Your bag, in essence, holds the contents of your life that explain who you are and what you do. The purse I have been using for sometime now a trusty, simple black purse with just enough room to hold my wallet, a hairbrush, and some hand sanitizer. Although once in awhile I find a Matchbox car in there. It's not a large purse, but it's big enough for my essentials.

This past Saturday, I promised my son that we would go look for a toy monster truck and swing by McDonald's. While paying for our lunch, I had to dig for my debit card, it fell out of my wallet., which also was on it's last legs- the zipper is broken.

While scourging for the card, I find that my hand sanitizer cap fell off the bottle and I had gunk all over the contents of my purse. To top it off, my son decided to use my purse as a trash bag earlier that day for his half-eaten snack-size bag of Cheetos, which of course spilled all through the purse. Still digging for that blasted debit card, my phone rings and now I start rummaging through this space filled with cheesy hand sanitizer and I finally find it, (then wiping it off on my jeans) I answer with a frustrated "Hello!?"

It was the husband. "Do we have any super glue here?" We did, but then I remembered that I put it in my purse days before because I needed it at work to glue the wooden trim on my bulletin board. Naturally, when I went to look for it in the side pocket, the metal tube had broken at a crease and super glue now made the side pocket on my purse stick shut.

"No", I answer flatly. We don't have any super glue at home. I'll get some while I'm out". Ugh. This is a true story, I couldn't make this all up!

Like some crazy "light bulb above my head" idea, I was suddenly struck with realization that if had a different purse, perhaps I could eliminate a small portion of that unorganized chaos from my day-to-day routine.

So my quest began. Obviously the purse that fell victim to super glue is now a ward of the local landfill. It was totally unsalvagable.

I hunted all over looking for that perfect purse, after analyzing all the important details:

Priority one is function. I have had some adorable purses, my favorite being a red, white and blue plaid one by Longaberger, but it was a little small for my needs. It didn't offer any side pockets or little niches to hold my phone, so I eventually had to park it.

Style isn't important to me. I don't particularly care if my bag matches my Keds. Although for many months prior to my purse revelation, I considered getting a Miche Bag. I liked the idea of changing the purse without changing the purse. But then I priced it. No thanks.

I realized also that my present purse really didn't offer much in the way of organization, which is exactly what I needed. I need to know right where to go when my phone rings or I need a fingernail file. I need a few dividers, one to store the aforementioned hairbrush and some daily makeup essentials. Then I need a space for "office" supplies. You know, pens. A note pad. Small scissors.

Finally a space big enough to hold my wallet, which in itself is a whole other organized compartment. I don't want to fumble for loose change in the bottom of my bag. I want to open my wallet and just know where to find a dime for the parking meter. I want to know what credit cards are in there. Looking for a new purse prompted me to look for another wallet as well. The zipper was broken on mine anyway, remember?

So, the rest of Saturday and part of Sunday became time devoted to seek out a new bag. I looked at Target, Gabriel Brothers, Kohl's, and eventually found the bag of my dreams at a local thrift store (for a whooping 2.99!) of all places. Even better!

It's a great Dooney and Burke creation, a little bigger than my last purse. The straps are just the right size, and there are enough compartments that I can keep related items together without mixing stuff up. My wallet, however is still being used because I have yet to find an appropriate one to use with my new bag. One thing at a time...

You know, the new purse really has improved my daily routine! Now I know right where to go for things. Nothing sinks to the bottom, which was always a problem with my previous purse. And I've laid down some ground rules. My son is not allowed to touch my purse. He has his own tote for his toys and snacks. Food, Altoids being the only exception, are forbidden. I can't count how many times I've emptied my bag in the past and have had to shake out crumbs. And the occasional napkin-wrapped chicken wing. Don't ask.

Just yesterday I had to run to the post office, and voila!- it took me two seconds to locate my dime for the parking meter! And this morning, instead of rummaging through the bag with one hand and driving with other trying to find my phone when it rang (bad idea, anyway- I definitely would not endorse this behavior, but I believe we are all guilty!) I reached right into the side pocket and found it right away.

So pleased am I, I really felt it would be beneficial to share this with others. Take a good look at your purse. Analyze it- is it so cute but it's just not functional? At some point, you realize your sanity takes precedence over appearance, and you ditch it for something more practical. It's very liberating! Believe me!

*I'd also like to add that I looked at Dooney and Burke bags online, and I found one similar to mine that retails for $255.