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...