Easter 2013 Recipe Round Up

I was so focused on plotting out Leftover Ham Week on the blog that I didn't really leave myself room for a post about Easter recipes.  Newbie blogger mistake, I'm sorry.  So, on a rare departure from my Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, and Friday (pizza) posting schedule, I'd like to share a special Sunday post.

It's kinda crazy, because we're actually joining my folks at the dining room of their temporary March residence for Easter this year.  However, because my family loves ham (and I'll soon share some of the awesomeness that can be made from leftover ham), I will instead share what I've recently made, or seen around the food blogs, that would make up a tasty Easter or Spring meal.

First, a comment about portion size.  Most of my plated dinner photos are taken on our usual plates which measure 8 inches across (20 cm).  For special meals, like above, we use these slightly larger 9.5 inch (24 cm) plates.  We moved to these smaller plates years ago when the airlines put that liquid restriction into place, and I truly believe it makes a difference in our family's overall food intake.  There's no correlation between the liquids and the plates, it's just that my brother brought me the plates from Austria as the airlines were cracking down and it was an eventful journey so I always remember when we got them.

Back to food.  We love ham, so I'll pick up a spiral sliced ham at Costco during the final sled hockey practice of the season.  I used to just use the glaze packet that came with the ham, but this glaze from Deborah at Taste and Tell Blog looks delicious.   If you don't want animal meat but wanted a fancy fish dish, this Grapefruit and Pistachio Salmon from Aggie's Kitchen looks really appealing to me.
To keep things thoroughly veggie, I love the looks of this Vegetable Invasion Quiche from Kristy at Gastronomical Sovereignty and this Leek and Goat Cheese Quiche from Heather at In Her Chucks  looks perfect for the CSA farm share leeks I've still got put up in my fruit and vegetable freezer.

Since eggs symbolize Spring and Easter so nicely, this Pennsylvania Dutch Green Beans and Bacon from Alanna at A Veggie Venture provides a pretty egg-topped side--and a good use for leftover hardboiled eggs.  Since Easter is so close to St Patrick's day this year, and I picked up a few cabbages when they were cheap, a side of simple sautéed cabbage wouldn't be out of place.

Another pretty side are these Maple and Cardamom Glazed Carrots from Alyssa at Everyday Maven. I love their color--it would pair nicely with the green beans and eggs, like the orange of my V8 bread in the bread machine (no link because I copied the recipe from somewhere onto the inside cover of a bread machine cook book long ago--let me know if you want it).  Instead of that bread, I think these Rosemary Drop Biscuits from Meghan at Clean Eats, Fast Feets would be just delicious.  My family would go on strike if I didn't include a crock pot full of my friend MA's Irish Mashed Potato Casserole.

For dessert, I really can't decide between these Chai-Spiced Carrot Cupcakes from Lauren at Gourmet Veggie Mama, or too many choices from Carla at Chocolate Moosey and Karly at Buns in My Oven.  I've really got a hankering for a homemade Peanut Buster Parfait, triggered by Julie of Texan New Yorker's Tin Roof Ice Cream, and I am tempted to make it healthy using Heather of Kiss My Broccoli's Healthy Chocolate Sauce, though I may have a jar of Graeter's sauce in the pantry . . .

Everything in moderation, though I wish that Spring would go all out, instead of the snow storm we've got brewing today.  What are you planning for and Easter/Spring menu?  I'm always looking for new ideas and will be enjoying a deluge of veggies from our CSA farm share in less than 2 months.  Please share here, or on my FB page.

This post is shared at The Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick,  Cookin' Canuck's Easter Recipe Link Up,  What's Cookin' Wednesday at Buns In My Oven, Taste and Tell Thursday, What's In The Box at In Her Chucks, Food on Friday  and the Farm Girl Blog Fest.

Simon likes his Easter ham, too.

Salmon and Goat Cheese on Arugula Pesto Pizza (Pizza Night!)

While I think I'm doing OK on putting farm fresh veggies from my CSA farm share on a pizza, I need to work on my fish-on-pizza skills.  Tonight's pizza was inspired by the leftover 4 ounces of baked salmon filet in the fridge.  Why such a strange amount?  My spouse wanted to eat this dip, and I had a massive piece of salmon and wanted to play with a strange but good maple teriyaki salmon sushi that will appear in a few weeks.
I have been seeing drool-worthy photos of salads on so many of the food blogs I follow, so when I grabbed the bag of arugula pesto cubes out of the freezer I was thinking of Spring, of a dark green peppery arugula salad under my flakes of salmon.  I've seen salads with bacon and bourbon, salads with chickpeas and salmon, and salads with salmon, cucumber, and mushroom. There are a lot of talented food bloggers out there who take amazing photos of salads that are making me drool!

If I were making an arugula salad topped with salmon, creamy goat cheese and cracked pepper would pair very nicely with it.  Red onion would also, but while I had that idea pre-baking frenzy, I didn't write it down.

Often I make up to 3 different pizzas on Friday nights, then post the 'behind the scenes' photos on my FB page, and if I don't write the ideas for each one down before I start cooking, I end up forgetting bits and pieces in the hustle.

So here's a pizza for you to play with--starting with an arugula pesto crust, topped with more arugula pesto, goat cheese and my favorite shredded blend, briefly baked, topped with salmon flakes and then returned to the oven to heat through.  Try it yourself and tell me how you'd tweak it!

Slow Cooker Chicken (And Chick Pea) Tikka Masala (Food Bloggers Change My Life #2)

Have you ever made a recipe for the first time, in someone else's kitchen, for a crowd?

Scary thought, no?  I'd bookmarked this recipe, Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala by Rebecca of Foodie With Family because my family loves Indian food, I love my slow cooker, and her directions seemed clear, easy, and very do-able for me.  I just didn't know when I'd get around to making it.

The wonderful thing about joining a CSA is that you've got seasonal farm fresh vegetables flooding into your kitchen every week.  The annoying thing about being in a CSA is that you've got seasonal farm fresh vegetables flooding into your kitchen every week.

What if you feel like eating tomatoes, the canned ones you've put up, but you've got fresh spinach, Band Fruit Fundraiser citrus, and the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve staring at you reproachfully?

You use the spinach in this, or this, or this.
You use the citrus in this, or this, or this.
You use the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in this, or this, or this.

You regretfully turn away from your canned tomatoes, knowing that they will be waiting for you when you've dealt with all the fresh stuff.  And then you run away!

You run away to visit your in-laws.  You know that everyone likes to sit down together around the big table and enjoy a meal, and it's awfully nice not to always be the one to make the meal.  So you offer to make a meal one of the nights of your visit.  But what to make?  What will appeal to 4 generations of eaters?

I decided to go for it and make this meal. For the first time.  Not in my own kitchen.  Not just for my family.  Sure, I played it safe and brought with me almost all the ingredients (since I had everything but cilantro on hand already).  I brought my own slow cooker and my own rice cooker.  I even brought my own measuring spoons!

You know what happened?  Thanks to the clear directions, great photos, and excellent recipe it worked out just fine.  It went together easily, the whole crowd ate it, and some even went back for seconds.

This recipe is easy to make.  Click here to read it!  This post is the second in an on-going series about how Food Bloggers Change My Life.  You don't remember reading the first in the series?  Yeah, you're fine, it's not live yet.  I wrote it up after making Chicken Cider Stew from Alanna of Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture, but since I'm all about seasonal eating and it's really not cider season, it will be up in the fall.  Meantime, since you've hopefully got jars of crushed tomatoes you put up in the fall . . .