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Easy Easter Brunch
from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine
Celebrate the dawn of Easter morning with a brunch, a midday family meal guaranteed to create memories that will last for generations to come.
Lovely lavender and fresh green accents set a pretty table for tasty and traditional holiday dishes. Everything you need to keep up with the
frantic pace of the holidays and family festivities can be found in the new April/May issue of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine-including
the perfect Easter brunch. Filled with money-saving ideas and inventive ways for your readers to put beautiful, delicious holiday and everyday
meals on the table and creative home and garden projects that will help them to do everything from clear clutter to turn a black thumb green-Sandra
Lee Semi-Homemade magazine provides simple solutions and dramatic results in all areas of home life-allowing readers to turn the ordinary to
extraordinary.
The Menu:
Heavenly Ham, Lemon Asparagus
Easter Eggs
Hot Cross Buns
Fruit Kabob Sour Cream-Lime Dip
Honey-Pistachio Mini Cheesecakes.
Lemon Asparagus
Makes about 6 servings
3 quarts water
3 bunches asparagus, about 36 to 40 spears, trimmed
2 tablespoons lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove asparagus, and
submerge in ice water. Allow asparagus to rest in ice water for 4 to 5 minutes to stop the cooking process; drain well, and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine lemon zest and juice. Add olive oil slowly, whisking to combine. Whisk in salt and pepper. Drizzle lemon mixture
over asparagus. Serve immediately.
Tip from Sandra: You'll find at least a dozen opinions about proper egg boiling. The basics: Place them in a single layer in a
large pot, and fill it with water to 1 inch above the eggs. Bring it to a boil, then remove from heat, and cover. Let the eggs stand for
15 minutes, then drain, and rinse them in cold water in a colander.
Easter Eggs
Makes 24 eggs
12 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
5 tablespoons mayonnaise, Hellman's®
3 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1. Halve eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks, and place yolks in a small bowl. Add mayonnaise, dressing, mustard, and salt. Mash with a fork until
desired consistency is reached. Place yolk mixture into a pastry bag, and pipe into whites. Sprinkle paprika on top of stuffed eggs.
Hot Cross Buns
Makes 12 servings
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated breadsticks, Pillsbury®
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1. Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Unroll dough, and twist each breadstick 3 times. Coil the twists in prepared muffin cups to form rolls.
3. In a small bowl, combine honey and mustard, stirring well. Brush one-half of honey mixture evenly onto rolls.
Bake rolls for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Brush cooked rolls with remaining one-half honey mixture.
Sprinkle with kosher salt. Allow rolls to cool in pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan, and serve.
Fruit Kabobs with Sour Cream-Lime Dip
Makes about 6 servings
6 (6-inch) wooden skewers
9 pieces pineapple, cut 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
9 strawberries, hulled and sliced in half lengthwise
9 white chocolate-coconut truffles, Ferrero Raffaello®
1 cup sour cream
1?4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, Domino®
2 tablespoons lime zest (about 2 limes)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
1. Skewer pineapple, strawberries, and truffles as desired, alternating to make designs.
2. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, brown sugar, lime zest, and lime juice, whisking well to combine. Serve dip with fruit kabobs.
Tip from Sandra: Slice and hull your fruit pieces the day before and your kabobs will come together quickly right before the brunch.
Honey-Pistachio Mini Cheesecakes
Makes 30 mini cheesecakes
1 (24.2-ounce) container ready-to-eat cheesecake filling, Philadelphia®
2 (1.9-ounce) packages mini fillo shells, thawed and toasted, Athens®
1 cup chopped pistachios
1/4 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Place 1 teaspoon of cheesecake filling into each fillo shell.
2. In a medium bowl, combine pistachios, honey, and cinnamon. Place a small amount of pistachio mixture on top of each cheesecake.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR HAM
Fully cooked hams from the grocery store are a great convenience if other Easter dishes are competing for your time and attention. When purchasing one, first consider how many servings you need. The USDA recommends buying 1/4 to 1/3 pound of boneless ham per person, and 1/3 to 1/2 pound of bone-in ham per person. Once you're done shopping, make a good ham taste great with these tips.
Spiral-sliced is nice but not necessary. An inexpensive electric knife will do the job just fine. Uncut hams are often a bit juicier.
Although your ham is cooked (and make sure it is, with a label saying "fully cooked"), heating it thoroughly will make it even tastier. Cook it in the oven at 325° until it reaches an internal temperature of 140° (allow about 20 minutes per pound).
For a big flavor boost, it's easy to glaze your own ham. Trim excess fat from the ham, leaving a layer about 1/4 inch thick, then cut diagonal-shaped pattern in fat. Add a glaze during the last 30 minutes of cooking. A simple glaze can be made from equal parts honey, brown sugar, and pineapple juice.
The ham's packaging often provides crucial information for reheating. Always follow the heating instructions that come with your ham.
Leftovers from Easter Brunch? It's the new April/May issue of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine to the rescue:
Turn 2 cups of your Easter ham into Ham and Potato Casserole, Ham and Rice Casserole or Ham and Spinach Bake
and enjoy another delicious, money-saving meal.
Courtesy of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade magazine; reprinted with permission from Hoffman Media, LLC.
Let's Get Cooking!
While there are many reasons for teaching kids to cook -- less expensive than eating out, preserves family heritage, etc, the most important
reason is that by teaching your child to cook, you're giving him a better chance to be a healthy grown-up. Enabling your child with the ability
to appreciate freshness and to transform ingredients into tasty foods opens their eyes to making wiser choices about what to eat...
Easy Easter Brunch
Let's Get Cooking!
