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The Misadventures of Mrs. B: Easter Menu, and Two Questions

Cook. Writer. Wife. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Klutz.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Easter Menu, and Two Questions


Hey blog friends!

Well, it's that time of year again.  Easter.

I love Easter for so many reasons.  I love the season of rebirth.  I love the significance of the Easter season in my religion - as torturous as the lengthy Holy Week masses could be when I was young, I developed a real appreciation for them as I grew older.  Frankly, I love watching "The Ten Commandments".  It's just a great time of year all around.

Easter is also special for Rob and me because it was on Good Friday 4 years ago that I first had him over for dinner, and by Easter Sunday we were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.  I remember how excited and nervous I was that entire day as I cooked.  I made shrimp puttanesca over pasta.  He brought over a decadent chocolate cake for dessert.  It was a great evening!

This year, Easter holds another special significance:

We are hosting for the first time!

AAAAAH!!!!

Okay.  I'm breathing.  I promise.

In reality, the more I think about it the more I realize that I was making so much of the food already.  I mean, really, I would take a ton of food to my mom's and then would help finish the dinner when I got there.  Now at least I don't have the stress of trying to transport all of that food.  PLUS I have a ton more kitchen space.  Win/win, as far as I'm concered.

So what am I cooking? Well I'm glad you asked! On the menu are the following:
Baked ham*
Kielbasa (both smoked and fresh, provided by my mom who waits in long lines twice a year)
Potato salad*
Macaroni salad (made by my cousin)
Cole slaw
Sweet potato casserole*
Pierogies (3 types - potato, sauerkraut and cottage cheese)*
Babka (Polish Easter bread, for those of you not in-the-know!)*
Deviled eggs (after that post regarding my Mistress of the Eggs status, my cousin offered to bring them!)
Bread (fresh Jewish rye which my mom picks up with the kielbasa - it's amaaaaaaazing!)
Various desserts (made by my cousins, though I might try my hand at one...but I think the babka might count if I made a cheese version, which I definitely will)

* means that it's something I'm making.  Yeah.  I'm making all of that! At least only the ham needs to be done the day of - everything else can be prepared in advance.  Even the kielbasa just needs to be cooked on the stove, no great prep work needed.

We also have incidental things like a relish tray and cheese for ham sandwiches and plenty of spicy horseradish for that kielbasa - in my family Christmas and Easter are big antacid holidays.  I should put Tums out like other people put out after-dinner mints.

Naturally I'll be taking copious pictures of all of my endeavors and sharing them with you, my lovely bloggy friends.  I love hearing your thoughts on my cooking!

What's on the menu for YOUR Easter celebration?

Also:

I've noticed over time that Easter has evolved into more than just an Easter basket holiday for kids.  I know, I know, it should be about religious significance.  And it always was for us, but we got candy nonetheless.  And as we grew older we might also get a small gift in our baskets, like a DVD or a video game or a CD.  But that was it.  Now, though, Easter seems to have become a much more gift-centric holiday for many families.  I've seen flyers and ads for "Easter gifts" all over the place!

How do you feel about kids getting more than just Easter candy in their baskets? 

I'm not talking about a little gift, as I described above. I'm talking full-on gift buying which involves trips to the toy store or clothing stores for the older kids.  What do you think? Do you do this in your own family, or do you know one that does?

Labels: ,

11 Comments:

Blogger content2be said...

Our Sundays are always crazy because we have a church ministry that doesn't finish until 2:30, but I bought a ham yesterday. We'll see if I actually make a real Easter meal. It will be my first in 5 years of marriage! As far as Easter baskets, my daughter will probably just receive candy. I'm pretty much a minimalist; kids thrive on less, IMHO. They learn to use their imagination and when they do receive something special, it really is something they remember with gratitude.

March 31, 2010 at 12:19 PM

 
Blogger content2be said...

Forgot to say... I Love the picture on the top of your post. When I was 5, I ate the ears off my brother's chocolate bunny, and to this day (22 years later), he still asks when I'm going to get him another one.
To answer the question you asked on my blog regarding "healthifying" the oatmeal choc. chip muffins, I did use old-fashioned oats, but I have used quick oats with great results as well. I'm pretty sure you could swap the oil for applesauce, although I have never tried it. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

March 31, 2010 at 12:35 PM

 
Blogger MrsJenB said...

Sigh. After 22 years. Brothers.

Thanks for the feedback on my muffin question, I would love to try them out!!

March 31, 2010 at 12:44 PM

 
Blogger ~Isabel said...

Our menu for Easter: Ham, mac 'n cheese (i have a three year old, lol....), fresh green beans, rolls...and i'm doing YOUR Lemon Merigene Pie! :)

Gifts in baskets?!? Nope, just yummy chocolate bunnies here! (...that i'll eat the ears off of because, hey, i'm the mama!)

March 31, 2010 at 2:05 PM

 
Blogger MrsJenB said...

REALLY? You're making the lemon meringue? I'm blushing over here!!! Let me know how it turns out!!!

March 31, 2010 at 2:43 PM

 
Blogger Kelly Loy Gilbert said...

Oh my gosh, your menu SOUNDS AMAZING. Oh my goodness. See you there. Just kidding. (I wish.)

I'm all for gifts in Easter baskets! Mostly because I always want gifts (and my grandma still makes them for me/brother/husband/all her kids/kids-in-law. My mom used to make really really great gift-related Easter baskets, too, until I moved out). On the plus side, it fills up a basket without needing as much candy. Not like huge gifts, just little things like lip gloss or something. But little things are my favorite kinds of gift.

March 31, 2010 at 2:50 PM

 
Blogger alissa {33shadesofgreen} said...

Hi Jen - Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I'm 1/2 Polish and fresh Kielbasa is a MUST on Easter in my family. Yum! I love pierogi too, but for some reason we only make those @ Christmas. Do you have a family recipe you use for yours? Not sure if you saw, but this months issue of Martha has a huge article on pierogi!

March 31, 2010 at 4:26 PM

 
Blogger MrsJenB said...

I sure didn't see that! I'll have to look into it! I'm actually the first person in a couple of generations to make them from scratch and while I found the dough recipe on allrecipes.com, the fillings I play by ear. I make them @ Christmas, too, but they're sort of requested at Easter as well!

March 31, 2010 at 4:36 PM

 
Blogger Alexis AKA MOM said...

Oh man let's see Ham, Scallop Potatoes, Green Beans with Bacon, Rolls :)

April 1, 2010 at 12:09 AM

 
Blogger Sherry @ Lamp Unto My Feet said...

Wow! Sounds like a great menu!

We will probably go out for a light dinner as we are having a huge breakfast that morning.

April 1, 2010 at 8:58 AM

 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

our menu was crunchy glazed ham, cheesy potatoes, deviled eggs, green beans, yummy yeast rolls that take forever but are sooooo good, and then a coconut cream pie for dessert...

And for the Easter basket the girls each get a dress to wear to church and then we always got a disney movie in our baskets so we did that for our girls baskets now too so candy, hair things just little odds and ends except the dvd:) but its always fun.

April 5, 2010 at 12:51 PM

 

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