Rise and Shine ...

Spring 2010 Issue | Posted by Kate Wicker in What's Cooking

On Easter morning, it becomes easy for me to “see and believe” (John 20:8) and to experience the joy of the Resurrection all around me — from taking in the colorful flowers adorning the altar at Easter Mass to seeing children clad in their Sunday best.

Then, of course, there is the food — mouth-watering goodies piled high in the children’s baskets seem all the more delectable after all those Lenten fasts! No wonder Catholics everywhere gather to enjoy a feast after the famine in the company of family and friends on Easter Sunday. Although lamb and ham are traditionally served for Easter dinner, many families opt to indulge in a more informal, but no less celebratory, brunch.

What better way to honor the risen Lord than with a rise-and-shine breakfast banquet? Here, we invite you to indulge in an Easter brunch that celebrates family, delicious food, and the Christian feast of feasts: the day Christ rose again and gave us all new life.

The Recipes

Fr. Leo’s Warm Lemon and Mint Cream With Fruit

Father Leo Patalinghug is the faith-filled foodie behind Grace Before Meals, a movement that strives to build stronger families and communities one meal at a time. He’s also one good cook. Fr. Leo generously shared this recipe and the strata recipe on the next page; both would make perfect additions to any Easter brunch menu.

4 cups assorted fruit

(strawberries, raspberries,

blueberries, etc.)

1 stick butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Juice of one lemon

Zest of one lemon

2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves,

finely minced

10-12-ounce can evaporated milk

10-12-ounce can sweetened

condensed milk

(Optional: crushed graham crackers

or dark chocolate shavings for garnish)

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add lemon juice, zest, and mint to flavor the butter. Add the flour, and whisk together thoroughly. Be careful to control the heat. Remove from heat, if necessary, to avoid “cooking” the flour. Once flour and butter are fully incorporated into a thick roux, add the evaporated milk and continue to whisk. Add the condensed milk, and whisk. Return to low heat to warm all the way through. Pour the warm cream over the fresh fruit, and serve slightly warmed. You can also top the fruit with crushed graham crackers or shaved chocolate. Garnish with a sprig of mint leaves.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

This is a super easy quiche recipe. Use ham if you like — or get creative. My kids love a spinach and feta quiche. Just add a 10-ounce package of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained, to the egg mixture.

4 eggs

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

(substitute cheddar, if you prefer)

1 cup half and half

1 cup diced cooked ham

Dash of salt, pepper, and nutmeg

Prepared pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Puncture pie crust with a fork, and bake for about 10 minutes. Whisk eggs in a bowl. Beat in remaining ingredients. Fill pie crust, and bake until golden brown, about 35-45 minutes.

Quiche variations: Add one or more of the following: bacon, mushrooms, 2 tablespoons of chopped chives, chopped tomatoes, etc.

Grace Before Meals Strata

Father Leo says this strata recipe can easily serve 12 to 14 people, making it a perfect dish for a big family gathering.

14 slices white bread

(with or without crust)

2 cups cream cheese (melted soft)

1 cup melted butter

8 eggs, beaten

4 cups whole milk

1 cup maple syrup

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

Coat a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer the dish with seven pieces of bread (if necessary, cut the bread so that it covers the entire bottom of the dish).

Spread the melted (or softened) cream cheese over top of the bread. Cover the cream cheese with the rest of the bread.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, and season with salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, melted butter, and milk. Pour the mixture over the bread. Cover with plastic, and let rest in a refrigerator overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 300 degrees and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top becomes a buttery golden brown.

Potatoes Eileen

These are my mom’s signature potatoes, and while she always says, “They’re nothing fancy,” they sure are delicious. They would make a tasty side for a brunch or a traditional Easter ham dinner.

5 pounds Idaho potatoes

Salt

Pepper

Generous amount of garlic powder

1 1/2 to 2 sticks butter

Diced onions (optional)

Cooking spray

Peel and cut potatoes into chunks (Mom usually quarters them).

Coat glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Season potatoes with salt, pepper, and a generous amount of garlic powder, and layer in dish. Add chunks of one stick of butter.

Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for at least two hours, stirring every half hour and adding 1/2 to 1 stick more butter (do not skimp on the butter; this is Easter, folks). If you prefer crispier potatoes, turn oven temperature up to 400 degrees for the last half hour.

Merrell’s Sticky Buns

“The main, must-have item is a family recipe for homemade sticky buns,” says Kris Chatfield, a mom of five. “This is something I remember from my earliest holiday memories, helping my mom in the kitchen, punching and rolling dough, and sprinkling cinnamon. They’re labor-intensive, but well, well worth it.”

1/2 cup warm water

3 packages active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups lukewarm mild

(scald then cool to lukewarm)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter

7 to 7 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 sticks butter

2 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 cups chopped pecans

Cinnamon

Sift flour. Dissolve yeast in water; add milk, white sugar, salt, eggs, 1/2 cup butter, and half of sifted flour to yeast mix. Mix with spoon until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to handle easily; the dough should not be gummy. Knead dough on lightly floured board until smooth. Form dough into a round ball and place in greased bowl; cover with cloth. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size — about 1 1/2 hours. To create the ideal warm atmosphere for the bread to rise, turn on the oven to about 250 degrees and put the bowl in the oven for about 10 minutes. Then turn oven off and leave bowl in for the remainder of the time.

After 1 1/2 hours, punch dough down; let rise again until almost doubled again, about 30 minutes. During last 30 minutes, melt 1 1/2 sticks butter and 1 1/2 cups brown sugar in saucepan. Add about 1 1/4 cups of the chopped pecans to the pan. Set aside.

Divide the brown sugar mixture into the bottom of 3 9-inch-round cake pans, then divide the dough into thirds. Roll out each third on a floured surface until it’s a rectangle, approximately 8 inches by 12 inches. Brush with melted butter and brown sugar mixture. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon and pecans. Cut roll crosswise into about 1/2-inch slices. Place buns on the cake pans by starting around the edge of the pan first, filling in towards the center. Repeat this with the other two sections of dough. After all dough is in pans, cover pans and let rise again for about 30 minutes.

Set oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 minutes. Cool a few minutes, and immediately turn pans onto three plates. Put plate on top of pan and flip pan over. Be sure to scrape all the good, gooey stuff out of the pan and drizzle it over the rolls.

The rolls can be made ahead of time, which Kris recommends so you won’t be shackled to the kitchen come Easter. Prepare and bake according to directions, and then wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Store in the refrigerator for one to two days, or pop them in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw frozen rolls. When ready to serve, open tin foil and sprinkle tops of rolls with a little water, reseal the foil, and reheat for about 20 minutes in a 300-degree oven.

Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

You have to have some chocolate on Easter, especially since many families give up sweets during Lent. These scones are always delicious, but they taste even better after enduring a dearth of chocolate.

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 large egg

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup dark chocolate chips

(We use the big kind, but regular

or mini-sized chips are fine, too.*)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat scone pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray. Beat egg and cream, and set aside. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add butter, cutting it in with your fingers, until mixture resembles coarse sand. Gently stir in sugar and chocolate chips. Stir in cream mixture with fork until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead about five times. If you have a scone pan (definitely worth the investment if you’re a scone fan), distribute dough evenly into compartments. Otherwise, divide dough into about eight equal-sized triangles. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until medium brown. Let cool 20 minutes in pan. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

*For a healthier variety, substitute 1 cup frozen blueberries. Dust with flour before adding to dough mixture.

50 Days of Feasting

Easter is 50 days long — beginning with Easter Sunday and continuing through Pentecost. We should celebrate for more than a day! Encourage your family’s gratitude for the gift of the Resurrection by extending the joy in your domestic church. Some ideas:

Bring in Blooms

Celebrate new life with bright colors and festive blooms. Did you make a salt clay “crown of thorns” during Lent? Transform your Lenten crown into an Easter centerpiece for your table by adorning it with flowers, greenery, or glitter to remind your family that Christ’s suffering is over.

Sundays Are Special

Every Sunday gives us a chance to rejoice in the Risen Lord; however, you can make each Sunday dinner during the Easter season even more meaningful by adding some special touches. Use your good china. Drape your table with a white tablecloth, and light a white candle to remind your family of the hope of the Resurrection and Christ’s victory over sin and death.

Spread the Joy

Bring Easter treats to a lonely neighbor. Encourage kids to make Easter cards or write letters to friends and family. Make time to play with your children. Go on long nature walks and look for signs of new life.

Embrace the Extraordinary

Easter is not an ordinary time of year, so why not do some extraordinary things. When your child asks to jump in spring mud puddles, smile and say, “Of course! It’s Easter!” Have ice cream for dinner. Let kids stay up a little past their bedtime. And remind them that they owe their joy and happiness to the Lord.

Readers Share Their Easter Meal Traditions

Baskets of Blessings

I have a lot of different cultures in my heritage, but my all-Polish-American dad always insisted we celebrate Easter with our Polish traditions. Our Polish Easter meal consists of kielbasa, which is a Polish staple, and a ham. My grandma, now de-ceased, always had cabbage soup, mashed potatoes, red cabbage, horseradish, farmer’s cheese, and several kinds of vegetables. Altogether, one is supposed to have 12 dishes to represent the 12 Apostles.

Special again to the Polish is a butter lamb that graces the table and one special Easter egg blessed by the parish priest the day before on Holy Saturday. Holy Saturday is the day to get your basket of Easter and everyday foods blessed by your parish priest. My husband laughs because no matter where we’ve lived I have made him drive all over to find a Polish church to bless baskets before Easter.

— Kira

Candle Centerpiece

We have our breakfast after early Easter Mass. We take the newly blessed Easter candle from the Holy Mass home and put it in the middle of our breakfast table. It is also a German tradition to eat a homemade Easter cake, which is baked in the shape of a lamb. Of course, we have colored Easter eggs and listen to “The Messiah” from Handel.

— Nicole

Lamb for Dessert

My grandmother always made an Easter lamb pound cake, complete with black jelly bean eyes and a pink jelly bean nose. When my son was born, I got on the phone, begging Grandma for her pan and recipe. She sent it, and now my kids get so excited to eat the lamb after Easter dinner.

— Kristen

Quick Tip:

You can find a Spring Lamb Cake Pan for $18.99 from BuyNordicWare.com

— Senior writer Kate Wicker, a mom of three, celebrates in style at her home in Georgia.

Find her online at KateWicker.com

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