Raspberry Shortcake with Lemon Curd

Our Easter this year was a more quiet celebration--but no less fun or tasty.  For dinner, I roasted a chicken with some oranges and scallions.  There was also sauteed tofu with ginger and honey, mashed potatoes, carrots, deviled eggs, and a spinach salad.  And then for dessert, mostly after finding what are apparently elusive at Whole Foods this week--fresh raspberries (though clearly I've bought a lot lately)--I made raspberry shortcakes with lemon curd.  Flaky, slightly sweet biscuits were layered with chantilly cream, lemon curd, and then piled with raspberries.  It's hard to go wrong with that combination really.

Non-Traditional Easter

We don't have any hard and fast Easter meal traditions, and this year we went even further from any kind of norm--in a very tasty way. For brunch, I made my version of a Spanish piperrada and patatas bravas with a smoked paprika aioli. For dinner, we had pizza three ways: BBQ chicken Cobb salad, basil-Alfredo, and cheese with peppers and fresh tomatoes and lots of basil. Dessert was a creamy key lime pie.


Piperrada: Grilled bread topped with crisped jambon, soft scrambled eggs, and sautéed onions, roasted peppers and garlic with a dash of sherry vinegar.



Patatas bravas: Crispy potatoes topped with a garlicky smoked paprika aioli.



Above - Alfredo sauce, fresh basil, and parmesan. Below: BBQ sauce topped with chicken, bacon, Cambazola, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and avocado (added after baking).



Just a slice of key lime pie: Creamy and tart with lots of fresh lime juice and zest.



And Forgotten Cookies, or meringues with lots of mini chocolate chips and pecans, because I had egg whites left over from the pie. They somehow came out perfectly despite the growing humidity of the day.

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Easter KISS*

Easter this year was full of eating--and thankfully no jellybean taste tests like last year. There was, however, a rather unnecessary level of cooking on my part--big plans, tasty plans, but more work than needed. We started the day with a brunch that included a cheese soufflé, almond buttermilk scones, bacon, strawberries and blackberries, and various cheeses. I could have stopped there, we were all so full.

But in my mind I saw gnocchi, lovingly handmade and then lightly covered with a tomato-porcini sauce. So I made these, and they were good--though much more time-intensive than I'd meant them to be. We also had asparagus and green beans. Also in my mind I could practically taste the limoncello tiramisu recipe I'd come across months ago. It was also good--though not great--and cutting the recipe down to serve the four of us made more work, not less (just less leftovers, which was the point.) *keep it simple stupid -- something I need to remind myself of every so often. :) - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone