Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Good Friday

When I asked Paul what he wanted for Good Friday breakfast he was quick - eggs benedict.

They were served with fresh fruit, hashed browns, and hot cross buns. We wanted some champagne and OJ to drink but had a wee crisis - we were all out of the small bottles of sparkling wine! We had lots of large bottles but I wasn't sure I wanted a whole bottle of wine that early in the morning.

We carried on and ended up having a LONG nap after breakfast. :-)

Dinner had somewhat of a Greek theme. We started with appetizers eaten out on the terrace.

Marinated globe peppers stuffed with goat cheese, spanikopita coil, lamb spiedini with tzatziki, saganaki, marinated olives, and feta marinated in olive oil and sprinkled with greek oregano.

TONS of food! Everyone helped themselves  . . .carefully because there was more food to come.

We talked, laughed, and giggled out on the terrace for some time before we were ready for the next course.

Once the sun went down it got cool. We moved into the dining room for the main course.

Veal rolls stuffed with feta, mixed olives, and fresh herbs, roasted potatoes, green beans with dill.

When I asked Paul what hewated for dessert he said 'something lemony' . . .

I found an amazing recipe for lemon pudding cakes that went very well with a glass of limoncello!

Happily we had all day Saturday to recover from the food coma before doing it all again on Easter Sunday!

Buona Pasqua!

Auguro ogni bene a lei e alla sua famiglia . . .

It's now time to relax a bit before Paolo awakes.

The clues for the Easter hunt are hidden . . . and as always the most challenging aspect was attaching the obligatory clue to the cats.

When Paolo waks up we'll have blueberry, lemon pancakes in the requested Easter barnyard shapes. Round this out with some fresh fruit and turkey sausage patties and we'll be set until dinner.

We have 6 coming over for the annual Easter feast.

We're serving:

Cheese and Crackers
Pizza Rustica
Asparagus Prosciutto Puffs

Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
Cheesey Scalloped Potatoes
Honey-roasted Carrots with Pistachios
Peas with Mint
Broccoli Salad

Neopolitian Ricotta Tart

Then we'll collapse! LOL

Thank goodness I have tomorrow off so that I can recover.

I hope that you all have a great day!

It's Peeps Time

It’s that time of year again. All the supermarkets in the States are stocked with pastel colored marshmallow bunnies and chicks. Most people call these “peeps” and whether they end up in someone’s Easter basket or in someone’s desk for snacking; they always seem to be very popular. They’ve been brightening springtime for over a half century.

They have entered popular culture to the extext that they have become a new art form with galleries and respected publications sponsoring peeps art creation contests across the US. Here are some of the ones I thought were interesting this year:

Buona Pasqua

 
My goodness, 8:30 and much is done already.

The cats fed, Easter baskets hidden. Easter hunt designed, clues written, printed, and hidden throughout the house (and outside).

I think I need more coffee.

Good Friday is a holiday here and we enjoyed a day to eat, drink, laugh, and get caught up on 4 episodes of the Borgias (not sure if it is appropriate Easter viewing but it is about a pope and all. .  . even if he isn't very pope-like *smile*)

We had a relaxing breakfast - frittata with leftover asparagus, prosciutto, gruyere cheese, and chives from the garden, applewood smoked bacon, berries with mint and late harvest vidal, hot cross buns, and some proseccco and OJ to make it all complete.

 
We relaxed . . . napped, read . . took it easy. Then we cooked.

The latest Bon Appetit magazine featured an article called 'Easter Goes Greek' - we incorporated much of it into our Good Friday dinner.

We nibbled mezes while watching the Borgias.

 
bread, spanakopita (cheese and spinach pies), tyropita (cheese pies), marinated feta, marinated olives, zucchini kefetedes with feta and dill (from the Bon Appetit article), gigante beans (from the Bon Appetit article), and saganaki.

A crisp rose wine from Crete rounded out the 'first' course.

After about three hours of historical intrigue, mayhem, and pageantry we were ready for the main course.

 
Grilled lamb chops with lemon and tzatziki sauce (from the Bon Appetit article) which were served with sauteed swiss chard with red wine vinegar and honey.

 
Lemon roasted potatoes (from the Bon Appetit article).

We also had the tomato and onion salad with fried feta that I made back in March (which was a HUGE hit with my mom).

I confess that I was far too lazy to make dessert. We had a huge assortment of treats from the Greek bakery located in the Greek area of Toronto.

 
YUM!

Meyer Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake with Lemon Curd

I am a fan of lemon - in fact it must eb one of my favourite flavours. if I were offered a dessert with citrus vs a chocolate one there would be no thinking needed at all . . . citrus all of the way baby! There is also something about lemon that just screams spring . . . it must be the refreshing bite of citrus.

We have had a lemon dessert for the grand finale of Easter dessert just about every year for the past 12 or so years. I know because I have made them. The only odd change was when we managed to find some really good strawberries and something strawberry made its way onto the menu.

I found this recipe online and decided it was perfect for dessert. Mom offered to assist with the baking of the dessert. I wasn't sure since a) I am a control freak, and b) she had just had heart surgery. In the end I decided 'if she wants to do it then let her do it'. On Good Friday I sent her home with the recipe and the ingredients. She showed up on Easter Sunday with this amazing dessert in tow.

This was a brilliant double lemon cheesecake with a lemon-mascarpone filling, topped with lemon curd. It's a perfect dessert for the "lemon lovers" in your life. We used Meyer lemons so that the flavour was a tad more subtle than with 'regular' lemons. Regardless, it was amazing.

You do have to plan ahead with a dessert like this . . . things need to be made in advance, cooled, prior to the next step being attempted. However, the recipe is well-written and mom said that it was easy to follow.

There you are - if life gives you lemons make a cheesecake and eat the bloody thing  . . .trust me, you'll be smiling soon enough!

Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake

For The Almond Shortbread Crust:
1/4 cup almond meal (finely ground almonds)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

For the Cheesecake Filling:
12 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
1/3 cup Mascarpone Cheese
5 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. Meyer lemon juice
2 large eggs, separated

For The Meyer Lemon Curd Topping:
3 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
1/3 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup regular lemon juice
4 oz. unsalted butter

For The Almond Shortbread Crust:
Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix slowly until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and just mix to distribute the egg. Do not allow the crumbs to come together. The mixture should look dry. Press lightly into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan and prick with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool.

For The Cheesecake Filling:
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese and lemon zest. Mix until smooth. Add the mascarpone cheese and mix until just combined. Add cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Stir in the yolks then transfer to a medium sized mixing bowl. Wash and dry the electric mixing bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture then pour it over the shortbread crust in the spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 30-35 minutes or until the center is almost set. Let cool, then refrigerate for three hours or overnight.

For The Meyer Lemon Curd Topping:
Whisk eggs and yolks together in a medium sized bowl. Add sugar and mix together thoroughly. Mix in zest and juices. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and cook until thickened (about 5 to 7 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, stirring until it becomes completely melted. Pour the lemon curd over the cooled cheesecake and bake at 300 degrees F (150 C) for 15 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature then refrigerate for three hours or overnight.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Easter Sunday 2010

Easter Sunday is a day of tradition in our family. Secular tradition, mind you. We don't go to church but we have our traditions all the same.

We start with a big breakfast. I made one of those breakfast casseroles that sits in the fridge overnight awaiting cooking. There was nothing low-fat about this but I tried to lighten it a bit by using low-fat sausage meat, low-fat cheese, and I added no extra fat to the dish. To hell with low-fat - it was GOOD!

Breakfast taken care of, we set the table.

It turns out he we had never had this many leaves in the table for Easter. Our tablecloth wouldn't fit. I substituted the white tablecloth we use at Christmas and it seemed to work.

Mom was scheduled to arrive at 3:00 (which means 4:00 in Edith time) and the rest of the folks at 5:00. We quickly did all of the prepwork for dinner, and then lay down for a nice two Easter Sunday nap. Ahhhhh

When mom arrived we had our traditional Easter Hunt. We were all over the place, racing about to find clues,  decipher the clues, and eventually tracking down our baskets of treats.

Our guests arrived at 5:00. We sat in the family room and nibbled on various appetizers . . .

In addition to the cheese and crackers we had the most amazing cilantro humus. This was amazing stuff! Just look at the brilliant green colour from all of that beautiful cilantro. MMMMM I could eat this by the spoonful (and just may have done so too while no one was observing my gauche behaviour).

These asparagus puffs were also a hit. I was accused of buying them ready-made and simply baking them so I guess they were good. *smile* What is not to love about asparagus, brie, and prosciutto, wrapped in puff pastry and baked. MMMMM

When we moved into the dining room our dinner was relatively simple compared to things we had done in the past. We even had two low-fat additions to the menu from this month's Cooking Light magazine.

Asparagus Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette:

Roasted fingerling potatoes and baby artichokes . . .

Baked ham with a ginger rum glaze . . .

When it came to dessert I wanted to serve something 'lemony' . . . in my mind, for whatever reason (and I was questioned about this last night I'll have you know), nothing screams Easter like lemon. We almost always have some sort of lemon dessert for Easter dinner.

Mom volunteered to make dessert. I thanked her but told her I already had something picked out and had purchased the ingredients. She then volunteered to make it for me.

My middle name isn't stupid (the recipe had multiple steps!! Over two - three days!!!!!), I gladly relinquished control, sent her home on Friday with the ingredients I had bought and the printed recipe. She outdid herself with the Meyer lemon mascarpone cheesecake with lemon curd. Everyone LOVED it.

There was nothing low-fat about this . . . who cares because it was brilliant. I wish that I had asked mom to double the recipe. SIGH

Good Friday 2010

Ahhh - another Good Friday. We're not religious by any stretch of the imagination - Good Friday is a day off. A day to spend with family. A day to revel in company and laughter.

We started off with a big breakfast . . . fruit, french toast (made from Persians from Thunder Bay), sausage patties, hot cross buns, mimosas, and coffee. No need for lunch with this wonderful meal!

Mom came over later in the afternoon. We dragged her out for a walk. Afterwords we sat on the porch and enjoyed marinated olives, Benedictine Blue Cheese from Quebec, figs marinated in 12 year old balsamic vinegar, burrata crostini. This was a first for us - burrata from Ontario. It was wonderful - I think mom is a new convert!

Later we went into the dining room for the remainder of the feast . . .

Pasta with wild leek pesto . . . .

Marcella Hazan's mushroom salad with Parmesan cheese:

Jamie Oliver's roasted pears, parsnips, potatoes, and pork chops (although I grilled the chops rather than roast them).

I was craving a maple dessert and in the end went with what I call 'maple three ways' . . . maple panna cotta, maple pecan shortbread, maple cardamom poached sugar pear. MMMMMM  Wonderful!

Good food. Laughter. Good memories.
 
 

Leftover Easter Egg Ideas

It is hard to believe that Easter is just around the corner!

I had better get busy planning a weekend of activity and eating!

Many people boil eggs, dye them, and have them at the Easter table. They are then presented with a dilemma - what the heck to do with this eggs when Easter has gone?

This video will help you out: