Normally we have a HUGE breakfast for Easter Sunday but since we were having a HUGE dinner we went lighter than usual . . . Greek yoghurt, berries, granola, fruit, and hot cross buns was all we needed. of course we had to have more prosecco and OJ.
Then we spent the rest of the day getting ready for our guests. When the number of guests went to 7 I decided that the ham we had bought was too small to feed everyone so I thawed out a whole turkey breast that was in the freezer and planned on grilling it on the BBQ. Of course the ham would have fed 24 and there was a ton of food leftover.
When mom arrived at 3:30 (not very late, a record for her) the table was set and most of dinner cooked.
We immediately started in on our Easter hunt . . .
The rest of our guests arrived at 5:00. Of course everyone commented on mom's bunny ears for she inisted on wearing them (as we predicted would be the case when we bought them a few months ago. We are nothing if not a predictable clan.*smile*)
Paul set out cured meats, cheese, crackers, marinated olives, some pickles and the pickled ramps that I made a few weeks ago (these were AWESOME!!!! NOTE TO SELF - MAKE MORE!!!!!!!!) for the first course.
We moved into the dining room for the main course - which I neglected to take a picture of. Being a dedicated foodie I 'recreated' my plate this morning as best as I could so I could snap a picture - eliciting 'looks' from Paul when he came down for breakfast.
We had mom's famous marinated carrot salad, grilled turkey breast (with a fresh herb/butter/orange zest rub), gravy, white corn (from a local farmer, I froze 30 bags last fall), Bourbon-Orange Glazed Ham, scalloped potatoes (which tasted amazing but weren't done enough for my liking - even after having added an entire extra hour to the cooking time), and the egg bread that I bought at the Greek bakery.
I had made some cranberry sauce for the turkey but sent it all home with mom so there was nothing left for the photo 'recreation'.
Mom had offered to make dessert. I have a 'thing' about Easter dessert . . . in my feeble mind nothing says 'Easter' like something made with lemon. I asked her to make Limoncello Tiramisu by Lidia Bastianich. This was bloody amazing . . . the photo does NOT do it justice at all. Trust me on this, this is a brilliant dessert to make for a grand finale to a special meal.
What a great day it was - plenty laughter, fun, friends, family, food, and wine . . . good times, indeed.
Loved all of this, the food, the gifts, the hunt! I loved the hunt photos, those are such fun. Those are the largest Easter baskets I have ever seen...OMW look at all that loot! Thanks for sharing, it was fun to see it all. Mom looks great in bunny ears!
Posted by: Kayte | April 25, 2011 at 10:26 AM
It sounds like you had fantastic holiday Jerry!!!!!Good food, friends and fun.
Posted by: bellini | April 25, 2011 at 05:42 PM
It all looks perfectly wonderful. Happy Spring Jerry and Paul!
Posted by: Barb Cabot | April 25, 2011 at 08:46 PM
What a fun day! I would have worn my bunny ears too.
Love, Love that lemon tiramisu :-)
Posted by: sandi @the whistlestop cafe | April 25, 2011 at 08:51 PM
Table was beautiful, and THOSE are Easter Baskets!!!
Posted by: Palma | April 27, 2011 at 10:57 AM
It was a great time for all of us. I love the combination of good friends, good food, laughter, and lots of happy memories.
Posted by: JDeQ | June 30, 2011 at 06:29 AM