Easter Eating
As anyone who's grown up Catholic knows, Easter is a pretty big deal. My childhood Easter memories are mostly fond ones, once we got the whole church thing over with. Every year we would travel to Rutland where the extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) resides. After being bribed with bountiful Easter baskets, my sister and I were forced into cutsie dresses and bonnets (yes, bonnets) and ushered directly to church. Not a long way to go considering my mom's mom, Nannie, lived in the old rectory of the church. The promise of an Easter egg hunt after sitting politely through mass usually held us together and knowing that Easter dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Sharp's house was on the horizon.
Easter dinner at my grandparents house was always festive. All the kids, my cousin's and my siblings, running around playing and wishing we had jeans on instead of suits and frilly skirts, waiting not-so-patiently for the food to be ready. It was a potluck of various side dishes all revolving around a giant glazed ham. I'm actually not really a fan of ham, so I would take the slightest portion and fill my plate with salads, rolls, and other tantalizing side dishes. This eating extravaganza was always followed by a crazy spread of desserts. No one needs to try to eat 4 different kinds of pie, a trifle, and carrot cake, but it doesn't mean that you can't.
My Easter's nowadays are very different. I don't go to church for starters, sorry Nannie, and after working in restaurants for years you are basically resigned to not having Easter off. In fact I've worked almost every Easter Sunday for over a decade.
Now my husband and I have our own little Easter dinner after we work Sunday Brunch. I still love any excuse to eat something special and holidays are prime time for that. I change it up every year, sometimes it's lamb, sometimes veal, next year I'm dying to do rabbit, (I know, poor Easter Bunny) but this year I let my husband decide on the main course and he requested Prime Rib. Well, okay, I've never cooked a Prime Rib before but that sure ain't gonna stop me.
I must say, I think it was quite a successful showing. The meat was beautifully tender and since I was only cooking for a small crowd it didn't take very long to roast. Paired with some roasted potatoes and carrots tossed in a horseradish and parsley butter, and some fresh green sugar snap peas, and crusty dinner rolls from Klingers, it was a filling meal. And of course, you can't skip dessert on the holidays and since I'm not really a baker I opted for balsamic macerated strawberries, fresh vanilla whipped cream, and puffed pastry sheets stacked napoleon style.
This secured the obligitory food coma that always follows a good holiday meal. To make your own food coma inducing meal, check out the recipes below.
Mustard Crusted Prime Rib Roast: (adapted from an Alex Guarnaschelli recipe)
Serves 4 with leftovers
It is essential to place the meat on a rack inside a roasting pan so the meat is elevated off the bottom of the pan. This will allow the heat in the oven to circulate all around the meat as it cooks. I count about 15-20 minutes per pound at 350 degrees F for the meat to cook. I cook it until it achieves an internal temperature of about 130 degrees F. So juicy!
Ingredients:
2 Tbl. smooth Dijon mustard
2 Tbl. grainy mustard
1 4lb. whole prime rib roast
Salt and pepper
1. Let the prime rib roast come to room temp. as the oven pre-heats to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mustards and pepper. Stir to blend until it forms a paste. Place the prime rib in the roasting pan (fitted with a rack). Place the roast, fat side up, and spread the mustard paste over the whole top.
3. Season the roast with salt. When the oven is hot, place the meat in the center of the oven. Allow it to cook 15 to 20 minutes per pound (1 to 1 1/2 hours). Cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. When the roast is finished remove the pan from the oven and allow the meat to rest at least 20 minutes before slicing then serve immediately.
I don't really have a recipe for the veggies but it's pretty straight forward.
1. Cut potatoes and carrots (you could use any root vegetable really, parsnips would be tasty) so they are roughly the same size and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out evenly on a sheet pan and bake about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven until golden.
2. While veggies roast make horseradish butter by mixing 3 Tablespoons of softened butter with 1-2 Tablespoons (depending on how pronounced you like your horseradish flavor) of prepared horseradish. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and about 2 Tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
3. When veggies are finished cooking toss them in a bowl with the horseradish parsley butter until well coated. Serve immediately.
Easter dinner at my grandparents house was always festive. All the kids, my cousin's and my siblings, running around playing and wishing we had jeans on instead of suits and frilly skirts, waiting not-so-patiently for the food to be ready. It was a potluck of various side dishes all revolving around a giant glazed ham. I'm actually not really a fan of ham, so I would take the slightest portion and fill my plate with salads, rolls, and other tantalizing side dishes. This eating extravaganza was always followed by a crazy spread of desserts. No one needs to try to eat 4 different kinds of pie, a trifle, and carrot cake, but it doesn't mean that you can't.
My Easter's nowadays are very different. I don't go to church for starters, sorry Nannie, and after working in restaurants for years you are basically resigned to not having Easter off. In fact I've worked almost every Easter Sunday for over a decade.
Now my husband and I have our own little Easter dinner after we work Sunday Brunch. I still love any excuse to eat something special and holidays are prime time for that. I change it up every year, sometimes it's lamb, sometimes veal, next year I'm dying to do rabbit, (I know, poor Easter Bunny) but this year I let my husband decide on the main course and he requested Prime Rib. Well, okay, I've never cooked a Prime Rib before but that sure ain't gonna stop me.
I must say, I think it was quite a successful showing. The meat was beautifully tender and since I was only cooking for a small crowd it didn't take very long to roast. Paired with some roasted potatoes and carrots tossed in a horseradish and parsley butter, and some fresh green sugar snap peas, and crusty dinner rolls from Klingers, it was a filling meal. And of course, you can't skip dessert on the holidays and since I'm not really a baker I opted for balsamic macerated strawberries, fresh vanilla whipped cream, and puffed pastry sheets stacked napoleon style.
This secured the obligitory food coma that always follows a good holiday meal. To make your own food coma inducing meal, check out the recipes below.
Mustard Crusted Prime Rib Roast: (adapted from an Alex Guarnaschelli recipe)
Serves 4 with leftovers
It is essential to place the meat on a rack inside a roasting pan so the meat is elevated off the bottom of the pan. This will allow the heat in the oven to circulate all around the meat as it cooks. I count about 15-20 minutes per pound at 350 degrees F for the meat to cook. I cook it until it achieves an internal temperature of about 130 degrees F. So juicy!
Ingredients:
2 Tbl. smooth Dijon mustard
2 Tbl. grainy mustard
1 4lb. whole prime rib roast
Salt and pepper
1. Let the prime rib roast come to room temp. as the oven pre-heats to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine the mustards and pepper. Stir to blend until it forms a paste. Place the prime rib in the roasting pan (fitted with a rack). Place the roast, fat side up, and spread the mustard paste over the whole top.
3. Season the roast with salt. When the oven is hot, place the meat in the center of the oven. Allow it to cook 15 to 20 minutes per pound (1 to 1 1/2 hours). Cook until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. When the roast is finished remove the pan from the oven and allow the meat to rest at least 20 minutes before slicing then serve immediately.
I don't really have a recipe for the veggies but it's pretty straight forward.
1. Cut potatoes and carrots (you could use any root vegetable really, parsnips would be tasty) so they are roughly the same size and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out evenly on a sheet pan and bake about 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven until golden.
2. While veggies roast make horseradish butter by mixing 3 Tablespoons of softened butter with 1-2 Tablespoons (depending on how pronounced you like your horseradish flavor) of prepared horseradish. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and about 2 Tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley.
3. When veggies are finished cooking toss them in a bowl with the horseradish parsley butter until well coated. Serve immediately.
.JPG)
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