Easter Lunch

I didn't feel like making a regular ham, which is what most people have for Easter dinner.  So, I decided to try something different and make an Easter lunch.  After seeing the meal all together, I realized that this would not only be great for lunch, but would also be great for Easter leftovers, or a kid's Easter meal.  It turned out to be such a fun, cute meal.  I loved making it and eating it!

Drink...

Caramel Cadbury Egg Martini

*recipe from She Knows Food & Recipes
Easter candy is the best candy.  One of the things I wait for all year is a Cadbury Egg.  I have always loved them and always will.  When I saw this drink I was pretty excited to try my beloved candy in a drink.  This drink was SUPER delicious, but not an original Cadbury Egg flavor.  Maybe one of the Caramel Cadbury Eggs, but I have never had one of those, so I don't really know.  I am a purist when it comes to my chocolate eggs and only eat the original :)  Anyway, it was really good and I kind of detected a Cadbury Egg taste in the aftertaste.  I give it my official seal of approval!
Ingredients:
(makes 1 drink)

• 1-1/2 ounces Baileys Irish Cream with Caramel (I used Carolan's Irish Cream because it tastes just as good and it's cheaper—no caramel flavor though)
• 1/2 ounce crème de cacao
• 1 ounce caramel syrup
• 1 ounce cream
• 1/2 tablespoon Hershey’s chocolate syrup, plus extra for rim

Directions:

1. Drizzle chocolate syrup around inside rim of glass.
2. Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
3. Shake until chocolate syrup is completely incorporated.
4. Strain into glass.

Dinner (Lunch)...

Carrot Sandwiches and Chick Deviled Eggs

Everybody makes Easter dinner or Easter brunch . . . why not try an Easter lunch! 

Cute Chick Deviled Eggs

*egg recipe from AllRecipes.com

I saw these on Pintrest (my new favorite recipe source!) and there was no link to a recipe, just a picture.  You could use any deviled egg recipe you like and make these for a little Easter twist on a classic deviled egg.  The recipe I used was supposedly from a well-known 1970s restaurant in Indiana called the Durbin Inn.  They were a little sweet, but good.
Ingredients: 
(makes 6 eggs)

• 6 hard-cooked eggs
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon sugar (maybe less?)
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard (I like mine mustardy, so I added more)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Paprika (since the chicks have the white tops on them, I didn't use the paprika)
• Walnut pieces
• Carrot pieces

Directions:

1. Hard boil the eggs.
2. Slice off the very top of the egg; remove yolks and set whites and tops aside. 
3. In a small bowl, mash yolks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard and salt. Mix well. 
4.  Stuff or pipe into egg whites. 
5. Top with the egg white tops.
6. I used walnut pieces for the eyes and carrot pieces for the beak.
7. Refrigerate until serving.

Easter Bunny's Carrot Sandwiches

*recipe from Hungry Happenings

These are soooo cute looking and soooo easy to make!  Plus, the great thing about them is that you can fill them with just about anything!  I did ham and cheese, but really I wanted to fill them with egg or ham salad.  Unfortunately, Doug doesn't like either of those, but ham and cheese was still really good.  Perfect for that leftover ham or eggs!  
The recipe says to use a cream horn to make the shape, but I didn't have one of those, so I used foil and it worked great.  Another wonderful thing about these is that you can basically make them any size.  I made 2 really big sandwiches, but you could make a bunch of small ones for kids or appetizers.  
Ingredients:
(makes 2 giant carrot sandwiches or lots of small sandwiches)

• 1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Crescent Seamless Dough Sheet (I don't know where you get this, so I just bought regular crescent rolls, pushed the seams together, and cut them into strips)
• 1 egg (whisked with 1 teaspoon of water to make an egg wash)
• yellow and red liquid food coloring (I happened to have orange food coloring, so that worked even better!)
• 1 1/2 cups of your favorite egg or ham salad (or chopped ham and fontina cheese like I used)
• 1 bunch of fresh dill or parsley

Directions: 
(The link to the website has great step by step pictures!)

dough slices

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Unroll the crescent rolls onto a cutting board.  
3. Use a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the dough lengthwise into 6 equal strips. Brush one strip with egg wash.
4. Roll the strip into a 17"- 18" long log. I rolled the strip of dough up into a tube and pinched the seam shut. Then I rolled out the dough into a thinner, longer log by pushing and rolling  the log with both hands.
5. Repeat, brushing egg wash onto each dough strip before rolling each into logs.Create 6 logs.(I made more—oops)
6. Since I used foil, I sprayed it with olive oil first to make sure the dough didn't stick.  
7. Wrap one dough log around each cream horn mold (or foil mold), trying to keep the seam side against the metal mold. Repeat. Be sure your dough does not hang over the open end of the cream horn mold, as it will make it difficult to remove once baked. 
8. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper (I sprayed the foil and the foil with olive oil).  Squeeze about 30 drops of yellow food coloring into a small bowl.  Add one or two drops of red.  Stir to create orange.  Brush the orange food coloring all over each carrot shaped dough.  Set carrots on lined baking sheet.
9. If you don't want to paint your dough with food coloring, you can simply brush them with egg wash.  The carrot will bake up golden brown. 
10. Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.  I suggest rotating the pan half way through the baking cycle for even browning.  Allow carrot crescents to cool for about 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the cream horn form by holding the carrot in one hand and using the other hand to twist the mold and gently pull it out. 

11. 

    My foil cones

    

    After wrapping dough around cones

    Fill each Carrot Crescent with egg salad or ham salad.  Press a few sprigs of dill or parsley into the egg salad for a decorative effect.  Your carrots will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 days, but are best served the day they are baked.  Fill your carrots just before serving.  (I baked mine for a little less time to start with, took out the foil, and then filled mine with ham and cheese and baked them for a few more minutes to melt the cheese.)

    

    After adding food coloring

    

    After stuffing with ham & cheese

  

Dessert...

Oreo Truffle Eggs

Oreo truffles are such a great dessert and so easy to make.  Whenever I bring them to a party, people comment on how incredibly good they are.  They are shocked when I tell them how simple they are!
I intended for these to be pastel colors, but they turned out more neon.  Hey, bright colors are in this season, so my eggs are stylish!
Ingredients:  
(makes 20-25 depending on size)

• 1 pkg of oreos
• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• white chocolate
• food coloring

Directions:

1. Crush Oreos into crumbs.  (I do this by putting them in a Ziplock bag and pounding them with kitchen utensils, but it would be WAY easier if you had a food processor)
2. Mix in the cream cheese until it is kind of a mushy paste.
3. Form the Oreo/cream cheese mixture into an egg shape.
4. Dip the mixture into the white chocolate, shake off the extra, and place on wax paper to dry.
5. Mix food coloring in some of the white chocolate and use a piping bag to decorate.  (If you don't have a piping bag you can use a Ziplock bag with a tiny corner cut off the bottom, or you can just drizzle the colors over the eggs by dipping a fork in the melted chocolate and drizzling.)
6. Put in the refrigerator for the chocolate to harden.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I am half-Irish, so St. Patrick's day has always been celebrated in my house.  When I was little my dad would bring green carnations home for us and my mom would make corned beef and cabbage with mashed potatoes.  When I was older, I still got the carnations and ate the cabbage, but added in a little green beer and maybe watched the Chicago River get dyed green.  Hopefully these recipes can bring you a little St. Patty's Day cheer!

Drink...

Irish Coffee

Despite the horrible photo, this drink was quite good.  I tried to get the heavy cream to "float" on the top of the coffee like the recipe said, but mine mixed in.  Oh well, it still tasted great!  Even though we have been having unusually warm weather, it's usually still pretty chilly out on St. Patrick's Day.  This drink will warm you up for sure!
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 6 oz hot coffee
• heavy cream

Directions:

1. Combine whiskey, sugar and coffee in a mug and stir to dissolve. 
2. Float cold cream gently on top. Do not mix.

Dinner...

Guinness Corned Beef and Cabbage

*recipe from Steamy Kitchen
I have to be honest . . . this recipe was just ok to me.  I think I prefer an original recipe of corned beef and cabbage to this.  I'm sure you really want to try it now after that raving review!  But, I guess if you're up for something different, you could give it a shot.  The website has great step-by-step photos.  I would recommend checking it out!
Ingredients:

• 2 bottles Guinness beer (or other dark beer)
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 3 1/2 pound uncooked brisket for corned beef, rinsed well and patted dry  ( I cheated and bought a pre-cooked one which drastically reduced the cooking time)
• 1 tablespoon pickling spice
• 1/2 onion
• 1 head garlic, halved
• 1 head cabbage
• 1 big spoonful of lard or bacon drippings (you can substitute simply with just cooking oil)
• a few carrots, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 1 pound of red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons freshly minced fresh parsley

Directions: 

1.  Preheat oven to 300F. 
2. In a large pot, whisk together the beer and the brown sugar. Snuggle in the brisket, it should almost be completely covered by the beer. Add the pickling spice, onion and garlic. Bring to a simmer on the stove, uncovered is best so you can keep an eye on it. Boiled-over beer is no fun to clean.
3. Once it begins simmering, cover the pot and place in oven to roast for 4-6 hours (or be like me and buy a fully cooked brisket and you only have to cook it for 30-60 minutes!), flipping meat once during halfway point. Remove from oven. Spoon out 2 cups of the corned beef braising liquid to cook the cabbage.
4. To make the vegetables, cut the cabbage into 8 wedges. In a separate large, wide pot, heat up the lard/bacon drippings/oil on medium-high heat. When hot, swirl the pan around to get the fat to evenly coat the pan. 
5. Add the cabbage wedges, carrots and potatoes and cook until browned, about a 3-4 minutes. Turn to brown the other side. Pour in the reserved corned beef cooking liquid, bring to a simmer and cover the pot. 
6. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 10-15 minutes. Use tongs or a large spoon to carefully remove the cabbage and reserve. Continue cooking the carrots and potato another 5 minutes or cooked through (pierce with fork to check doneness). Sprinkle with parsley and plate with the cabbage.
7. Slice the corned beef and serve with the cabbage and vegetables. Pour some of the sauce over the corned beef just before serving.  

 Dessert...

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

*recipe from  Brown Eyed Baker

An unfortunate name, a great flavor!  You can't really taste the Guinness, but I think it adds a little different of a flavor.  I could slightly taste the Jameson, and could really taste the Bailey's.  This is the first time I have filled cupcakes and now I think I am hooked!  It's so easy to do and makes the cupcake even more delicious!  
Ingredients:
(makes 24 cupcakes)
For the Cupcakes:

• 1 cup Guinness stout
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ¾ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream

For the Whiskey Ganache Filling:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

For the Baileys Frosting:

• 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 6 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream (TIP—We used Carolan's Irish Cream which is cheaper and tastes exactly like Bailey's!)
  

Directions:
To Make the Cupcakes: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. 
3. Bring the Guinness and butter to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan over medium heat. 
4. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
5. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl to combine. 
6. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sour cream on medium speed until combined. 
7. Add the Guinness-chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and beat just to combine. 
8. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat briefly. 
9. Using a rubber spatula, fold the batter until completely combined. 
10. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on a rack.

To Make the Whiskey Ganache Filling: 

1. Finely chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. 
2. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. 
3. Let it sit for one minute and then, using a rubber spatula, stir it from the center outward until smooth. 
4. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined. 
5. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped.

To Fill the Cupcakes: 

1. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter (or the bottom of a large decorating tip), cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes, going about two-thirds of the way down. 
2. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

To Make the Bailey's Frosting: 

1. Using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. 
2. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually add the powdered sugar until all of it is incorporated. 
3. Add the Baileys, increase the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2 to 3 minutes, until it is light and fluffy.
4. Using your favorite decorating tip, or an offset spatula, frost the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store the cupcakes in an airtight container.