Celebration of Easter Family, friends gather in tradition of spring

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Easter, the high holiday of the Christian church, much like the Jewish celebration of Passover, is a family time. It is a wonderful opportunity for extended families and friends to gather and share food. For many, Easter is the calendar event that welcomes spring. When I was a little girl, I would always get a new purse for Easter, and I use the holiday as the bellwether for when I can wear white shoes, and start spring cleaning.

Because the pace of today’s life can be so frantic, the very reason these holidays are important is that they mark the season, and make us stop and reflect. The tradition of Easter dinner gives our family the opportunity to invite grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends to join us in the fellowship of celebrating spring.

For this year’s Easter festivity, I have chosen a simple dinner that does not place a lot of stress on the cook. The menu features seasonal ingredients like fresh asparagus and baby spinach, with recipes the whole family can enjoy helping to prepare. The centerpiece of our dinner is braised ham, a traditional entr?e, which provides plenty of leftovers for delicious meals the week after the Easter feast.

Fresh Asparagus Soup

2 pounds asparagus

6 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 onions, chopped

1 bunch scallions, trimmed and sliced

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 teaspoons olive oil

bay leaf and sprig of fresh thyme

chopped fresh parsley

sour cream or creme fraiche

salt and fresh pepper

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and set aside. In a heavy soup pot, heat the oil and saute the onions. Add the stock, cubed potatoes, a sprig of fresh thyme, a bay leaf and the asparagus. Cook until the asparagus are tender. Remove the asparagus, reserving the tips to garnish the soup, and roughly chop them. Add the stems back to the stock and continue cooking until the potatoes are soft. Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Puree the soup in a blender, season to taste with salt and fresh pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into heated soup plates, garnish with the asparagus tips, a spoonful of sour cream or creme fraiche, and a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley.

Serves 6-8.

Note: Creme fraiche may be made by combining one cup heavy cream with one cup sour cream in a small mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place overnight. The mixture will become thick and will taste tart. Refrigerate for at least four hours before using. Use creme fraiche on top of soups, fresh fruit, or as a part of sauces.

Pureed Orange Sweet Potatoes

3 pounds sweet potatoes

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Scrub the potatoes and bake them in a 400-F oven, until the flesh pierces easily with a fork, about one hour. Remove potatoes from the oven and let them cool until they can be handled without burning your hands. By this time, the paper-thin skin should start to pull away from the flesh. Remove the skin, using a paring knife if necessary. Puree the potatoes, orange zest and orange juice in the bowl of a food processor (or mash by hand). Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof bowl, and reheat in a 350-F oven for about 20 minutes until ready to serve.

Serves 6

There are several schools of thought when it comes to preparing a ham, but all cooks agree that even a ham that is labeled “precooked,” may be cooked even further. Some cooks prefer to boil their hams, then slice them and cover with a sauce made of brown sugar and mustard. Others prefer to bake their hams, often decorated with pineapple slices and again glazed with brown sugar and mustard. One of my favorite preparations is Julia Child’s recipe, in which she braises the ham in the oven, and then uses the resultant juices to make sauces and stocks for soup.

Braised Ham in Wine and Aromatic Vegetables

1 whole ham, or 1/2 ham, bone-in (6-9 pounds)

1 cup each chopped celery, carrots, onions

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 bay leaves

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups dry white wine

Unwrap the ham, removing all the strings and coverings. Scrub well under cold water, and place the ham in a large roasting pan. Scatter the vegetables around, and pour the wine and chicken stock in the pan. There should be about 1 inch of liquid, add more stock if necessary.

Preheat oven to 400 F. If possible, set the roasting pan on the stovetop and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the roasting pan and place the ham in the oven. In about 10 minutes, when the liquid is simmering again, turn the oven down to 325 F and allow to simmer until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 130 F on the meat thermometer. This will take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending upon the size of the ham.

Remove the ham to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut off the rind and the thick layer of fat. Trim off any ragged or brown pieces. The ham is now ready for slicing and the platter.

Strain the juices from baking the ham, and pour off the fat. The juices may be used as a basis for soup and stocks, and for making sauces. I like to make a sauce of mustard and ham stock thickened with cornstarch. Others prefer mustard and brown sugar with raisins. If you are serving sweet potato, be careful not to make the sauce for your ham too sweet, or the whole meal will be cloying to the palate.

Note: Supermarkets now carry a spiral, sliced ham. While this may make the initial carving easier, I found that these hams dry out much more quickly than the good, old-fashioned smoked shoulders, and that the remaining leftovers are not nearly as tasty.

Spinach Salad with Sprouts and Feta Cheese

6 cups baby spinach leaves, washed & dried

2 cups sprouts

? cup sunflower seeds, toasted

2 ripe tomatoes, seeded & chopped

1 avocado, sliced

2 ounces crumbled feta

Dressing:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

salt and fresh pepper

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 small garlic clove, finely minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Combine the salad vegetables in a large bowl and, right before serving, toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with the feta cheese and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Caramelized Pineapple Slices with Vanilla Ice Cream

1 large ripe pineapple

about 2 teaspoons melted butter

1-2 tablespoons sugar

Peel and core the pineapple. Cut into slices about 1/2-inch thick. In a large saute pan, melt the butter and sprinkle the sugar over it. Add the pineapple slices and cook over high heat until the sugar has caramelized. Sprinkle the tops with sugar, turn the slices over and repeat. Serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The best part of a ham dinner is the leftovers, but I prefer to call them encores. Similar to a wonderful musical performance, they are items you want to bring back again and again. Our favorite encores include grilled ham-and-cheese sandwiches, ham salad, scalloped potato and ham casserole, pea soup made with ham and portobello mushroom caps stuffed with ham.

I remember my grandmother making this dish, and it is still popular today. Scalloped Potato & Ham is excellent to bring to a potluck supper, or is an easy do-ahead meal. Serve it with a green salad and fresh fruit for dessert.

Scalloped Potato & Ham

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

11/2 cups milk

salt and fresh pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons dry mustard

4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 pound cooked ham, sliced

1 onion, chopped fine

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

grated cheese for the top

In a small saucepan on top of the stove, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook over low heat until thick. Whisk in the dry mustard and season to taste with salt and fresh pepper. Butter a large casserole, and lay the ham on the bottom. Layer the potatoes and onions, and pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese (like cheddar or Parmesan), and sprinkle the chopped parsley over it. Bake in a 350-degree oven until the potatoes are tender, the top is golden brown and the mixture bubbles, about one hour. The casserole may be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for as long as 24 hours.

Ham Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps are an adaptation from the Silver Palate Cookbook and some leftover items in my refrigerator. They make an excellent supper, served with a green salad, a loaf of crusty bread and applesauce.

Ham Stuffed Portabella Mushroom Caps

6 portabella mushroom caps, stems removed and brushed

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 pound ham, ground in food processor

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 ounces fresh mozzarella (or another soft cheese), ground or finely chopped

1/4 cup pesto

white sauce (recipe given in scallop potato & ham casserole)

grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Grease a baking dish that can comfortably hold the mushroom caps. Saute the onion in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the ham, cheese, parsley and pesto, mixing well. Make the white sauce, and add to the ham mixture. Spoon the mixture evenly into the mushroom caps, and sprinkle the tops with Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 450-F oven until the mixture is browned, and the mushrooms have given up their water.

The recipe for White Bean and Ham Salad makes excellent picnic fare, or a hearty luncheon. I like to serve it with whole-wheat or pumpernickel bread, sliced apples and cheese, and a glass of good dark beer.

White Bean and Ham Salad

2 19-ounce cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium purple onion, finely chopped

1 pound cooked ham, cut into cubes

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

? cup red wine vinegar

salt and fresh pepper to taste

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 cup best quality olive oil

Combine the mustard and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic and puree until smooth. Slowly pour in the olive oil and mix until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (The dressing will be very garlicky and quite thick).

To prepare the salad:

Mix the beans, onion, sweet pepper, ham and parsley together in a bowl. Toss with the dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, allow the salad to come to room temperature, and garnish with the black olives.