Easter 2007

Xander came over this morning and dyed eggs, and he also found the chocolate bunny with 8" ears hidden for him in the dining room, behind the plantation shutters.

For most of the time that I was married and for several years after that, I prepared the same meal for Easter lunch each year. I kept it simple: I’d marinade a leg of lamb ahead of time in a Julia Child rosemary-mustard sauce, and I always served it pink, with mint sauce on the side, as well as fresh steamed asparagus with homemade Hollandaise, a tossed salad, and I’d make a strawberry tart or maybe an apple pie for dessert. The week after Easter, I’d turn the leftover lamb into a delicious lamb curry, and I have to say, I liked that traditional meal and I liked the leftover lamb curry.

But this year I felt like doing something different. There’ll be five of us for dinner today: Chris and Stephanie, Katharine, A and me. Mike is finishing up his sophomore year at UA Tucscon, and Alex is in Germany, visiting her fiancé, and anyway, she’d be having her own Easter lunch or dinner in Chicago if she were in the states.

I’ve spent the afternoon happy in my kitchen, listening to Leonard Cohen and drinking an icy bottle of Kirin Ichiban as I prepared the meal. Instead of lamb, I’m grilling flank steak that I’ve had soaking in a nice oil/red wine vinegar/soy sauce and Worcestershire marinade all day. To accompany the flank steak, I’ve prepared mushrooms sauteed in butter and vermouth; stuffed tomatoes; warm cracked wheat rolls for which I’ve made a flavored butter, adding dill and lemon juice; the traditional steamed fresh asparagus, with homemade Hollandaise on the side; and for dessert, Bananas Foster.

Happy Easter and Bon Appetit.

p.s. - Here's a pic of Chris, who enjoyed the new menu as well as a couple of bottles of Kirin Ichiban. I think it's fair to say, a good time was had by all.