What did you make for Easter?

Every year Kevin and I go to our good friends house to celebrate Easter. This event includes great food, fun drinks, and egg decorating. For this years gathering I wanted to make a cake that was fun, festive, and oh so yummy.

So I baked a Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake that Kevin found in the Taste of Home Easter Holiday issue. There's probably few people who haven't heard of bundt cakes. It's pronounced "bunt" with the "d" silent. It's a beautiful ring cake baked in a special bundt pan. I am lucky enough to have my gotten my crusty mitts on my Great Grandmother's pan. The original bundt pans have ridges that give the cake its classic look. The photo's of my cake represent what the original pans looked like.

Its thought that the original bundt cakes came from Germany, Austria, and Hungary and where called bunkuchen. In 1950, the cake had become so popular that H. David Dalquist trademarked the name "bundt pan". The pan really took off in 1966 when Pillsbury hosted a baking context where a bundt cake won second place. Todays the cakes are still popular but the pans have taken new shapes.

Now the KEY to ensuring that your cake comes out perfict is make sure that you use solid shorting when greasing a fluted or plan tube pain. Make sure you get EVERY pit of the pan covered and the flour the pain fully.  I find the hands to be the best tool to spread the shorting.

I also made a Pecan Cheese Ball that is from the Martha's American Food cookbook. This is a Midwest hors d'oeuvre is used on the norm, particularly in Wisconsin. However, this food has widespread appeal that ranges from holiday open houses to cocktail parties. I recommend skipping the store-bought version and putting together one from scratch, with sharp cheddar, tangy cream cheese, Worcestershire sauce and mustard, and a coating of chopped roasted nuts. I would encourage you to get creative and add cranberries or other hardy dried berries and walnuts. 

To Finnish off the post I wanted to highlight some of the egg decorating that Kevin did. 

--Jason

Sunflower Peep Cake & Coconut Bunny Cupcakes!

For all you cake lovers out there, here is 2 new recipes to try! A yellow cake frosted with chocolate frosting and vanilla coconut cupcakes.

The Sunflower Peep cake is perfect for Easter or your next Spring party. With its double stack layers, it slices nicely and is chocolate goodness with each bite. The Coconut Bunny Cupcakes are fun to whip up to try a variation on cupcakes. To save on space with ingredients, I'll post the links below. Enjoy!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/peeps-sunflower-cake

http://spoonful.com/recipes/easter-bunny-cupcakes

Squash & Ricotta Pizzette

I must note that EveryDay with Rachael Ray's May 2014 magazine has some great dishes. I really came to enjoy the Faves & Saves Dinner for a Deal peace. This section featured great meals that are easy on the wallet. For my first attempt at cooking out of this book I made the Squash & Ricotta Pizzette. This meal is simple and can be easily made into your own. For this dish you will need:

1 small baguette, split and quartered
1 cup ricotta
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced into rounds
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds

1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 cup Shredded mazzarella

Preheat oven to 400'. Place baguette pieces on baking sheet cut side up, and layer with ricotta. Sprinkle with oregano and season. Top with squash, Zucchini and tomato; season. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake until golden-brown, 20 minutes. Makes 8

My recommendation for this meal is to great creative. As I added fresh garlic to the ricotta and sliced up some pepperoni to give it a little spice.

Veggie Tostadas

Tostada's our historically made from maze with three different colored corn i.e., red, yellow, and blue or purple. Though this Mexican dish is mostly toasted, it is also fried. This tasty meal can be eaten along with salsa and other vegetarian and non-vegetarian toppings such as seafood or meat toppings. For this dish I chose a fried shale and went vegetarian.

You truly can be creative with how you make your tostada! For this dish I used refried beans, homemade guacamole, tomatoes, red bell peppers, cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. To add a little spice to this meal I added my favorite green salsa to the mix. I'm not going to supply a recipe for this dish because I want you to be creative when making your toast dish. My only recommendation is that you use your beans as the base.

Ham & Sage Stuffed Chicken with Garlic Asparagus

This healthy meal allows you to put a fun spin on your traditional chicken. One easy way to ensure boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cook up moist and flavorful is to stuff them. Here, a combination of bread, ham, sage, and olive oil doe the job in delicious fashion. Sauté asparagus and garlic in the sam skillet as the chicken for a fast side. To kick this meal off you will need:

4 slices with sandwich bread cut into cubes (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 ounces sliced deli ham, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 cup olive oil
Coarse salt and found pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
1 pound asparagus
several garlic cloves (2 minced)

1. Wash asparagus and prep, also prep garlic.

2. In a medium bowl, combine bread, ham, sage, and 2 tablespoons oil, season with salt and pepper.

3. Lay chicken flat on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut a 2-inch-long slit in the think side of each breast half. Insert knife and pivot, carefully forming a deep pocket without enlarging opening (or piercing though opposite side). Stuff each pocket with bread mixture, packing tightly; season chicken with salt and pepper.

4. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over helium-high. Add chicken; cook until browned on one side, 6 to 8 minutes. Turn chicken, cover skillet, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes more. Transfer to a plate; tent with foil to keep warm.

5. In the same skillet, heat remaining tablespoon oil over medium-high; add broccoli and all garlic. Cook, Tossing, until asparagus is warmed through, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Peeps and more Peeps!

For all you Peep lovers out there I have 3 fun ideas to try! One is a bright Peeps centerpiece that is perfect for entertaining, especially with Easter around the corner! The other two are Peep Race Cars & Peeps S'Mores. Both are simple and include just a handful of ingredients. Enjoy!

Peep Race Cars:
- box of Twinkies
- box of bunny peeps
- small pretzels
- marshmallows
-decorating frosting

http://www.sheknows.com/videos/t0MXl5azpKKesYPSf6ZVA0DE8xQR7woO

Peeps S'Mores!

Peeps Flower Centerpiece

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/holiday---celebration-recipes/easter-recipes/easter-peeps-centerpiece

Leek, Bacon, and Pea Risotto

Risotto, is an Italian Specialty, that is in fact the dominant staple in some northern regions, where it is often preferred over pasta. Risotto is noted for being a time consuming but a very versatile meal. It's also been reported that a person could have a different risotto recipe for every day of the year.

The benefit to this meal is that its healthy and not time consuming. This 254 color per serving meal will take you about 40 minutes to make.

1 leek
6 cups chicken broth
2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
11/4 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Halve leeks lengthwise; wash thoroughly.  Pay dry and slice thinly. In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a simmer over medium heat; cover pan.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring until lightly browned buy not crisp, about 5 minutes. Add leek; cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until translucent around edges, about 1 minute.

3. Add wince; cook, stirring, until evaporated, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add 1 cup hot broth. Cook, stirring, until almost all broth is absorbed. Repeat process, gradually adding broth, until rise is al dente and liquid is creamy (you may not need all the broth), about 25 minutes. Stir in peas after the final addition of broth.

4. Remove skillet form heat and stir in Parmesan. Reason risotto with salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan.