egg salad sandwiches with celery, parsley and horseradish

Easter is one of my favorite holidays - and not because of chocolate rabbits.  Oh, no, it's all about eggs, which I love more than any food group you could imagine.  Eggs.  Egg salad.  Omelets, frittatas, soft-boiled, hard-boiled, fried, poached, quiches, you name it, I love it.  So you can imagine how I felt when I saw this post from Smitten Kitchen about the lowly simple hard-boiled egg sandwich.  

I read the post, but forgot to write down the recipe - instead soaring off to my own dreamland of egg.  Later I checked it and was surprised that Deb didn't use mayo, and I had also switched out horseradish for her dijon, but no matter - it was delicious.  Lots of parsley, and her pickled celery and red onion topping was inspired.

You will need:

2 hard-boiled eggs
2 tablespoons of minced celery
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon bottled horseradish
2 pinches of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon Hellmann's mayonaise 

Hard boil two eggs for 10 minutes, pour off the water, then cover the eggs with cold water.  Set aside.

In a bowl, add the vinegar, sugar, water, and salt and whisk.  Add the minced celery and red onion and let sit for 20 minutes or more, then drain the celery and red onion and discard the vinegar water.

Peel the eggs and then mash the hard boiled eggs and scoop into a bowl.

Add the vinegared celery/red onion mixture, then add the horseradish, the parsley, the mayo, and the egg mixture.

Mound onto a slice of good bread, or a nice ciabatta roll, and top with arugula, if you have ( I did not).  Is that heaven or what?

easter day

Unwinding with a plate of rosemary bread and butter, looking out at the twilight across the snow;  I hope your Easter Day was a delight!   We had ham and whipped potatoes, bok choy salad, above mentioned rosemary bread, far too many sweets ( chocolates, jelly beans and that wicked carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and marzipan carrots, which may or may not have contributed to the gently manic energy level of the grands, but then again, they are little, and prone to sudden bursts of looney hilarity).    A quick departure, as my daughter-in-law started having contractions, which we hope was simply too much good food and much laughter.

the Easter carrot cake

This is a post from 2009 that I never got around to updating.  The 2 year old is now 7, and we have a new 2 year old at the table this year, but the Easter cake is always this one.  Hope to finally update on Easter Day this year:)  Happy Easter to you all!

This has become our traditional Easter cake - an old fashioned southern carrot cake with a cream cheese and butter icing, decorated with marizpan vegetables. This year, we had a two year old assisting, so our decorating wasn't as elaborate as it usually is. But the crowd was delightful , the dinner was grand, and for a few magical moments, we forgot about the four foot high hardpacked snow and ice outside and welcomed Spring!

to make:

2 or 3 cake pans, greased and floured

Preheat oven to 350.

the cake:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

2 cups flour ( I use King Arthur)

2 t. baking powder

2 t. (scant) baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

3 cups finely grated carrots, organic

Beat eggs; add sugar, oil, and dry ingredients. Add carrots and stir. Scoop batter into pans, about halfway full.

Bake about 35-45 minutes - sometimes it takes longer depending on the moisture content of the carrots. Done when the cake pulls away from the sides of the cake pan, and the middle is somewhat firm to the touch.

Remove to cooling rack. Run a knife around the edges of the cake, and cool 15 minutes. Take a spatula and gently loosen the underside of the cake. Flip onto another rack and cool completely before frosting.

the frosting:

1 large package cream cheese

1 stick softened unsalted butter

juice of a lemon

one box confectioner's sugar

Beat til creamy and pipe or spread on cake.

vegetables:

Mix food coloring into store bought marzipan ( I get it in tubes) - we just made green and orange, but you can get more eleborate.

Form into carrots and stick into frosting. Tradition is - the youngest child goes first pulling the carrots out of the cake.

hot cross buns

The problem with this everlasting snow and ice is the longing to walk, skip, run up a hill or across a green field, sun shining, little green plants inching up every day.  In my gardener's heart I am feeling Spring, but the terrain is treacherous.  Having had one knee surgery, I am cautious on the slicks of ice, which keeps me inside more than I'd like.

But when I saw this recipe from King Arthur Flour for hot cross buns yesterday, my heart gave a little handspring.  Easter!  Spring!  Ample, plump buns studded with candied fruit nuggets and raisins, and that X of white, sugary frosting on top that always seems to be the first to go.

I made them last night , then packed and delivered them this morning to Izzie and Frankie ( and their Moms), and even snuck half of one to Kitchee the nanny-dog.  Even with the forecast of snow again, the day is feeling a whole lot sunnier.

The recipe is here, and it couldn't be easier.  I was surprised the buns didn't rise very much, even with yeast AND baking powder - I would probably give them an extra half hour to see if that would plump them up a little.  They have a very tender crumb and just enough spice.  Even though the icing was thick, it liquified and drizzled once piped onto the buns, but it still tasted as delicious as I remember.

Have a wonderful weekend!

behold the humble egg

It is Easter Monday, and I'm gazing happily on my trove of colorful HB eggs. What to have first? The HB egg and tomato sandwich? The wasabi egg? Or maybe I should go check out Kalyn's post today on a plethora of HB egg recipes?

So while I'm trying to decide, I'll have a cup of coffee and go back to Alice Walker's

wonderous book " The Chicken Chronicles".

"...The other change is that you are molting. Which means you are throwing off all of your old feathers and new ones are coming through. You are not tidy, not neatly into your ordinarily compact and perfect chicken shape. You look a bit mussed. But you don't seen to notice, which is a lovely trait. Did humans ever have this? Did we ever go through our life changes without making a big deal about them? Did we ever, anywhere, have our hair fall out, new hair grow in, and not once try to find a mirror?

I like your lack of vanity. It is refreshing......You seem so clear about who you are. So certain you are just right as you are, that for all your intelligence and maybe in spite of it, you never seem to need a second opinion."

She writes to her beloved flock from India, after a visit with the Dalai Lama, signing off with "Mommy". How endearing is that?

Need more egg recipes? You can find everything from asparagus frittata to spinach quiche, and how to test your eggs for freshness in my index, here.

Hope your day is wonderful!

easter day coca cola ham and creamy carrot cake

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On Easter Day eve, I had resigned myself to spending the next day noodling around in the garden, and missing my very busy darlings, when I got a call from my sweet friend, asking if she and her son could come visit. Thomas had asked if he could visit his “Tanta Katrina”, as usual, on Easter Day, no doubt with that carrot cake in mind – and that gorgeous Easter ham with the Southern-style Coca Cola glaze.
And let's not forget the egg-hunt!
What a blessed day it turned out to be, with the sun shining and the air soft and mild, lots of good eats, and a fairly polite egg hunt, with three boys aged 4, 7, and 12, all somewhat, sort of, allowing the youngest one first dibs on the eggs. And, as usual, the boys heaved a few eggs at the boulders, just because.
~

To make the ham, I baked a 12 pound ham for 3 hours at 325F, then made the glaze:

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1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup pineapple juice

2 T. red currant jelly

1 1/2 cups cranberry juice

1 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola ( not diet)

8 whole cloves

Simmer all the ingredients until the sauce forms a sheet on a wooden spoon. Serve hot, alongside the Easter Ham, in a pitcher, along with roasted asparagus and smashed potatoes and fluffy green salad. I adapted the recipe from Steamy Kitchen's recipe, which was just too sweet.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Day!

carrotcake cupcakes - and a four legged surprise

This morning I thought I'd see how my Easter Carrot Cake would look as cupcakes, sooooo, I pulled out my sunny yellow baking bins, where I stash all my pretty papers and doilies and found this mess you see above. A stylish Mrs. Mouse, no doubt, making a cozy new nest for her gazillion babies. This of course led to pulling out everything from under the sink and the neighboring cupboards, where I saw an inch wide gap; obviously, that was how she got in. I duct-taped it, and squirted some of that expandable glop, that looked exactly like whipped cream, and let it dry. Tidying the under-counter boxes: SHRIEK. A large, very fat mouse lept out of one of the boxes. I screamed for my cat, who sashayed in, took a look, and left. Tonight I plan to shut her in the kitchen, and that, I hope, will be that.

~

Deep breath. The cupcakes came out very nicely, just as moist and tasty as the cake, and I swirled on some of that butter and cream cheese frosting everyone loves. So if cupcakes work better for a gathering this Eastertime, do give them a try.

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This makes 9 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Arrange cupcake liners in a regularly sized muffin tin.

I shred the carrots using my KitchenAid grater attachment.

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2 extra large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil or light olive oil

1 1/3 cups King Arthur flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1 cup packed finely grated carrots

1/2 cup sweetened coconut

Beat eggs, add the sugar, oil, and dry ingredients and mix well. Add the carrots and coconut and stir, then , using an ice cream scoop, scoop one scoop into each liner.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until tops are firm when gently pressed.

Remove to cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove from muffin tins to cool further.

Let cool completely before frosting!

~

Cream Cheese frosting with fresh lemon juice:

1 large package cream cheese

1 stick (8 T) unsalted, softened butter

about 2 T. fresh lemon juice

one box of confectioner's sugar

Beat in mixer bowl until creamy, then spoon into a pastry bag and swirl away.

You'll have some left over, which you can freeze for midnight snack attacks.

Happy Easter to all!

dairy-free Italian Olive Oil cake with orange zest

I hope you had a wonderful Easter! I spent much of it making a birthday cake for my son, whose birthday is the first of April ( yes, he's an April Fool), who came to visit late in the day with his very lovely (and serious) girlfriend. I'm glad I had something to do - I was feeling a little nervous about meeting someone who may very well become part of the family.

My son developed a milk allergy last year, so, even though he asked for the traditional carrot cake with cream cheese frosting , I couldn't do it. I remembered his days of pain last year after partaking of several helpings of cake and frosting. So I made this wonderful Italian Olive Oil cake, and jazzed it up with a dairy-free frosting from Cybele Pascal's Allergen-Free Baker's handbook. For a little more tang, I also made a lemon glaze that I brushed on while it was still warm. The frosting was just fine, but I missed the butter and cream cheese taste . The recipe called for vegetable shortening, and all I had was Crisco, but adding lemon juice and a little soymilk made it pretty tasty. Finding a good vegetable shortening is on my grocery list. You can also just dust the cake with confectioner's sugar, using a small sieve and shaking all over the cake. Strawberries or orange slices are a pretty garnish, too.

The cake:

from Nick Malgieri's The Modern Baker

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Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease an 8" cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of parchment , otherwise it sticks.

1 large orange

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup light olive oil or half virgin olive oil , half canola oil

3/4 cup plain or vanilla soymilk

1 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

pinch of salt

*

Grate or microplane the orange and squeeze out tablespoon of the fresh juice .

In mixer bowl, add the zest, orange juice, and eggs and mix.

Add the sugar and mix very well, then add the olive oil or olive/canola, mixing til creamy.

Add the soymilk, flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix very well.

If the mixture is very soupy, add another tablespoon or so of flour.

Scrape into prepared cake pan and bake for 50 minutes.

Let sit on cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Run a dull knife around the pan. If the cake doesn't come out easily, gently pry around the cake with the dull knife. Remove parchment circle, and turn cake rightside up.

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Lemon glaze:

4 T. fresh lemon juice

4 T. sugar

Warm in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then brush on the cake.

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Dairy-free vanilla frosting:

In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment mix:

1 cup dairy free vegetable shortening

pinch of salt

1 T. fresh lemon or orange juice

3 cups confectioner's sugar

2 T. soymilk

1/2 t. vanilla

Whip until the frosting is fluffy .

*

You might also enjoy: New York Lemon Cake

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter , everyone!

Above is a favorite picture of my granddaughter when she was just one, all dressed up for Easter dinner. This year's Easter is topsy-turvy, with my mother in a nursing home, a friend in the hospital, and no Easter dinner here at the house - everyone's plans are hectic and unsettled. I'm in the kitchen making an Easter cake/birthday cake for my boy , and trying to figure out how to make a festive lactose-free cake for him without the inches of our favorite cream-cheese frosting. I'll add some pictures as the day goes on, but I just wanted to wish you all a joyful Easter Day right now - before anything else changes:) Hope your day is a lovely one!

love to you -
Katrina

Update: it was a funny day, with me puttering around in the kitchen, making an asparagus frittata for breakfast/brunch, then on to an Italian Olive Oil orange cake for my lactose-intolerant son ( with a frosting made from a new cookbook for those allergy sufferers) - then finished with that lovely coconut-chocolate pudding, all were a big hit! On a whim, I made a poached chicken salad with cherry infused dried cranberries, goat cheese and walnuts, with a lemon poppyseed dressing, inspired by, of all places, a salad I'd bought from Target when I was starving! My son and his lovely new ( and serious ) girlfriend arrived at 6 ish, and we had a lovely few hours browsing through family photo albums . While I missed the usual Easter Day with friends and granddaughter and daughter, my thoughts were with my Mum, now in a nursing home, and a dear friend doing poorly in the hospital. I meant to take some pictures of the glorious pansies, and lilies, and dear family who did come by to visit, but I forgot - you know how it is. Spending time "in the moment" has a way of being distracting.

I hope your day was wonderful, and wish you a blessed Easter night and Easter Monday....

with love,

Katrina