Easter Menu Recipes

Here are the main course, side and dessert offerings.

Mar 31, 2009 Claire Vath

This Easter menu takes the guesswork out of planning your holiday meal.

Below are the recipes for the meat, vegetable and dessert portions of the Easter meal. To see the first part of the menu—an appetizer and bread—go here.

Steak with Coffee Rub

Steak rubs are widely available in your local grocery store, but this rub uses common kitchen ingredients. A coffee rub is generally referred to as a chuck wagon rub because of the black coffee cowboys had on hand to deglaze their meat pans. In the rub, though, we're using freshly ground coffee.

Ingredients:

  • Steak, New York strip is preferred
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • Freshly ground coffee
  • Olive oil to taste

Directions:

  1. Rub the meat with olive oil. Add salt, pepper, minced garlic, dry coffee grounds.
  2. You can do this on the grill, but we're including stove instructions.
  3. Sear the meat in a cast iron skillet on high heat.
  4. Lower heat and cook meat until desired doneness.
  5. Serve as a whole steak or cut into pieces on a platter.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

This salad is a great vegetable dish. The tomatoes are packed with lycopene and vitamins, and the olive oil is high in omega-3s.

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium tomatoes
  • 1 block or tub good-quality soft mozzarella
  • 1.5 tablespoons fresh basil
  • 1 cup to ½ cup store-bought or homemade balsamic vinaigrette
  • Salt to taste (preferably fleur de sel)
  • Pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Seed the tomatoes and chop. Add into bowl.
  2. Dice mozzarella and combine with tomatoes.
  3. Add in finely chopped basil.
  4. Combine with vinaigrette.
  5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

(See also recipe for bruschetta topping, which is similar and may also be used here.)

Fruit Pizza

A fruit pizza looks great on the table, and really ups the ante for a spring dessert. For the most intense flavor, use in-season fruits.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (18-ounce) roll refrigerator sugar slice-and-bake cookies
  • 8 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • Fruit (strawberries, blueberries and kiwi; could even cut up a few pieces of star fruit or anything else available)
  • 1/2 cup peach or apricot preserves, warmed and strained
  • 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Line 14-inch pizza pan with aluminum foil; spray with vegetable spray.
  3. Press cookie dough into pan.
  4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cool.
  5. Remove crust from foil and place onto a serving plate.

To prepare pizza topping:

  1. Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla; mix until well blended.
  2. Spread over cooled crust.
  3. Arrange fruit on top of cream cheese mixture.
  4. Mix preserves and water and brush over fruit.

The copyright of the article Easter Menu Recipes in Recipes is owned by Claire Vath. Permission to republish Easter Menu Recipes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
What do you think about this article?
NOTE: Because you are not a Suite101 member, your comment will be moderated before it is viewable.
post your comment
What is 1+6?