Easter Dinner
The Greeks really know how to do Easter. It is their biggest, most festive holiday, and their traditions are joyful and very vegetarian-friendly. Ever since I had a Greek roomate in college, I’ve known what to make for Easter. Before we get to that, though, I want to mention the eggs.
This photo (the only unlicensed one I could find) doesn’t do them justice; they are blood red, and become both offensive and defensive weapon in the egg cracking contest. There is something wrong with the eggs in the photo – they aren’t red enough (perhaps they were dyed the natural way, with red onion skins), and they aren’t shiny, which means they haven’t been polished with olive oil.
On Easter morning, you select your egg and hope you have chosen wisely. You then pit your egg against everyone else’s, cracking them together head-to-head and cheerfully yelling “Christos Annesti!*”. Whoever’s egg does not crack in battle lives on to fight again. The last egg standing wins.
I’ll post the recipes in the next day or so, and I’ll post photos on Easter.
The Menu
Spanakopita
Garlic Lemon Potatoes
Marinated Asparagus or Sauteed Green Beans
Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream
The cupcakes are from one of the many wonderful dessert blogs – this one is Joy The Baker. I’m hoping I can find the Dulce de Leche today at PCC**. It was fun to go through the many beautiful sites full of desserts, which I never make, to pick one. Lemon Pot du Creme from Tartelette was a serious contender, but we’re already having so much heavy dairy.
My teenager has declared these to be the best cupcakes he’s ever had.
It’s off to the store! I already know I won’t be coming home with asparagus for tomorrow night’s dinner, since that vegetable and I aren’t friendly. But it is the ideal thing to serve for Easter.
* If Christos Annesti is not what they say in the egg contest, please correct me. I know they say it all day long, but it has been years since I was part of the contest and I may have forgotten.
**Edit – As it turns out, you make the Dolce de Leche. It is super easy, but a novel technique. On the advice of the woman who told me how to make it, I’m making 3 cans. This advice was repeated on many web sites and blogs. Apparently once you make it, you will want to use it in as many ways as possible. You need to make this ahead of time; it takes 90 minutes to cook, and needs to completely cool before you can open the can once it is done. If you find yourself caught short of time, you can try one of the quicker methods, but aside from the Wiki site they are not mentioned anywhere.
For shopping list….
Shopping list
2 lbs spinach
Green beans or asparagus
6 garlic cloves
1 lemon
fresh oregano leaves, if possible, dried if need be
fresh parsley
1 1/2 lb carrots
1 small – medium onion
1.5 lb. red or white potatoes
2 cups cottage cheese
1/4 lb. feta cheese
7 eggs
2 lbs unsalted butter + 1/2 lb if using for filo
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 lb package filo dough
1/3 cup buttermilk
olive oil
can spray olive oil if using for filo
vegetable oil
1 vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup walnuts or pecans
sweetened shredded coconut
all-purpose flour
baking powder
2 cups sugar
4 cups powdered sugar
1 14 oz can evaporated sweet milk
baking soda
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
whole or ground cloves
Fennel or anise seeds
1 teaspoon vanill
Date: March 31, 2010