Cook's Exchange | Springtime dishes perfect for holidays
Easter and Passover occur this weekend.
Passover starts at sundown Friday and will be celebrated with a seder. A friend and her husband are hosting a seder dinner. They provide the seder plates and the meat entrees, but ask friends to join in by bringing side dishes and desserts. Of course, no dessert can contain leaven, which represents sin.
When friends pitch in, the hostess gets some much-needed help. This week, she is preparing the house, cleaning, sweeping and removing all leaven from the house.
Sunday is Easter, and these special dinners also take work and require much preparation. Again, if family and friends bring dishes, then the host or hostess gets a break. A large dinner becomes less intimidating or frantic.
One local church is doing an Easter lunch for members and others in the community. Some members are bringing meat dishes, and others side dishes and desserts. No one has to stress about preparing the whole meal, and they can come together and enjoy Resurrection Sunday.
That's what Passover and Easter meals are all about, enjoying the significance of these two special events and sharing that joy with family and friends.
Mike Gillis of Long Beach, Miss., offers his favorite egg salad and deviled egg recipes that would be good for your holiday event.
Egg salad is a great way to use dyed Easter eggs. I am not a big fan of boiled eggs, so when we boil a dozen or so eggs for Lilly to hunt, I have to find ways to use those eggs.
Also, I have some recipes that would work for Passover or Easter meals.
EGG SALAD
6 large boiled eggs
1 cup thinly diced celery
1/2 cup thinly diced sweet onions
1/2 to 1 cup mayonnaise (I use 1 cup because I love mayo)
3 tablespoons of garlic hummus
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Mix first 5 ingredients by hand in a bowl and add half the paprika. Sprinkle remaining paprika over top of salad and let sit overnight. Spread egg salad on pumpernickel bread or croissants and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.
-- Submitted by Mike Gillis
DEVILED EGGS
6 large boiled eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise (for creamy consistency)
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons of garlic hummus
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Slice eggs in half and place yolks in a small bowl. (I use all 6 yolks but only the whites of 5 eggs. I find the filling to be much creamier this way). Add mayo, mustard, hummus and half the paprika. Mix well by hand until smooth. Fill egg cavities and cover surrounding white area with mixture. I use a frosting spreader. Sprinkle remaining paprika on top of eggs.
Most supermarkets offer booklets or recipe cards for holiday meals. This email recipe from Save-a-Lot is one that I am making for Easter. It is so simple with a nice spiciness.
APPLE SPICE GLAZED HAM
1 semi-boneless ham
1 jar (10 ounces) apple jelly
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly score the surface of the ham, place it in a roasting pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake the ham for 10-15 minutes per pound or until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees.
While the ham is baking, combine the jelly, lemon juice and apple pie spice in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until the jelly melts and the glaze is smooth.
Uncover the pan and spoon the apple spice glaze over the ham during the last 30 minutes or baking. Allow the apple spice glazed ham to rest for a few minutes before slicing.
-- Recipe by Save-a-Lot Food Stores
This recipe from Mr. Food Everyday Diabetic Recipes is a twist on asparagus dishes and low fat, too. My family likes asparagus, so it is a go-to vegetable for me. I am definitely making this; it combines asparagus and cheese. What's bad about that?
MOZZARELLA-ASPARAGUS ROLL-UPS
1/2 pound fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
10 slices light-style wheat bread, crusts trimmed
10 teaspoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
5 reduced-fat mozzarella cheese sticks, cut in half, lengthwise
Preheat broiler, Cost a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In medium skillet over high heat, heat 1 inch water to boiling. Add asparagus, cover and cook 7 to 10 minutes or until just tender; drain.
With rolling pin, slightly flatten each bread slice. Spread 1 teaspoon mayonnaise on one side of bread. Evenly sprinkle with garlic powder. Top that side with 1 to 2 asparagus spears and half of a cheese stick. Roll up carefully, then arrange seam-side down on prepared baking sheet; coat rolls with cooking spray. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat 3 to 5 minutes or until bread browns.
-- From "Mr. Food Everyday Diabetic Recipes"
I love this salad; it says spring. I am doubling this and taking it for the seder.
AVOCADO GRAPEFRUIT SALAD
1 head Bibb or romaine lettuce
2 avocados, sliced
3 Ruby Red grapefruits, sectioned and membranes removed or 2 cans (16 ounces each) grapefruit sections, drained
1 cans (11 ounces each) Mandarin oranges, drained
1 small red onion, sliced in rings
Prepared poppy seed dressing, bottled or make your own
Line salad bowl with salad greens. Tear some greens into bite-size pieces. Add avocado, grapefruit and orange slices. Lightly toss with preparing dressing of your choice. Place onion rings on top of salad to add color and flavor. Serves 6 to 8.
-- From "Lone Star Legacy"
More green tomatoes
Steve Leonard shares a couple more green tomato recipes for Virginia Farrell, who requested them two weeks ago.
CHOW CHOW
1 peck green tomatoes (equal to 8 dry quarts)
8 large onions
10 green bell peppers
6 hot peppers
1 quart vinegar
1/2 cup horseradish
3 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3 tablespoons mustard
Few bay leaves
1-3/4 cups sugar
Chop tomatoes, onions, peppers together and cover with salt and boiling water. Let stand overnight. Drain; add spices and vinegar. Allow to boil slowly until tender, about 15 minutes. Pack tightly in sterilized jars and seal.
-- Submitted by Steve Leonard from "The Gasparilla Cookbook"
Small green tomatoes work better for this pickle.
GREEN TOMATO CRISPS
Soak 7 pounds of green tomatoes, sliced, in 2 gallons of lime water for 24 hours. (Use 3 cups builders hydrated lime to 2 gallons of water to make lime water. Starting around lunch time works out fine. Use a big crockery bowl if possible. Drain, the soak for 4 hours in fresh water, draining and changing the water every hour. Draining the last time on a kitchen towel. Put tomatoes back in crockery bowl.
Make a syrup of:
5 pounds of sugar
3 pints apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon each of powdered cloves, ginger, celery seed, mace and cinnamon
Bring syrup to a boil. Pour over tomatoes and let stand overnight. In morning boil for 1 hour and seal in jars.
-- Submitted by Steve Leonard from "The Gasparilla Cookbook"
Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and takes requests at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.
This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cook's Exchange | Springtime dishes perfect for holidays."