Feeding Your Easter Crowd

Easter Sunday Celebration Recipes from Food for Thought

Grilled Smoked Ham Steak with Michigan Cherries
 
6 each        8 oz smoked ham steaks
 
1 cup          Red wine
1 cup          Apple cider
1 T             Honey
1 each        Cinnamon stick
3 cups        Dried Michigan cherries
1/2 cup       Orange juice
5 each        Whole clove
In a medium saucepan, combine the red wine, orange juice, apple cider, honey, cinnamon stick, cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and add the cherries.  Simmer for 20 minutes, or until syrup consistency is achieved. Remove from heat. Set aside and let cool.
 
 
Grilled Tomato, Pesto and Ricotta Flatbread (appetizer)
 
1 each              Pizza dough, uncooked
4 each              Roma tomato, slice thin
1 cup                Pesto
2 cup                Ricotta cheese
 
Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees, mix pizza dough according to instructions, and roll out thin, par bake until ¾ cooked thru.  Top with pesto, slice tomato finishing with ricotta cheese.  Place in oven and bake until cheese turns golden, cut into bite size squares, serve.
Serves 6
 
 
Minted Fava Beans and Caramelized Pearl Onions
 
1#                    Fresh fava beans, peeled
½ #                  Pearl onion
2 T                   Fresh chopped mint
2 T                   Butter
Salt
Pepper
 
Peel the fava beans from their shell, reserve and blanch in salted water until skin begins to shrivel.  Remove from water, chill and remove outer skins.  Place butter sauté pan over medium heat until melted, add onions and cook until they begin to brown, add fava beans, stir until heated thru.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, add mint.
Serves 6
 
 
Toasted Coconut and Orange Cake
 
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
Coconut Simple Syrup:
·        1 1/2 cups water
·        1 tablespoon granulated sugar
·        3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Orange Buttercream:
·        6 stick unsalted butter, softened
·        2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
·        2 T orange zest
·        Pinch fine sea salt
Cake:
·        2 tablespoons softened butter, for pans
·        2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for pans
·        1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
·        6 large egg whites, at room temperature
·        1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
·        1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
·        1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
·        1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
·        1 teaspoon fine sea salt
·        12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces, slightly cold
For the toasted coconut:
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Spread the coconut evenly onto a baking sheet and toast until lightly golden brown, stirring once, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the coconut sit in the oven until very dry and crunchy, about 15 minutes longer.
For the simple syrup:
Bring water and sugar to a boil. Stir in the coconut, remove from the heat and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Strain the liquid into a clean saucepan, bring to a boil and let cook until the mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Let cool.
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For the buttercream:
Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the orange zest and salt and beat until combined and smooth.
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9 by 2-inch) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
Whisk together the milk, egg whites, vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. With mixer running at low speed, add the butter, one piece at a time and continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed until the mixture is pale and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. With mixer on low speed, add remaining 1/2 cup of the milk mixture, increase speed to medium and beat 30 seconds more. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 20 seconds longer. Divide the batter evenly between the cakes pan and smooth the tops using a rubber spatula.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool in the pan on baking rack for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the side of the pan and invert cakes onto the baking rack, removing parchment paper, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
To Assemble:
Using a long serrated knife, slice each cake horizontally into 2 layers. Reserve 1 of the flat bottom layers for the top of the cake. Place another layer on a cardboard round cut side up and brush with some of the coconut simple syrup. Spoon 1/3 of the orange buttercream onto the cake and using a small offset metal spatula, spread it into an even layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the cake. Repeat with 2 more layers. Brush the cut side of the reserved cake layer with the remaining syrup. Place the layer cut side down on top of the cake.
Frost the sides and top of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Pat the coconut onto the sides of the cake and sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top of the cake
Makes 1 cake
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