Wasabi Egg Salad and My Easter Menu

My family and I celebrate Easter and since it is a mere 5 days away, I guess it's not too early to start talking about eggs.  The kids still love to color them, but rarely eat them all.  We ALWAYS tend to have leftover; mainly because they still fight over how many they each get to color and design (yes, they're 16 and 11!). The funny thing is that I don't really like to eat hard boiled eggs and only tend to make them around this time of year.  

So when I find myself with leftover eggs, I like to make egg salad to use them up.  I LOVE the flavor and kick a nice hot mustard or wasabi gives your food and this added just the right amount. Just remember to remove your eggs from refrigeration about 30 minutes prior to boiling. This will prevent your eggs from cracking; which is fine for an egg salad, but not for coloring Easter eggs! You can also use this recipe to make Deviled Eggs. 

Wasabi Egg Salad
5 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Wasabi Paste
3 tbsp. Hellman's Mayonnaise
Kosher Salt, to taste

Directions:
1.  Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. 
2. Bring to a boil then let simmer for approximately 6 minutes. Eggs will be done if you can spin them on their vertical axis. (If they fall to the side, they're not done). 
3. Remove from water and place in an ice bath (water and ice) several times until they have cooled (you can also make ahead and refrigerate). 
4. Peel the eggs, rinse off any residual shells, chop the eggs and place in a bowl. 
5. Add the wasabi paste and mayonnaise and mix well. Serves 3. 

*Nutritional Information per Serving (without bread): Calories 231, Carbs 1.3g, Fat 19.8g, Protein 10.5g, Fiber 0g, Sugar 1.3g

*Calculations based on ingredients entered into CalorieCount and may not be 100% accurate.

And now for my EasterMenu...

I'm cooking for about ten people this year so it will be quiet. We start the day by having the girls look for eggs (plastic so if they don't find them all AND if I forget where we hid them, they won't stink up the house!) then spend the morning preparing the food for our dinner and setting the table so that I can relax with my guests as much as possible. There's nothing worse than trying to get it all done the same day and not getting to enjoy the holiday or your company.  Here are some things I'm leaning towards this year. Click on the link to be taken to the original recipe post! 

Appetizers

Garlic & Herb Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

(You can stuff and bread these the night before, cover, and keep

 refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator and allow 20-25 minutes for 

baking right before you're ready to serve).

"Chick" Deviled Eggs 

(You can be prepare the egg salad up to two days ahead of time. 

Assemble up to four hours before you're ready to serve)

Cherry Tomato Bites

(You can prepare these the day before and cover tightly 

in an air tight container or with plastic wrap. This year I'm using 
Yellow Sunburst Tomatoes instead)

Antipasto

Main Course

Honey & Brown Sugar Glazed Ham

(Recipe to follow)

Capital Grille Mashed Potatoes

(Cut the potatoes and place them in your pot in the morning. Cover the potatoes with 

cold water; then place the lid on top of the pot. They're ready to boil when you are.)

Herbs de Provence Roasted Carrots & Turnips
(Recipe to follow)

Dessert

Carrot Bunny Cake

(A must have every Easter decorated by the kids)

 (You can make the cake the day before; then keep refrigerated until ready to serve)

Limoncello Cheesecake 

(Recipe in the cookbook!)

Wishing all of you a wonderful Passover and Easter holiday! xo

Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Easter Bunny Cake

I know Easter is over, but today is Jelly Bean Day and since the only time we eat any sort of jelly beans in this house is on Easter, specifically for this cake, I figured I'd share it with you and you can make it next year!


Every year, for as long as I can remember, we have made a bunny cake for Easter. It was originally made with yellow/white cake, white frosting and coconut on top to make it look like a fluffy bunny. My kids LOVE to decorate one every year, but no one really ate it because we're not huge coconut fans in this house. So last year, I made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and this year I opted for a carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing. Turns out, this was the best version for our family as carrot cake is just about everyone's favorite. I even make it easy on myself (since I'm usually preparing most of the other food too) and I buy the Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot Cake. I LOVE this brand as it has actual dried carrots and raisins that you reconstitute before adding it into the mix. The cake is extremely moist and you don't have to shred any carrots (besides, baking cakes/pies...not my thing!). 

Carrot Cake Easter Bunny Cake
1 Package Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot Cake


Prepare cake according to package directions and bake in two-8" round cake pans. Remove from oven and let cool. 


Cream Cheese Icing
1-8oz. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 c. Butter, softened
1 tsp. Vanilla
3 c. Confectioners Sugar (a.k.a. powdered sugar or 10x sugar)
1 tbsp. Milk


Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Next, add the vanilla, sugar and milk and mix until well blended. 


Decorations
Jelly Beans
Black Licorice

Place one round cake on a flat board or serving platter. With the second round cake, cut out the 2 ears. The middle will become the bow tie. Ice the cake with the icing, then decorate using the jelly beans for the eyes and mouth and the licorice for the whiskers. 


Enjoy! 

"Chick" Deviled Eggs or Egg Salad

I know, Easter has come and gone but I made these adorable little "chicks" with my deviled eggs and had to share them with you. For many, you've probably seen them before, but if not, aren't they the cutest little things ever?! They're so cute you could probably make them any time of year and would probably elicit the same Oooh's and Aaah's. Here is my recipe for Deviled Eggs. Simple. I don't like a lot of other ingredients in mine and I also make my egg salad the same way (though I add in some celery too). 

"Chick" Deviled Eggs 

8 Hard Boiled Eggs

2 tbsp. Hellman's Mayonnaise

1 tbsp. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard

1 Black Olive

1 Baby Carrot

To prevent cracking, remove eggs from refrigeration about 30 minutes prior to boiling. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then let simmer for approximately 6 minutes. Eggs will be done if you can spin them on their vertical axis. (If they fall to the side, they're not done). Remove from water and place in an ice bath (water and ice) several times until they have cooled (you can also make hours ahead and refrigerate). 

Peel the eggs and rinse off any remaining shells. Cut the top 1/4 off of the egg and gently scoop out the yolk using a small knife or spoon. Add the yolk to a bowl, mash with a fork and place egg white on a serving platter. (if using a flat platter, cut a small piece off of the bottom of the egg so that it sits flat). Add mayonnaise and mustard to the egg yolks and mix well. Carefully fill the bottom portion of the egg white with the yolk filling. Next, place the white "cap" on top of the egg yolks. Cut the black olive into 12 pieces and place 2 pieces for the eyes. Cut the carrot into 12 small pieces and put a piece on the yolk for the nose. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 8. 

Enjoy!