Behold. The yumminess that was our Easter dinner. It was amazing.
The feature players . . .
Deep-Fried 14 pound Turkey - This is pretty simple. You get one of those big turkey fryers, you fill it with peanut oil, you heat the oil, you stick the turkey in, and it comes out perfect an hour later. Easy peasy. Although clean-up of the oil and the fryer can be a little messy.
My Mom's Amazing Slow-Roasted Ham - It is unreal how good it tastes. This ham needs no mustard or Grey Poupon. It is da' bomb just as is. And my mom was kind enough to share the 411 on how to make it.
- Buy a nice ham. She got this one at Food 4 Less which believe it or not has some pretty good meat. You peel the skin part from the ham but be careful to not tear away fat. You need it to keep your ham tender. Wash your ham because you do know where ham comes from right? And where those animals play?
- In a large roasting pan, you will layer a whole cut up pineapple (you cut it into rings and lay them along the bottom), 2 sliced onions, and a bit of garlic (like 3-4 cloves minced)
- You will place the ham on top of the layered pineapple, onions, and garlic
- You pour two cups of Marsala wine and two cups of Riesling over the top of the ham
- You roast the ham for 4 hours 350' (the timing may different for your ham depending on the poundage). You then turn it down and roast on low for 2-3 more hours.
Scalloped Potatoes - I have made these many different way and I have come to the conclusion that this way is the best way . . .
6 Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes (peeled and sliced thin 1/8 inch)
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 T butter
1 T fresh thyme, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I actually boiled the turkey giblets and used the broth from that)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
In a large pan or Dutch oven (mine is huge so I used my wok), melt butter on med-high heat. Saute the onion until softened. Add the thyme, garlic, and salt and pepper (I used about a couple or so dashes of kosher salt and 3-4 cranks of cracked pepper). Saute for about a minute. Your kitchen should be smelling yummy about now. Add the potatoes, broth, cream, and bay leaves. Bring everything to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes more. Discard the bay leaves and press the contents of your pan into an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish. Press to make an even layer. Cover the top of the potatoes with the cheese and shove in your oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.
Bacon Cream Cheese Rolls - Super simple. You take crescent rolls and unroll and separate the triangles. You spread a bit of cream cheese on the triangle. Sprinkle it with a good bit of picnic bacon (the kind you put on salad, not bacon bits though) and then you roll up the triangle to the point and bake them for 10 minutes
Watermelon
Strawberry Salad - 1st thing you do is melt a 1/4 cup of sugar until brown and caramel-y. Throw in a 1/3 cup of slivered almonds and coat them well. Spread on a foil to cool and then break into small pieces. In a large salad bowl, combine torn romaine, some halved and sliced strawberries, and some thin slices of purple onion. Toss with a bit of poppy seed dressing (I used Newman's) and then sprinkle the almonds on top
and for dessert, we did
Annie's Raspberry Lime Sheet Cake - the flavor is amazing, my kids inhaled this
