Easter Dinner Menu: Asparagus & Salmon

This Easter, impress friends and family with delicious recipes that allow you to entertain with ease so you can spend more time with guests and less time in the kitchen. I'm planning a delicious and healthy meal of Oven-roasted Asparagus and Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. 

Salmon is filled with vitamins and essential oils that are so good for your body.  As an added bonus, it's very easy and quick to cook. Asparagus is a great seasonal side dish and when roasted in the oven it becomes slightly caramelized and crunchy.

You can find these recipe and more in my book, Coming Home. The Calypso serveware can be purchased on our web site.  

For dessert, I like to make Cindy's Bunny Cake. (Click here for this recipe.)  When we were little, every year around Easter, my mother would make the Bunny Cake to celebrate my sister, Cindy's April birthday, and the arrival of Spring.  It makes a great centerpiece! 

R O S A N N A I N C . C O M

A Special Easter Dessert

When we were little, every year around Easter, my mother made Bunny Cake to celebrate my sister's April birthday and the arrival of spring. If you're in a rush, I find that Dr. Oetker's organic vanilla cake mix works very well here, but if you prefer to make homemade cake, user the lawyers from my Grandma's Caramel Cake. Be creative with your choice of colors - you can make a pastel bunny or opt for bright colors, or go all white. Decorate the serving plate with fresh flowers and spring greenery just before serving. This cake makes a great centerpiece and is a wonderful way to welcome spring.

SERVES 6 - 8

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons whole milk (if necessary)
• 1 8-inch  round white cake layer, cooled to room temperature
• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
• Jelly beans or other candies, for eyes and nose
• Paper ears made from charming spring wrapping paper
• Large-leafed greenery such as lilac leaves to surround the bunny

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter until very light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar and cream and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and salt. If the frosting is too thick, beat in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time.

2. Cut the cake layer in half to make 2 semicircles. Spread the top of one semicircle with frosting and place the second on top. Stand the semicircle upright on a serving platter so the rounded side is up. Cut a small triangle out of one side and put it where the tail of the bunny would be (see diagram below).

3. Starting with the sides of the cake, spread the remaining frosting all over the bunny, being careful when you frost the cut areas of the cake so it doesn't crumble. Gently take handfuls of coconut and generously pat it all over the frosted bunny. Stick jelly beans onto the frosting to make eyes. Stick the ears in place. Surround the bunny with greenery and serve.

Enjoy!

Warmly,

www.rosannainc.com

Easter Egg Dyeing 101

Eggs have long been a symbol for rebirth and fertility. What better way to celebrate Spring than with dyeing beautiful Easter eggs to share with friends and family? Read on for my simple egg dyeing tips to ensure your Easter festivities go off without a hitch!

Instead of hard-boiling the eggs, I like to blow them out before dyeing. You can save the eggs after the holiday and use them next year for decorations to hang from branches or displayed together in a bowl.

1. Blow out the eggs. To empty the raw egg, use a small, sharp knife to pierce both ends of the egg with small holes. Next, poke a pin through the larger of the holes and stir the yolk. Hold the egg, larger hole down, over a bowl, and blow the contents out. This can be done using a rubber ear syringe to make things easier.

2. Prep your dyeing area. Put down newspaper on your counter or table to protect the surface from dyes. Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar and about 20 drops food coloring in 1 cup of hot water. Make sure to use bowls deep enough to completely submerge your eggs.

3. Begin dyeing! Using metal tongs, carefully dip each egg into the bowl of dye. For deeper colors, leave the eggs in longer. To make two-color eggs, dye the entire egg first, let dry, and then dip half the egg into a darker color.

4. Let the eggs dry.

Once you have the basics of egg dyeing down, you can try different techniques to make some unique eggs.

• Before dyeing the eggs, draw patterns or shapes on the shell with crayons or a small candle. The dye won't adhere to the wax and your patterns and shapes will shine through!
• Cut a sponge into small cubes and sponge paint the dye onto the egg shells.
• Create ombre eggs by letting the eggs submerge in dye for different periods of time, from a few minutes to longer.
• Make speckled eggs by dipping a clean, dry toothbrush in acrylic paint and dotting the paint onto already dyed eggs.

Use your creativity and make sure to have fun! This is an excellent afternoon activity for children, as well. If you decide to use hard-boiled eggs, remember to throw them out after a few days or eat them as a protein-packed snack!

Have a lovely Easter everyone!

Warmly,

www.rosannainc.com

Spring Decor and a Special Spring Recipe

We're partnering with Social Couture this week! Stop by and read their post on hosting a lovely spring brunch!

Spring is almost here! Freshen up your home with springtime decorations. Each spring festival has its own set of symbols we can use to decorate our homes, but in general I decorate my home with green boughs, branches, potted spring flowers, and all the symbols of rebirth: bunnies, eggs, chicks, and ducks.

In your garden, find a nicely shaped barren branch or a spring branch with budding flowers. To preserve freshness, smash the bottom of the branch with a hammer so it will better absorb water. Place the branches in a tall vase of water. Decorate the branch with tiny symbols of the season: blow out eggshells and tie them with a ribbon, tie skinny pastel ribbons in bows with long tails, and set tiny figurines of bunnies, chicks, or ducks amid the twigs. Display in a hallway or on a mantle for a striking spring statement.

Find a hand-hewn willow basket about five and a half inches (14 centimeters) high. Line it with plastic and set small, colorful spring plants still in their containers inside the basket. Between the containers, put moss from a floral-supply store or home-decor store. This makes a charming centerpiece on a dining room table or as a beautiful explosion of color anywhere in the home. Be sure to water it regularly, misting the moss occasionally to revive its bright green color.

Find unusual vessels like 1960's Danish modern coffee pots or tall heavy cut crystal vases and fill them with branches or pussy willows.

Fill old silver-plate trays that are about ten inches (25 centimeters) long and about three inch (7.5 centimeters) deep with faux moss or grass. Nestle some pale-colored faux eggs in the moss and place the trays around the house.

Find some fun, vintage-looking bunnies, eggs, or birds and create a small tableau on an old silver tray. Pair with votives or a dramatic par of candlesticks to center the scene. Place in a prominent spot such as on a sideboard, the center of the dining table, or on a kitchen island.

Coconut Cream Pie

This delectable cream pie is a wonderful mixture of lightly toasted coconut and dense homemade cream base with hints of velvety vanilla. I love the combination of the slightly salty crust, the creamy filling, and the crunch of the toasted coconut. This pie makes a lovely spring dessert and a culinary treat.

MAKES 1 (9-INCH) (23 CM) PIE; SERVES 6 TO 8

1/2 recipe (1 ball) My Mom's Extra-Flaky Pie Crust Dough (see below)
1 1/2 cups (114 g) shredded sweetened coconut
5 large eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups (592 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) fine sea salt
3 to 5 tablespoons (52 to 70 g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons (22 ml) vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C) (Gas mark 4). Roll the dough out to a circle 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick and fit it into a 9-inch (23 cm) pie pan. Trim and flute the edge. Line with parchment paper and fill with dried beans, rice, or metal pie weights. Bake for 20 minutes, until browned. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 300 F (149 C) (Gas mark 2).

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet. Toast until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool at room temperature.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs until light yellow. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring the milk to the scalding point; you'll know the milk has reached the right temperature when a "skin" forms on top of the liquid.

In the top of a double boiler off the heat, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, then whisk in the heated milk until thoroughly combined. Put the pan over simmering water in the bottom part of the double boiler, then gradually add the beaten eggs, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and blend in the butter with an electric mixer. Stir in the vanilla.

Stir in 1 1/4 cups (127 g) of the toasted coconut, then spoon the mixture into the cooled pie shell and top with the remaining coconut. Cover with wax paper and refrigerate until cold. Serve.

My Mom's Extra-Flaky Pie Crust Dough

Make sure that you don't work the dough too much or the crust will be tough and not flaky.

MAKES ENOUGH FOR 1 (9-INCH) (23 CM) DOUBLE-CRUST PIE, OR 2 (9-INCH) (23 CM) SINGLE-CRUST PIES.

4 cups (512 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (6 g) finely ground sea salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) (340 g) cold organic unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/8 cup (28 g) cold organic vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water

Put the flour and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter in small pieces and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles fine cornmeal.

While pulsing the motor, slowly add the 1/2 cup (125 ml) ice water through the feed tube. If the dough has not formed a ball, add a little more water, pulsing until the dough forms a firm ball. Do not overprocess or the dough will be tough. Divide the dough ball in half and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Set aside in the refrigerator for 1 hour before processing with the pie recipe.

Happy Spring!

With love,

www.rosannainc.com