How have you been, readers?
Since I last wrote to you, there’s been a cheesecake,
a Dutch baby,
some beet action,
lots of eggs,
some lemon bars,
and some bread trials from this book:
Shout out to my mother-in-law for the awesome new cookbook!
And finally, G and I enjoyed a nice Easter dinner together.
I felt ambitious so I opted for a boneless leg of lamb this year, instead of the ol’ standby, ham.
This was not a throwback Easter dinner.
I never saw nor tasted asparagus until I was in my twenties. Dad didn’t have many dislikes at the dinner table, but asparagus was one.
My family always had ham at Easter. I can remember times when my Mom picked up at least two hams at Honeybaked Ham. That might’ve been her favorite day of the year. We didn’t necessarily have more people at the Easter table, she just loved ham.
My friend, Cheryl, remembers that when she called my house on school nights and asked me what I had for dinner (she was a foodie even then), the answer was ham ninety percent of the time.
An exaggeration, but slightly. After sweets, Mom’s favorite food was pork in all forms. Pork chops, breaded or grilled, the glazed Easter ham, ham steak, ham slices for sandwiches, shoulder for bbq, spare or baby back ribs, bacon, and sausage.
One of her favorites was an Emeril Lagasse recipe for brined pork chops. I just found the recipe in one of her three-ring binders. It’s from Emeril’s book, Farm to Fork: Cooking Local, Cooking Fresh. (Go to your local library and find a copy. I borrow cookbooks all the time as a way to research and test before I spend my money.)
A typical Easter menu included ham, a potato gratin, a vegetable that everyone could agree upon, and a trifle.
My memories of Easter and spring in Ohio involve pretty dresses, hidden by slickers or winter coats, searching for my hidden Easter basket (indoors), and scary rabbits way before Donnie Darko appeared on the scene.
Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I care about you. Please don’t forget to eat your greens.
***Written to Mandy Barnett’s Strange Conversation.