Weekend Cooking- Easter dinner

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We had an early Easter dinner this year, celebrating on Saturday night. The entire gang was here, so I wanted to make everybody's favorites. It took an entire day of shopping (in NYC, you walk to multiple places to get all your supplies), and I broke the cooking down into two days.

On Friday, I made the Strawberry Jello Salad because, you absolutely have to have a Jello salad on Easter. I believe it may be constitutionally required. I also made Pistachio bread, (from Better Than Burgers) which I usually make on St. Patrick's Day, but since we weren't all together then, it found a place on the Easter table.

My mom always makes deviled eggs, and my sons have come to expect them at Easter. Mine aren't as good as my mom's, but she couldn't send them through the mail, so they had to make do with mine.

I also made Barefoot Contessa's Tarragon Potato Salad which is kind of my go-to dish. Everyone I have ever made it for absolutely loves it.

On Saturday, I made Simple Scalloped Potatoes, which my husband requested. I underestimated how many people would eat that (the potato salad is more of a fan-favorite), and we barely had enough.

John Legend's Macaroni and Cheese was on the table for our vegetarian fans. It is another recipe we have often at family gatherings as well as Broccoli Salad, another popular request that made the cut.

The star of the show was Barefoot Contessa's Herb Roasted Lamb. I get a six-pound boneless leg of lamb at Ottomanelli's butcher, and they never disappoint. My husband makes a mean gravy from the drippings, and everybody was loving the lamb.

We paired the lamb with two bottles of Benovia Winery's 2017 Liberation Pinot Noir, which was delightful. It was bottled to commerate the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day, and there is an interesting story about it on Benovia's website here.

Benovia Winery's Liberation 

We finished up with Irish Bread Pudding, an old Cooking Light recipe that we normally have on St. Patrick's Day. We've been eating that for probably fifteen years and it's always an annual treat.

On Sunday, we had a simple brunch before our travelers left. I made Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake (from Alexandra Cooks) and a new recipe- Baked Western Omelet Casserole - (from the Seasoned Mom) that was such a hit, four of us ate almost the entire dish.

My family surprised me with a beautiful Easter basket, which you'll see below. It was filled with my favorite things and made with love. All-in-all, it was an Easter to remember.

My Easter basket

I hope you and yours had a blessed Easter and Passover as well. Did you make any family favorites? Let me know in the Comments section below.