Easter Dinner

When I was growing up, Easter dinner was usually an early afternoon affair. Though it was similar to what we did just about every other Sunday, inasmuch as our family gathered together after church for a sit-down meal, Easter was special.

There were new clothes and Easter bonnets (yes, we wore hats to church in those days), an Easter egg hunt in the yard (or house, depending upon the weather), and our Easter Sunday dinner was a virtual feast.

The menu had all the traditional holiday favorites: ham, roast pork, or lamb . . . cheesy potatoes . . . green beans or peas . . . definitely carrots . . . Easter cheese . . . Easter bread and sweet buns . . . colored eggs . . . an Easter pie . . . cake appropriately decorated for the occasion . . . pounds of jelly beans in our Easter baskets . . . and enough chocolate—in the form of rabbits and eggs—to warm the heart of any child. It’s a wonder my mother survived the day with four active youngsters all flying high on sugar.

Traditional Easter Favorites

Baked Ham with Spiced Cherry Glaze
Dress up a spiral-sliced ham with an easy-to-make, simple cherry and spice glaze. It’s a nice change from the basic pineapple and cherries. Super moist—try it! (Photo: Food Network)

Pancetta-Wrapped Pork Roast
Treat pork loin to a garlic-rosemary-thyme paste before locking the flavors in a pancetta wrapping. (Photo: Food Network)

Another Easter favorite is Herbed Leg of Lamb The leg is flavored with a paste made from scallions, parsley, dill, celery, and garlic, then roasted alongside turnips and scallions. (Photo: Food Network)

Caesar Salad in Parmesan Cheese Baskets

Not on the usual list of traditional Easter favorites, but I found this recipe and couldn’t resist adding it. If you’re inclined to start your meal with a salad, here’s a twist on the old classic that will look great on the plate and is just enough to whet the appetite for what’s to come.

(Photo: 1001 Recipes)

Four-Cheese Scalloped Potatoes are thinly sliced and layered with heavy cream and mozzarella, asiago, and raclette cheeses; then topped with Parmesan cheese and baked until bubbly. (Photo: Food Network)

This Creamy Spring Peas dish is a classic combination of sweet peas and smoky pancetta in a lemony cream sauce. (Photo: Food Network)

Honey-Glazed Carrots are just what the Easter Bunny ordered! Bright baby carrots are coated with a honey-lemon glaze, then garnished with fresh parsley. Leave the green tops attached for an elegant look. (Photo: Food Network)

Traditional Easter Cheese

I started making Hrudka for Easter when I was first married. It’s a family tradition my mother-in-law brought with her from Eastern Europe when she was just a little girl. Known in our house simply as egg cheese, it isn’t cheese at all. It’s basically scrambled egg and milk curds, rolled into a ball, chilled, and served. It tastes like rather bland scrambled eggs, slightly sweet, with a hint of vanilla. Some people slice it to have with ham or sausage on bread. I like mine by itself with a little salt.

(Photo: The Duquesne Hunky)

It’s not Easter without eggs. Eggs add to the festivities and are a mainstay of Easter meals. They are often dyed, painted, decoupaged, or otherwise decorated. To create these Dye-Free Easter Eggs, draw pretty patterns and simple designs, like X’s and O’s, onto hard-boiled eggs with edible markers. (Photo: Parents)

Hot Cross Buns are a popular sweetly-spiced tradition during the Easter season. (Photo: Food Network)

Italian Easter Bread is a sweet bread made with milk and sugar, has an Easter egg in the center. (Photo: The Italian Dish)

Orange Bunny Rolls are created by twisting the dough into bunny shapes and icing with orange goodness. (Photo: Moms Need to Know)

Pull-Apart Easter Blossom Bread is a rich dough, twisted into pretty flowers and filled with jam or lemon curd. (Photo: All Recipes)

Another tradition from Eastern Europe, Mary Urim’s Paska, is a rich, hearty bread that is amazingly light and fluffy when toasted. My mother-in-law always added yellow raisins to the recipe—it was unbelievably good when sliced and slathered with creamy sweet butter. (Photo: Romancing the Stove)

Easter Pie is an Italian springtime tradition. This sweet version has ricotta-orange filling with a tender phyllo dough shell. (Photo: Food Network)

A fun Easter dessert idea, Easter Egg Cake Balls decorated to look like Easter eggs. (Photo: Skinny Taste)

Easter Nest Cookies are so simple to make! Start with refrigerated sugar cookies, then ice and decorate with dyed coconut and Easter eggs. (Photo: Pillsbury)

A classic, cute Easter Bunny Cake is easily created from a carrot cake mix; frost and cover with mouthwatering coconut . . . and voilá—a perfect desert for Easter! (Photo: Betty Crocker)