Easter Baking Part 2

Last Saturday I posted on my Facebook page that I was officially done with my Easter baking. I had made 6 Meat Pies and that was going to be it. Well then I was talking to my sister and realized that my favorite Easter pie was not going to be made. The Ricotta Pie.

My sister makes amazing Rice and Wheat pies but my favorite is the Ricotta. So I announce that I would make the pie. Fine. Except I can't find my mom's recipe. She had cut it out of a newspaper years ago. I had it in a cookbook or so I thought. I decided to check a blog where I had found a nice Rice Pie recipe a couple of years back. Ta Da! A Ricotta Pie recipe with a story and a Soprano's reference! You have to visit Food Blogga. The writing is fun and there are a lot of good recipes to try. I can't wait to cut into this pie!

But wait there is more...
On Friday a co-worker, emailed me a recipe for a cookie. Slice and Bake Lemon Gems, from Taste of Home. I thought, "Oh how cute!" I knew I was going to be baking these for Easter.

 Yum! Lemony goodness! I just have to work on my decorating technique!

Than there were the Chocolate Chip Cookies. I will be seeing 2 kids who believe I make the best cookies. I can't let them down... yes that is 6 dozen chocolate chip cookies, give or take 2 or 3...

So what does all this have to do with a blog entitled "So what are you making for dinner?" Well when one does this much baking, not to mention the prepping of tomorrow's vegetable dish, this is what we had for dinner -

 PS. I did find my mom's Ricotta Pie recipe after baking was completed!


What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Ham Steaks with Rice and Green Beans

Roasted Cod and Potatoes

Well it is finally Good Friday. And we are closing out the Lenten season with one of my favorite foods... Roasted Potatoes. I think I could eat them every night! Oh I made Cod too. I found the recipe on RealSimple.com. I love that site. Dinner was good, especially the potatoes, but I am looking forward to eating meat next Friday night!


What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Sausage Stew With White Beans


What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Shepherd's Pie

Prosciutto and Onion Calzone

Tonight's recipe was made to use up stuff in the fridge. I had some prosciutto and ricotta salata so I decided to put them in calzones. I was planning on a bacon and onion but I forgot to get the bacon at the store. But there is always prosciutto!


What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Butternut-Beef Chili



What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Easter Dinner in Photos

Escarole and Bean Soup

I had a bit of baking to do this past weekend so I needed a soup recipe that was fast.

I sauteed chopped onions. Added the washed and chopped escarole. Homemade chicken broth, beans and seasonings - salt, pepper, crushed red pepper. Done!



What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Crazy Crust Pizza! 







What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Skillet Gnocchi and Chard and Chicken

Meat Pie and A Big Salad

Yesterday's meal was so good that today we are toning it down with a big salad. Chris built this one. And we might as well have a piece of the meat pie too!



What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Roasted Carrots and Beets with the Juciest Pork Chops


What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Let's Eat Out

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of...

It has been that type of weekend. A lot of food memories. And shopping memories. I was out with my sister yesterday and I saw a dress that was so cute. My sister said that it was the type of dress my mom would have insisted on buying me. We were in another store and there was a shirt with pleats. We both said mom would have loved that!

Saturday I made my mom's Easter Meat Pie recipe. I actually double the recipe and ended up with 6 pies. I cut into one this morning and it took my breath away. It was just like my mom's.

Palm Sunday dinner was at my sister's house. She and her husband out did themselves.

We started with dandelion soup. I have mentioned many times on this blog that my sister makes the best chicken broth.

 

Next was Mary's Stuffed Artichokes. She has her mother's recipe down pat. Another good food memory.

 

Then we had a new entry... Ralph's Lasagna with Homemade Noodles. Forget about it. The meal could have stopped right there. Time could have stopped. If you are a regular reader you know my opinion about Homemade Pasta, last meal and all that. This melted in your mouth. But wait there is more.... he put hard boiled eggs in the lasagna! I have never had lasagna this good before, sorry to anyone else who has ever made lasagna but if you tasted this you'd agree. (Second favorite lasagna was the one my nephew made for Anna's First Communion, that was much lighter!)

Next was the Traditional Roasted Chicken Legs and Thighs with Potatoes. No Photo! Sorry but trust me it was really good. There were purple and red potatoes. And the chicken was so moist.

Dessert was my contribution. Limoncelllo Tiramisu. The recipe comes from Lidia's Italy and I found that recipe on epicurious.com. If I ever go anywhere and I have to bring a dessert this is what I am bringing. This was perfect. It was easy to make. It was light and everyone went nuts over it.

And a note about the wine. New favorite -

So that was our Palm Sunday dinner. It is a dinner that is filled with memories from past years such as -
"Where's the white meat? What do you mean there is no white meat!"
"Yes I think we should call an ambulance"
After meeting my niece's boyfriend, "Really, not all holidays are like this"
Ah memories. Sorry Heidi I am not adding a Streisand sound track here.


What did we have for dinner a year ago...
Baked Cod Dijon

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Turkey Cutlets with Rice and Vegetables

Split Pea Soup and Grilled Cheese

The Split Pea Soup recipe was from Food and Wine. I cut the recipe in half and still have enough for tomorrow night... or a few lunches. The Grilled Cheese was made with that amazing bread I baked on Sunday. This was a perfect meal for a chilly March night!

Hunter Style Chicken, Pollo All Cacciatora

I love when I find recipes that I have all the ingredients already in the house. Don't get me wrong I love grocery shopping! I have made this quite often. It is perfect to reheat when you get home from work.

The recipe in the La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy cookbook.

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sliced onions
1 lb. carrots, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
3 1/2 lbs chicken, cut in pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 lb, ripe plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped (I used a can of diced tomatoes)
chicken broth, if necessary
salt and pepper
Method
Heat half of the olive oil in a large pan and add the onions, carrots and celery. When they have taken on color remove them and set them aside. Put pieces of chicken in pan with remaining olive oil and when pieces have colored add the white wine. When the wine has evaporated add the tomatoes and reserved vegetables. Continue cooking over low heat for about 40 minutes, adding a little broth if necessary. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Meatball Pizza and Multigrain No Knead Bread

Remember a couple of posts ago I mentioned the make ahead meatballs? Well tonight I used up the rest of the batch. The pizza dough was from the Jim Lahey book, My Bread: The Revolutionary No Knead Bread Method.

It was a fun day in the kitchen here. Yesterday I received the new issue of Bon Appetit. There was an article about eggs and there was a recipe from Thomas Keller for the Perfect Poached Egg. On Sundays we have eggs for breakfast and read the Sunday papers. Egg sandwiches, scrambled, or poached. So I had to try this method. Okay it was the perfect poached egg.

Oh and the bread! I found this on the Culinate eblast. Multi-grain No Knead Bread. It is similar to the No Knead bread from Jim Lahey. The results were quite amazing! With a recipe like this I can see no reason why someone would not bake their own bread. It is a perfect submission for Bake Your Own Bread -

And Lucy was quite the kitchen cat today....

Chicken and Zucchini With Homemade Pasta

I have decided that if I had to pick a last meal it would be homemade pasta.
There is nothing like silky ribbons of pasta. Tonight's pasta was in the freezer. I had made it back in February. The recipe was from Tide and Thyme. If you are looking for a pasta recipe please try this one!

Anyway with the pasta already made most the work was done.
I recently added at the bottom of the blog links for what we had for dinner a year ago and 2 years ago (pretty soon I will be adding the 3 years ago line). I saw this post from 2010, Chicken and Thyme, and thought I would use the recipe tonight and added pasta to the mix!
I sliced the chicken breast into thin slices and cut up the zucchini. I heated up olive oil and a knob of butter in a saute pan. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper then sauteed it. After it was cooked I added the zucchini, more salt and pepper and thyme (my favorite herb!). A little white wine and lemon juice were added to the pan along with another little bit of butter! After the pasta was just about done (it took maybe 2 minutes for the pasta to cook) I added it to the saute pan to finish cooking.
I was so pleased with the outcome. All it needed was crushed red pepper (doesn't everything need that) and Parmesan cheese.

Today I went to visit a co-worker who recently had a baby boy. He was so cute! The mom really likes  peanut butter so I made the cookies I had pinned recently. You are all on Pinterest right? I have been to few sites were you can store recipes you find online but Pinterest is my favorite.

Anyway the cookies... from The View From Great Island blog we have Peanut Butter Chip Shortbread Cookies. Oh my they are good. I have a weakness for shortbread but add peanut butter and then chocolate. Smiles.

 

And the ducks are back! 

What did we have for dinner a year ago...
No post!


What did we have for dinner 2 years ago...
Sausage and Polenta Casserole