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WHAT’S FOR DINNER?
Intimate Easter Dinner for 4
- Passionate Pepper Cocktail
- « Crudités with Wasabi Dip
- Saffron Oysters with Leeks
- Veal Scaloppine with Wilted Parsley, Lemon and Sesame
- Young Green Bean, Anchovy and Potato Salad
- Roasted Beet Salad with Orange Dressing
- Lemon Pudding Cakes
Easter Dinner Menu for 8
- « Limoncello Collins
- Roast Beef Grissini
- Bruschetta of Spring Vegetables
- Creamy Cucumber Velouté
- Spiced Smoked Ham with Mango-Cranberry Chutney
- Arugula-and-Frisée Salad with Peas, Pistachios and Pecorino
- Roasted Asparagus with Olive Oil and Lemon
- Angel Food Cake with Three-Berry Compote
Easter Dinner with Chile’s Wine Visionaries
- King Crab and Avocado Shooters
- Sweet and Savory Pork Empanadas
- Herb-Crusted Leg of Lamb
- Crispy Creamy Potato Puffs
- « Cannellini and Green Bean Salad
- Chilean Tomato and Onion Salad
- Dulce de Leche Napoleons
Plus: More from The Huneeus Family’s Easter with a Latin Accent
Cal and Mike’s Excellent Easter Dinner Menu
- Cauliflower and Roasted Beet Salad with Rich Herb Dressing
- Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
- Oven-Braised Lamb with Gremolata
- Creamy Fennel Mashed Potatoes
- « Lemon Upside Down Cake
More from Easter with a Chef and Musician
Easy Italian Easter
Casa Tua, Miami Beach’s tiniest boutique hotel, is all about casual luxury and light Italian cuisine—just like this Easter lunch at the owners’ Biscayne Bay home.
It takes confidence to open a quiet five-room hotel in Miami’s scene-crazed South Beach. But Italian-born real estate investor Miky Grendene has never lacked that. Driving his Vespa through the Milan streets one day in 1989, the Padua native thought he spotted his friend, actress Talisa Soto, but when the woman turned out to be a look-alike model named Leticia, Grendene set up a fake casting call and urged Leticia’s agency to send her. The ruse worked. Now living in Miami with their two children, Miky and Leticia have spent the past three years creating Casa Tua, South Beach’s tiniest, calmest and most unusual new boutique hotel.
The Mediterranean Revival property, an anomaly in South Beach’s Art Deco district, was built as a private home in 1925 by architect Robert A. Taylor and is listed on Miami Beach’s roster of historic places. By the time Miky bought it, in 1999, the building was a dilapidated apartment house. With the help of architect Michele Bonan, the Grendenes gutted it and planted gardens and tall hedges to shield it from the street.
Inside, Casa Tua feels like an intimate private estate. The rooms are stocked with Loro Piana cashmere throws, Tréca mattresses from Paris and Santa Maria Novella toiletries. One suite is furnished with saddle-stitched leather night tables and 200-year-old Chinese chests, and another, inspired by designer Givenchy’s bedroom in Cap Ferrat, France, is done in understated navy-and-cream. The dining room, dominated by a 15-foot-long chestnut table custom-designed and built in Italy, is adjacent to an open kitchen with an enormous cobalt-blue Molteni stove, one of only two in the United States, Miky claims. (French superchef Alain Ducasse owns one, too.)
“Casa Tua is more than a restaurant, less than a hotel—basically, it’s a home,” Miky says. “But we try to give you the possibility to experience things. You can touch the linen and buy it, taste our food and learn how to make it.” Indeed, many of the items at Casa Tua are for sale, such as the linen sheets, the Taschen art books and the artwork hanging in the lounge. Cooking lessons with chef Sergio Sigala are offered weekly, allowing guests to attempt house specialties such as t
una tartare flecked with olives and sun-dried tomatoes, or minestrone di frutta, a fruit soup served with panna cotta.
Parties at their Biscayne Bay home give the Grendenes a chance to try out their latest food and design obsessions on friends. For an Easter lunch, they stole Sigala away from the Casa Tua kitchen to create a menu of traditional and modern Italian dishes. The meal started with a lettuce soup flavored with watercress and herbs that revealed the Italian penchant for pleasantly bitter flavors. There was a light spring salad of asparagus, scallions and beautifully caramelized scallops, the sweetness of the seafood brought out by a hint of balsamic dressing. And then it was on to Miky’s favorite recipes from Sicily: a roasted veal loin marinated in olive oil and thyme and served with caponatina, a sweet-and-sour dish made with eggplant, wine vinegar and sugar. The highlight of the lunch was ricotta cavatelli, a hand-rolled pasta, served with speck, a smoky cured ham from northern Italy.
Sitting under enormous shade trees with a sweeping view of the ocean, guests finished lunch with a semifreddo, a layered dessert of frozen zabaglione custard. To offset the sweetness, the Grendenes also served a bracing, bittersweet espresso granita. It was a characteristically bold twist totally in keeping with their bold approach to the making of Casa Tua.
Tara Solomon lives in Miami Beach, Florida, where she writes the Advice Diva column forThe Miami Heral
- 35 servings for dinner, 50 servings for cocktails
Ingredients
- 1 (14 to 16-pound) fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham on the bone
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8 1/2 ounces orange marmalade
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 orange, zested
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.
Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the marmalade, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest, and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour, until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Simple Scalloped Potatoes
Recipe courtesy Food Network Magazine
- Recipe categories: Vegetables, Potato,
Total Time: 50 min
Prep 20 min
Cook 30 min
Yield: 6-8 serving
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and sliced inch thick
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (about 2 ounces)
Directions
Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Generously brush a large skillet with butter, then rub with the garlic. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the potatoes, sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste, then arrange the remaining potatoes on top. Sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Pour the broth and milk over the potatoes, then add the nutmeg and bay leaves; simmer 3 minutes.
Generously brush a shallow baking dish with butter and slide the potatoes into the dish; arrange with a fork, if desired. (If your skillet is ovenproof, you can skip this step and bake the potatoes right in the skillet.)
Dot the potatoes with the cut-up butter and sprinkle with the gruyere. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Discard the bay leaves.
Creamy Spring Peas With Pancetta
Photo: Creamy Spring Peas With Pancetta Recipe
- Total Time: 30 min
- Prep 5 min
- Cook 25 min
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups shelled fresh English peas or thawed frozen peas (about 10 ounces)
- 1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed
- 1/4 pound snow peas, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 4 ounces pancetta, chopped
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground pepper
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Fill a large bowl with ice water. If using fresh English peas, add to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Add the snap peas and cook until bright green, about 2 minutes, then add the snow peasand cook 30 seconds. Drain the peas and plunge into the ice water to cool.
Cook the pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Add the flour to the drippingsin the skillet and cook, whisking, until toasted, about 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken broth and cream and cook until reduced by one-third, about 6 minutes.
Drain the peas, shaking off the excess water, then add to the skillet (if using frozen peas, add them here). Cook, stirring, until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the pancetta.
Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake with Star Anise Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ounces white chocolate (preferably Valrhona), chopped
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche, chilled
- 3 pints strawberries, hulled and quartered
- Strawberry Star-Anise Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment paper. Coat the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.
- Melt the white chocolate in a small saucepan set over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter with 1 1/4 cups of the sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla, then beat in the egg yolks, 1 at a time. Beat in the melted white chocolate. Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup of the sugar until the whites are glossy and firm. Stir one-third of the beaten egg whites into the batter, then fold in the rest until no white streaks remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until springy and golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert them onto a wire rack to cool. Peel off the parchment paper.
- In another bowl, beat the cream and crème fraîche with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar until firm peaks form. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and spread with half of the whipped cream. Top with half of the strawberries and the second cake layer. Spoon the remaining whipped cream over the cake, swirling it decoratively. Top with the remaining strawberries. Serve with the Strawberry Star-Anise Sauce.
FROM OUR COFFEEBREAKWITHFRIENDS TABLE TO YOURS…
HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!
LEFT OVER HAM FROM YOUR
EASTER DINNER???
TRY SOME OF THESE RECIPES!
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Ham & Cheese Breakfast Casserole
From EatingWell:
This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.
6 servings | Active Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 1 3/4 hours
Ingredients
4 large eggs
4 large egg whites
1 cup nonfat milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 7-by-11-inch glass baking dish or a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray.
Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk in a medium bowl. Add mustard, rosemary and pepper; whisk to combine. Toss spinach, bread, ham and roasted red peppers in a large bowl. Add the egg mixture and toss well to coat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and push down to compact. Cover with foil.
Bake until the custard has set, 40 to 45 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with cheese and continue baking until the pudding is puffed and golden on top, 15 to 20 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Per serving : 286 Calories; 10 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 167 mg Cholesterol; 23 g Carbohydrates; 23 g Protein; 4 g Fiber; 813 mg Sodium; 509 mg Potassium
1 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 vegetable, 2 medium-fat meat
Tips & Notes
Make Ahead Tip: Prepare casserole through Step 2; refrigerate overnight. Let stand at room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake as directed in Step 3.
Tip: To wilt spinach, rinse thoroughly with cool water. Transfer to a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and punch several holes in it. Microwave on High until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze out excess moisture before adding the spinach to the recipe.
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Split Pea with Ham Soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1-2 carrots, diced
- 1-2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 lb ham steak, diced
- 7-8 cups of chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 1lb bag of dried split peas (rinsed)
- 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven pot over medium heat. Cook the onion until slightly tender. Add garlic and ham & cook for 60 seconds. Add the stock, split peas, bay leaf to pot and salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium low heat for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes then cook for an additional 30-45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf. If you want it to be a bit thicker, mix with an immersion blender for a few seconds. Enjoy.
Bow-Ties with Peas and Ham
Ingredients
-
- 1 pound bow-tie pasta (farfalle)
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 10 ounces (2 cups) frozen peas
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1/2 pound cooked ham
- Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add peas and half-and-half; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Cut ham into strips. Add to sauce; cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss sauce with pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan.
- Prep Time20 minutes
- Total Time20 minutes
- YieldServes 4 to 6
COFFEEBREAKWITHFRIENDS Lite Tips!…
Try cutting the Butter down to 1T…and use 2T Olive oil…Saute the Ham in the butter -olive oil mixture…cut half n half in half…and use low fat cream cheese about 2 heaping Tablespoons…add to the ham mixture…season to taste with salt and pepper…even a pinch of nutmeg??? Toss with Pasta and and 1 cup of Shredded Asiago Cheese!!! Let us know what you think???
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Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Kids’ Cooking Class
Everyone Love Pasta!…
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FRIDAY DINNERS DURING LENT
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO FAST…?
Try this fun FISH DISH!
Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos
with Red Cabbage Slaw, Tomato and Avocado Salsa and Pineapple Hot Sauce
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
Prep Time:
1 hr 0 min
Inactive Prep Time:
5 min
Cook Time:
50 min
Serves:
16 small tacos
Ingredients
* 4 (8-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Citrus Vinaigrette, recipe follows
* 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch circles, and deep fried
* Red Cabbage Slaw, recipe follows
* Tomato and Avocado Salsa, recipe follows
* Pineapple hot sauce, store bought or recipe follows, for drizzling
Preheat grill.
Brush fillets with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Remove from grill and drizzle with some of the Citrus Vinaigrette. Let rest 5 minutes and then flake with a fork.
Fill each fried tortilla with some of the mahi, top with the Red Cabbage Slaw, Tomato and Avocado Salsa, and drizzle with Charred Pineapple-habanero Hot Sauce.
Citrus Vinaigrette:
* 3/4 cup orange juice
* 1/4 cup lime juice
* 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
* 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 heaping tablespoon honey
* 1/2 cup canola oil
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute.
Red Cabbage Slaw:
* 1/4 cup rice vinegar
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
* 1 large carrot, cut into fine julienne
* 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Tomato and Avocado Salsa:
* 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
* 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
* 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
* 1 serrano chile, finely diced
* 1 to 2 limes, juiced
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1 to 2 teaspoons honey
* 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Gently combine all ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Charred Pineapple-Habanero Hot Sauce:
* 1 ripe pineapple, preferably Golden pineapple
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
* 1 container frozen pineapple puree, thawed
* 2 habanero chiles, chopped
* 1 cup rice wine vinegar
* Salt and pepper
* Honey
***********
SAVE ON LE CREUSET…CLICK BELOW…
LET’S NOT FORGET DESERT!
Key Lime Tarts are the perfect compliment the Wonderful Flavors of these Tacos!
Key Lime Tarts
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Prep Time:–15 min
–Cook Time:-12 min
Level:-Easy
Serves:
24 tarts
Ingredients
* 24 Key Lime Cooler cookies
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 1 egg
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 tablespoons lime juice, preferably Key lime
* 1 teaspoon lime zest
* Fresh sweetened whipped cream
* Mint leaves or lime zest, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Fill 2 (12-muffin) mini muffin tins with paper cups and spray cups with cooking spray. Place 1 Key Lime Cooler cookie in the bottom of the cup, flat side down.
Prepare filling. Beat together cream cheese, egg, sugar, lime juice, and zest until well mixed. Fill the cups to the top. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove tarts to cool. When completely cool, fit a star tip in a pastry bag and fill with the whipped cream. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the tarts. Garnish with tiny mint leaves or lime zest.
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