Easter Made Easy & Grilled Lamb with Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Are you tired of holiday dinners that take a week to prepare? You know the kind.  By the time your guests arrive, you’re so stressed out that you can hardly think straight. And by the time dinner is served, you’re exhausted and ready for bed.

It doesn’t have to be that way. No, I’m not suggesting you make reservations. After all, there’s nothing like being home for the holidays. Why not declare a potluck and share the work? Or simplify? Or do a little bit of both?

I fell in love with Italian cooking when I was just a little kid. At the time, the only thing I knew about Italian food was spaghetti, veal parmesan, chicken cacciatore and pizza. I thought Italian cooking was big kettles of tomato sauce that simmered away for hours. By the time I was in high school or maybe it was college, I figured out that there was a bit more to the story. That’s when I discovered veal saltimbocca, tiramisu and a few other interesting dishes. Several years later I visited Italy and realized there was a whole lot more.

So now you’re asking, “What does Italian cooking have to do with making Easter easy?” Everything. Italian cooking is all about fresh ingredients, simply and beautifully prepared. Simple dishes exquisitely cooked with fresh ingredients; that’s the solution to your Easter dilemma.

New Hampshire is a long way from sunny Italy. Here the ground is covered with snow and frozen mud. The first little yellow crocuses may have popped out of the ground during the recent heat wave but it is still too early to find much fresh, local produce. I don’t care. For Easter, I’ll be scouring the market for fresh ingredients. Even if the strawberries and asparagus were grown in California or Florida, they are a welcome sign that spring and summer are coming.

Here are a few suggestions for an elegant, easy and delicious Easter:

To Start: As soon as one of your guests asks. “Can I bring anything?” Without even the slightest hesitation, answer, “Yes! Thank you! An appetizer would be great.”

The Main Course: Three simple dishes. Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb, Roasted Asparagus with Walnuts  and Lemon Roasted Potatoes.

You can and should marinate the lamb ahead of time. Let the lamb marinate in the refrigerator overnight and then hand the grilling off to your spouse, brother-in-law, uncle, father or a willing friend.

The asparagus and potatoes take minutes to prep and not much longer to cook. And if someone wanders into the kitchen offering to help, accept. While the grill is heating up, pop the potatoes in the oven. Once the lamb is off the grill and resting, throw the asparagus in the oven. If you are like me, you will need two timers, one for the potatoes, the other for the asparagus. The only way I can juggle cooking, chatting and laughing at the same time is to use a timer or two or three.

Sweet Finale: Wash and slice some ripe, red strawberries. If you like, toss them in a tablespoon or two of Grand Marnier or Cointreau. If you must, add a little honey or sugar. Serve the berries with vanilla ice cream. It’s a holiday so don’t skimp on the ice cream; buy the good stuff. And one final, tip: decorate your table with chocolate bunnies. They’re great to nibble on with your strawberries! Again, buy the good stuff but take a good, long walk to offset the indulgence.

That’s it, that’s all, except to say relax, eat, laugh, be merry … and bon appétit!     

Grilled Lamb
Grilled lamb with a classic red wine marinade is perfect for an Easter crowd of family and friends. Enjoy!
Serves 8

Juice and zest of 1 orange
4 cloves garlic
1 shallot, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups dry red wine
4-to-5 pounds trimmed, boned and butter-flied lamb
1 bay lea

1. Combine the orange juice and zest, garlic, shallot, rosemary, thyme, mustard, honey, salt, pepper and about 1/2 cup wine in a blender. Process to combine and finely chop the herbs, garlic and shallot. Add the rest of the wine and process to combine.
2. Put the lamb in a large, heavy-duty, plastic, re-sealable bag. Add the marinade and bay leaf; seal the bag, pressing out excess air. Marinate the lamb in the refrigerator, turning every few hours, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Longer is better.
3. Men like to grill so find an able-bodied male or two or three. Put him or them in charge of the grill and cooking the lamb. Whether you are using charcoal or gas, tell him/them that you want a medium hot fire.
4. Remove the lamb from the marinade and pass it off to your grill master(s). Let them grill the lamb, turning it once or twice until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat registers at 130 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice the lamb and serve.

Lemon Roasted Potatoes
The lemon brightens up the potatoes and makes them a little special. Definitely more spring-like! Enjoy!
Serves 8

2-2 1/2 pounds red skin potatoes, washed dried and quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
Juice of 1 freshly squeezed lemon
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the potatoes in a metal roasting pan large enough to fit them in a single layer. Add the chicken stock, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes to coat.
2. Roast, uncovered, until fork-tender and brown on the edges, about 45 minutes. Turn the potatoes halfway through for even browning; add a little water if all the liquid has been absorbed before they are cooked through and golden brown.

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Feel free to visit my other, cleverly named blog, Susan Nye’s Other Blog, or website www.susannye.com. You can find more than 200 recipes, links to magazine articles and lots more. I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. ©Susan W. Nye, 2010

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving & Decadent Cheesy Potatoes

I love having Thanksgiving at my house. I started this tradition in Switzerland many years ago. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday so Thursday was a work day like any other but on the Saturday after Thanksgiving I served up thanks for friendship with turkey and apple pie.  Geneva is an international city so the party was a festive mix of American, European and Asian friends. The food was an evolving blend of New England with a bit of French panache. It was a taste of almost home for some and a glimpse of a few New England-ish traditions for others.

While most families and friends share the cooking duties for Thanksgiving, I generally insisted on doing it all myself.  I traveled a lot in those days and from time to time I was forced to gratefully and graciously accept a kind offer or two. My friend Julie’s offer of help once landed her with the harder-than-you-think task of picking up the turkey. Fresh whole turkeys are not lined up on every Swiss butcher’s counter like so many Rockettes.  Instead once a year they arrive, frozen solid, from Arkansas in plenty of time for the Swiss to celebrate Christmas. Delivered in late November, they hit the supermarkets with barely a minute to spare for my expatriate celebration.

Julie’s mission was to find a turkey small enough to fit into my apartment’s tiny oven but large enough to feed more than a dozen people. Trooper that she is, she found one and fought rush hour traffic to deliver it to the cooler in my kitchen where it slowly thawed in time for the big day. (Cooler you ask? There was barely enough space in my dorm-room-sized refrigerator for day-to-day provisions let alone a twelve pound turkey. But that’s another story.) Luckily for Julie, more often than not, I fiddled and fussed with my calendar and managed to stay in town Thanksgiving week. So my typical reply to the inevitable question, “What can I bring?”  was “nothing,  just bring your charming and hungry self.”

So now you are probably wondering if I am insane or a wonderful hostess. Or perhaps it’s something else? Yes, I have come to realize that I may have a little problem. I love sharing my home and table but sharing my kitchen? Well that is an entirely different matter. It’s taken me a while to realize but I think that I may be something of a … well, err, something of a control freak when it comes to cooking.

Now it’s time to get organized for another Thanksgiving. I’m not sure but I think it’s getting a little easier to release that iron grip on the kitchen. I got an email from my sister-in-law this morning. She gave their estimated arrival time for Thanksgiving morning. And of course she offered to help. Baking pies is a special tradition she shares with her girls. So I will steal myself. I will let them bake the pies and without a doubt, they will be delicious. Meanwhile, I’ll ask my mother to peel the potatoes and my brother to mash them.  And my dad, he gets to be CEO. Chief Errand Officer. He’ll pick up the turkey and the million little things I somehow always manage to forget.  You’ll be able to spot him on the road between my house and his and up and down the hill to town several times in the day or two before the big feast!

No matter how you and your family and friends divvy up the cooking chores, I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!

Bon appétit!

Decadent Cheesy Potatoes
I’ve made these potatoes for many years because they are not only delicious but can be made ahead of time. Enjoy!
Serves 12

3-4 pounds red skinned or Yukon gold potatoes, cut in large chunks
4 ounces gruyere (cheddar is also good) cheese, grated
2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 – 1 cup sour cream
8 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a baking dish with 2 tablespoons butter.

Put the potatoes and 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot; add enough cold, salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the potatoes to a rapid boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Roughly mash with a potato masher. Mix in the grated cheeses, cream cheese, sour cream, 4 tablespoons butter and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. (At this point you can cool, cover and store the potatoes in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Remove the potatoes from the refrigerator about an hour before you want to bake them.)

Cut the remaining butter into small pieces and scatter over the top of the potatoes. Bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes are piping hot and the top is golden brown.

Looking for a few ideas for your Thanksgiving feast?

This week marks Around the Table’s third birthday. I began writing the column in November 2006 for the now defunct Argus Champion. You can find all of the recipes on my web site. Here are a few suggestions for a delicious Thanksgiving feast:

Mulled Cider (October 12th 2008)

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (Archives/October 19^th 2008)

Roast Turkey and Wild Rice & Mushroom Stuffing (Archives/November 11^th 2007)

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Pearl Onions (November 8^th 2009)

Broccoli Puree (Archives/November 16^th 2008)

Mixed Reds and Greens Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette (Archives/November 25^th 2007)

Rustic Apple Tart (September 20^th 2009)

Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream (Archives/October 14^th 2007)

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You can find all of the recipes mentioned in this post on my web site www.susannye.com. Recipes are organized by original publication date to help you find them quickly and easily. 2009 recipes can be found at www.susannye.com/id6.htm. Older recipes are in the archives www.susannye.com/id10.htm.

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Feel free to make a comment; I’d love to hear from you. Just click on COMMENTS below. You can find lots more recipes on my website: www.susannye.com.

©Susan W. Nye, 2009