NEED A LITTLE INSPIRATION for Easter morning, afternoon, and evening? Here are links to 19 delicious April-worthy recipes which have graced my own holiday table over the years. Some are gluten-free, and all are guaranteed to please!
Make-Ahead Spinach & Cheese Strata. Take some spinach, cheese, and bread cubes, soak them in a custard-sauce overnight, bake until puffed and golden the next morning, and what do you get? Why, the uber-delicious Spinach and Cheese Strata you see pictured above. Here’s the recipe for this make-ahead breakfast or brunch casserole that no one (including Lily the Beagle) can resist. The recipe.
Low-Carb Cottage Cheese Pancakes. These are light, creamy, and utterly satisfying. Make them once, and they’ll become a permanent part of your breakfast repertoire! Here’s the recipe:
Make Ahead Gratin of Hard-Cooked Eggs. For breakfast or brunch, nothing beats this Creamy Gratin of Hard-Cooked Eggs. It’s easy to make. It’s gluten-free. And it’s rapturously-delicious. It’s also cook-friendly, because you can make the whole dish a day in advance, and then simply pop it in the oven shortly before your guests arrive. The recipe.
Dreamy Cinnamon Rolls. I wrote about these sweet, sticky, sinfully delicious Cinnamon Rolls back in 2011. And today, because I’m taking pictures for my cookbook, and because I wanted something sweet, sticky and sinfully delicious for breakfast, I decided to make them again. Are you ready for a taste? The recipe:
Easy Appetizer: Onion & Asiago Rounds. Nothing revs my engine like Onion and Asiago Rounds. These two-bite cocktail appetizers are crisp, creamy, and screamingly-delicious. They are also a snap to make. Don’t make me beg you to try them! The recipe.
Chive Pesto. Yesterday, I took freshly-cut chives, and processed them together with garlic, almonds, Parmesan cheese and a little olive oil. The result? Well, let’s just say that after one orgasmic bite, my eyes rolled to the back of my head. After two bites, I knew I’d have to share the recipe with you:
Bacon-Wrapped Grissini. Yesterday, the moment I retrieved a batch of Bacon-wrapped Grissini from the oven, Lily the Beagle appeared at the kitchen door. And who can blame her? These cocktail-appetizers are smokey, sweet, and tender-crisp. To try them is to love them. Fortunately they are no trouble to make.
Spinach, Mushroom, & Rosemary Tart. I love this tart. It’s filled with mushrooms and spinach. It’s perfumed to the nines with rosemary and vermouth. And oh, the crust! It’s buttery Pate Brisee. Who wants to taste this savory spring symphony? The recipe.
Lamb Chops with Garlic & Mint. A pair of inexpensive lamb shoulder chops jumped into my shopping cart the other day. I brought them home, soaked them in mustard, garlic, and fresh, fragrant herbs, and then popped them under the broiler. The result? Tender succulence, baby. The recipe:
Watercress Soup. A couple of years ago, my spouse and I hosted film-director James Ivory (“Howard’s End,” “A Room with a View,” “Maurice,” etc.) and seven of his friends for dinner. Since it was Jim’s birthday, I put together a special, multi-course meal, starting with a deliciously-creamy Watercress Soup. My recipe for this beautiful brew:
Ham & Kale Tart. This rustic tart makes me purr like a contented kitten. It’s filled with smokey ham and earthy kale. It’s scented with nutmeg and a splash of dry vermouth. It’s baked on a bed of tender, buttery, Pate Brisee. It’s…something you need to try. The recipe:
Chicken & Mushrooms in Tarragon Cream. I made this for dinner last Sunday. And then I fell in love. It’s a simple saute of chicken breasts and mushrooms, gloriously-enrobed in a sauce of tarragon and heavy cream. Here’s the easy recipe for this perfumed elegance:
Gluten-Free Potato Pancakes (Latkes). These are crispy on the ouside, and creamy-dreamy-delicious on the inside. Make them for Passover, Easter, or anytime you need an awesome side dish. My easy, step-by-step recipe:
Spaetzel with Butter & Herbs. Can you visit me today? Good. Because I’d like to serve you a plate of Spaetzel with Butter and Herbs. Spaetzel are little dumplings with a delicious, gnocchi-like texture. They are really, really fun to make:
Panna Cotta. I’ve been on a Tuscan-kick this month. Already I’ve made Cecina — a naturally gluten-free Tuscan flatbread, as well as some lemon-rich Polpettine. And this morning, I whipped up a batch of Panna Cotta. Are you familiar with this glamorous and outrageously-delicious Tuscan dessert? It takes all of 10 minutes to prepare.
Sugar Cookie Tartlets with Lemon Curd Filling. Meet my newest tea-time addition — Sugar Cookie Tartlets. To make them, you bake sugar cookie dough in the shape of little cups. Then you fill the cups with luscious, homemade lemon curd, and adorn each tart with a single blueberry. Hard to do? Not at all. Here’s my easy (yes, easy!) recipe for these sinfully-delicious treats:
Persian Lime Pie. I love this dessert. It’s similar to a Key Lime Pie, with this exception: It’s made with the juice and zest of common, supermarket “Persian” limes. And oh, is it delicious. Think of Florida sunshine, sandwiched between a tender, buttery crust, and a mountain of sweetly-whipped cream. The recipe:
Fragrant Fruit Salad. Here’s my super-duper fruit salad. It’s dressed with honey and lime juice. It’s scented with fresh mint. And it’s absolutely delicious for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. The recipe:
Cognac Cookies. True confession: I made Cognac Cookies this week, and all I can say is…Wow! These grown-up treats are light, buttery, and gently infused with orange-cognac. If you are over the age of twenty-one, I beg you to try them. They are incredibly easy to make.
Best Lemon Tart in the World. I made this lemon tart today, and can tell you it looks, tastes and smells like a gorgeous spring day. In other words, it’s obscenely delicious. And get this — it’s easy to make! The step-by-step recipe:
Anything in the above list sound tempting to you? You can let me know by leaving a comment. Meanwhile, Happy Easter, everyone!
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Erin Brady says
The cinnamon rolls are the BEST! I hope you have a very happy easter!
Robin says
We’ve tried several of these and they are out-of-this-world delicious! Thank you!
Brenda says
OMG! I am salivating! Literally!
Penny says
I am doing the Cinnamon Rolls for the Family for Easter! Might try the lamb chops. Happy Easter to you and your’s
Carly says
Yum! Are you on pinterest? I pin so many of your recipes.
Sandra from WA says
Kevin,
When is your cookbook coming, hope all of these are inside it! Don’t know which to try first!
First I need to get my weekend chores finished. Thanks for all the inspiration.
Sandra
Marcia from Northern Indiana says
Can’t have anything !! to eat tomorrow due to medical proceedure the next a.m. I’ll save the recipes.
Judy in northern WI says
I love reading your recipes even though I can seldom eat one. With a few slight variations I could make your Leek and Potato Soup. Now, I have never liked vichyssoise, but what the heck. After I made it I tried it all three ways , still chunky, mashed, and pureed, served hot. I really enjoyed the peasant, chunky version. The other two I found skippable, maybe the flavors blended too much. So, yay!, this recipe has gone into my repertoire.
On another note. I make a lot of pureed soups. After reading about your love of the immersion blender, I liked the idea so I went out and bought one since I didn’t win the drawing : ( I fell in love with it. My regular blender is very lonely now; it gets used only for smoothies. I just hope it doesn’t go on strike out of jealousy.
Thanks, Kevin. Keep up the great blog and have a Happy Easter.
Nanci says
I just gained 10lbs reading this post! thanks for sharing, YUM!
Lynne says
I can hardly wait until Tuesday night when Passover will be fulfilled and I can have leaven again. A recipe or two from this menu may just show up!!
Kat says
Tonight I made your gluten free Cecina (Tuscan flatbread) but added garlic spaghetti sauce to one half. Sprinkled Dailya “non-dairy” mozzarella cheese over the whole thing. It was delicious! Thought there would be some left to take as an appetizer for Easter brunch tomorrow-but we ate too much of it. Don’t have any more garbanzo bean flour or I would make another batch to bake in the morning. Just wanted to thank you for this recipe again, it’s wonderful and a great appetizer. Have a Happy Easter!
Molly says
Talk about deliciousness! Tons of it here. THANK YOU!
Sharon T says
OMG-come cook for me!
Beverly, zone 6, eastern PA says
That chive pesto is on my list of things to try soon, just waiting for the chives to get a bit taller. We made asparagus pesto about a month ago and loved that. Garlic scape pesto, a June staple from my own garlic patch, is also quite enticing. Having a food processor opened up a whole new world of recipes. Love, love, love its efficiency and speed. From you I learned that pesto does not have to be basil only. Eureka!
Morgan says
Kevin, we made the lemon tart for Easter and it was absolutely AMAZING! Perfect balance of sweet and tart, and the crust is incomparable, a glorious combination. Rave reviews from us and the friends we made dinner for. Thank you!
ArtistryFarm says
I DO HOPE YOU COME OUT WITH THAT COOKBOOK SOON!!! My copy-paste document is getting too long LOL…
Kara says
Hi Kevin, I love looking at your pictures of food! I’m just wondering, who eats all that food! I love to cook but find it hard to cook as much as I’d like because its just so much food and with my husband being a body builder, he doesn’t eat all these delicious recipes and then my four girls ages 13, 10, 7 and 4 are all very different in food taste. My older one is now more willing to try new recipes but my younger three are more into the plain foods and kid foods!
I’m glad to see your posting more gluten free recipes. My chiropractor says that he’s been reading about about how gluten affects the brain. He says they try not to eat gluten and buy gluten free bread. I think I might try to start eating more gluten free bread as well!
I guess you can save those gluten free recipes for your next cookbook! Unless you already have a section in your current one for gluten free recipes!
kara
Carly says
Can I just say I love your blog? Drooling! 🙂
frederique jennette says
thank you, absolutely wonderful recipes!! have a great Easter!
Sandra from WA says
Hi Kevin,
Happy Easter!
Hope all of these great recipes are in your up coming cookbook. You show food so nicely in your newsletter.
Sandra
Linda Boyer says
Hello, Kevin.
Hope you have a happy Easter. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes. Can’t wait for your cookbook to be published! (Say hi to Lily for me.)
Linda
Regina Troiano says
Love you site. Thanks so much for everything. Happy Spring
Bonnie says
Happy Easter and thanks for all the good recipes. Bonnie
Mercy says
Oh Kevin! I just want to make EVERYTHING!!! You are SO BAD for my diet! Happy Easter, and looking forward to the cookbook!
Delores says
Kevin–All I can say its a good thing I went to the gym today!!!! SO LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR COOKBOOK!!!
Happy Easter to you and yours
Liz Markwith says
I can’t decide which recipe to start with. What an amazing collection!!!
lynn scarry says
Can I come and live with you please!!!!! Hahahaha….WOW too many delicious looking recipes, I made hot cross buns yesterday and forgot that half my visitors tomorrow have to have Gluten free……O’h Well!
Carole Mathieu says
Since it’s just me and my husband, I’m going to bake the spinach and cheese strata in two 9×9 Pyrex dishes so we can have one to serve to a friend, a trick I do with a lot of 9×13 pan recipes.
BTW, I was copying and pasting the recipe, when I noticed it says bake the strata. Then it says to remove the plastic wrap and bake the strata. I can’t wait to buy your new cookbook when it becomes available, and I wanted to make sure that typo was caught before publishing–you’re too good to have this disaster mar your reputation!
Susan says
Kevin.wow wow wow!!!
I’m sure you re human too but what an angel you are to so many, such joy and shrimp g if life’s simple pleasures from your website .the fid the garden and the humor and the simplicity if it all – well you certainly encourage us to consider it all simple !!
Tha k you fir such an enjoyable visit o your home and garden and sharing so so many wonderful ways to enjoy both food and nature and your wonderful way with words and love for life – you also sound kind to animals and nature – all much appreciated !
Bless you , susan hetherington delta near vancouver bc.
Oh! Can you also let us know if you have a specific fid blender in mind when you say get one? Your hit link took me to amazon with a Cuisinart something or other – time fir me to get a food processor but woukd appreciate knowing your sensible suggestion !