Elegant, extravagant and easy Easter meal

Busy families?

Contemplating Easter this weekend, I thought of ALL the activities that a family might have. It was nearly staggering. How comforting for the cook to have EASY recipes for the holiday meals. Turning to this brand-new publication I loved the format, the variety and the ease of preparation for several recipes that are perfect for Easter meals… plus any other meals, too.

So, whether you are joining with other people for the Easter meal, buying the basic meal at Major Market and want to add a couple of homemade touches or doing the whole meal by yourself for family and friends, I surely recommend these recipes to your repertoire.

“Family Circle Cookbook, the Ultimate Recipe Collection for Busy Families” is published by Meredith Books. Family Circle’s Food Director Peggy Katalinich and I share similar professional ideals and several like-minded colleagues. I love seeing what she does in Family Circle magazine!

With Easter blessings, JB

From the “Slow and Simple Meals” came two entrees to consider… an herbed roast pork with a apricot flavored gravy and roast chicken flavored with orange. You make your choice!

From the cookbook, “Rosemary, garlic, lemon and mustard make pork a truly memorable meal.”

Pork Roast

1 center-cut pork loin roast with

6 ribs

(4-4 ½ lb.)

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

leaves

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Gravy

1/3 cup dry white wine

3 tbsp. flour

3 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp. apricot preserves

1.Heat oven to 450-degrees.

2. Pork Roast: season roast with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, oil, mustard, rosemary, lemon zest and garlic.

3. Rub pork roast with lemon-rosemary mixture. Place on a rack in a large roasting pan. Roast at 450-degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and roast for about 65 minutes longer, or until instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the center of the roast registers 150 degrees. Let stand in warm place for 10 minutes before slicing (internal temperature should reach 160 degrees).

4. Gravy: Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in roasting pan. Place pan over medium heat and add wine. Cook for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Sprinkle flour into pan and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk in apricot preserves. Strain into a small saucepan, keep warm.

5. Slice meat and serve with the warm gravy on the side.

“Brining the chicken in the orange juice mixture ensures that even the breast meat will remain extra moist,” according to Family Circle writers, who also suggest instant-read meat thermometers for many of their meat recipes.

1 cup hot water

½ cup kosher or coarse salt

½ cup packed dark-brown sugar

3 cups orange juice

1 large onion, halved and thinly

sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tbsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 whole roasting chicken (about

4 lb.)

Orange wedges, for garnish,

optional

Fresh parsley sprigs, for garnish,

optional

1.In a 3-qt. glass bowl, combine hot water, salt and brown sugar; stir to dissolve salt and brown sugar. Add orange juice, onion, garlic, cumin and pepper; stir to combine. Place chicken, breast side down, in the bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2.Heat oven to 400 degrees. With slotted spoon or hands, remove half of the sliced onion from liquid; place in bottom of a roasting pan. Remove chicken, letting excess liquid drain into bowl. Discard liquid and remaining onion. Place chicken, breast side up, on top of onion in pan. Roast, uncovered, at 400 degrees about 1 hour or until instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 165 degrees. After 30 minutes, use aluminum foil to cover wing tips and any other areas of the chicken that may be browning too quickly.

3.Remove chicken from oven; let stand tented with aluminum foil, for 10 minutes before carving. If desired, garnish serving platter with orange wedges and parsley.

For a quick and easy vegetable, consider this sauté of broccoli and carrots. The carrots are the pre-packed kind from the produce section.

One could also purchase broccoli flowerets. And, the pine nuts can be roasted ahead of time.

With everything ready, this veggie is on the table in about 15 minutes.

½ cup pine nuts

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 head broccoli (about 1 ½ lb.)

trimmed to flowerets

1 bag (10 oz.) matchstick carrots

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. dried Italian seasoning

2 tbsp. lemon juice

¼ tsp. black pepper

1. In a large skillet, toast pine nuts over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pine nuts to a small bowl. Set aside.

2. In same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté about 1 minute or just until garlic starts to color. Add broccoli, carrots, salt and Italian seasoning. Increase heat to medium-high; sauté for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are cooked bit still slightly crisp. (If vegetables start to stick, add a few tablespoons water.)

3. To serve, place vegetables in serving bowl; toss with lemon juice, pepper and pine nuts.

Roasted cauliflower served with a cheese sauce, may, convert people… especially kids… who think they don’t like cauliflower. The sauce is a French classic: Mornay Sauce.

Cauliflower

2 small heads (4 ½ lb. total),

trimmed

and cut into flowerets

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¾ tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

Sauce

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

1 ½ cups milk

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. white pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

6 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

(about 1½ cups)

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1.Cauliflower: Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, toss together cauliflower, oil, salt and black pepper until cauliflower is well coated.

2.Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet, at least 15 x 10 x 1-inch. Roast the cauliflower at 400 degrees, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until tender and evenly browned.

3.Sauce: Near end of roasting time, in a medium-size saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and whisk about 3 minutes or until the flour and b7utter are blended and the mixture is slightly brown. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Add salt, white pepper and nutmeg; simmer, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk in cheese and cayenne pepper until the cheese is melted and well blended.

4.Transfer cauliflower to a large serving platter. Spoon sauce over the cauliflower.

This beautiful dessert is perfect for holiday dinners when folks seem to linger around the table. Look for unblemished, firm-ripe Bosc pears. Both the pears and sauce are made in advance.

Poached Pears

1 bottle (750 ml) white wine

1 ½ cups sugar

1 (2-inch strip lemon peel

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 whole stick cinnamon

6 whole cloves

6 firm ripe Bosc pears

Butterscotch sauce

1 cup packed light-brown sugar

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

¼ cup light corn syrup

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup heavy cream

2 tsp. vanilla

1. In a large saucepan, bring wine, sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon and cloves to a boil; boil about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Peel pears, leaving stems on. Core from bottom. Add pears to the pan; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate pears in liquid about 4 hours or until cold. (Can be prepared up to a day ahead.)

2.In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt. Over medium-low heat, stir about 3 minutes or until blended. Over medium-high heat, bring to a gentle boil; boil for 2 minutes, without stirring. Remove from heat; stir in cream and vanilla. Let cool. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until thickened.

3.Spoon sauce over drained pears.