Easter Feast-er

When we traveled to Palm Desert we had to rent a bigger car to fit all of us and all of Thatbaby's stuff.  All of that "stuff" is one of the reasons we're trying not to do a lot of plane travel this year.  Which meant we got to spend Easter at home.

We started with an Easter Basket for the boys.

Thatboy's basket was filled with candy and a new t-shirt.  Thatbaby had less edible/wearable things in his basket.

We also dyed eggs.  I forgot how many eggs I go through at Passover, so we only had five left to dye.  

We made them count.  I always take the broken eggs to dye.  Thatboy was pretty impressed with how mine turned out.

As usual with the Catholic holidays we celebrate, I let Thatboy pick the meal.  Easter, however, has to obviously fit within the Passover restrictions.  Which means I don't make the rice that his parents serve, or rolls/buns/bread that they also put on the table every year.  And I don't make any pies like his mom does for each Easter.  

Thatboy requested lamb - either rack of lamb, or leg of lamb.  Since I made him rack of lamb for Christmas, I thought I would go with something different.  There was a miscommunication however, because he thought "leg of lamb" but he told me "lamb shanks."  So we had shanks for dinner.  In my very humble opinion, braised lamb shanks are the way to go.

 Pomegranate Molasses Braised Lamb Shanks

2 lamb shanks

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 garlic clove, sliced

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 cup pomegranate molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Brown lamb shanks on all sides and remove from heat.
2. Add onion, carrot, and garlic.  Saute until lightly brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Add cardamom and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute.
4. Stir in pomegranate molasses and 1 cup of boiling water.
5. Place lamb shanks in a baking dish.  Pour the vegetables and liquid over the shanks.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 90 minutes, or until the meat is falling off the bone.

Since we couldn't do rice, I roasted some vegetables and turned to the number one Passover side dish - potatoes!  I sliced them thin, tossed them with onions and melted bacon fat, and then roasted them in the oven.

But the piece de resistance was dessert.  I picked up a box mix of Passover Red Velvet Cake.  But I junked their frosting to make Passover Cream Cheese frosting (Passover ingredients, Sprinkles' recipe.) It was a HUGE hit.  Thatboy was sneaking pieces for the next few days.

 

I love being able to make Easter special for Thatboy, even when he doesn't get to spend it with his family.  And it's almost nicer for me to be able to eat all the dishes instead of watching everyone else eat food I can't!