recipe box Wednesday-Easter Edition

I realize Easter is long gone,  but I am still catching up...

For the first time, EVER, in the 19 years of living in our home, my family came for Easter!

It all started because of the tradition of always spending the weekend after tax day with my sister and mom, which this year happened to coincide with Easter, and we talked my dad into traveling south.  Which was not at all easy to do.

They arrived on Saturday and I was the shopping guide for my mom and sis:  Homegoods, Gordmans, and other favorite spots.  Saturday evening was spent snuggled in to our little house, with a Trader Joe's appetizer buffet: 

soppresetta, bruschetta, six kinds of cheese, caramelized onion dip and crackers, 3 layer hummus and mini pita bread, veggies and dill pickle dip, wild mushroom/truffle flatbread, mixed olives, and more!  Groan.  We watched "127 Hours", really good, we viewed the amputation part through our fingers.

Sunday dawned sunny and warm!  How lucky were we?  I turned on the oven and produced mini croissants, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate croissants.  Charlie was in charge of the sausages and sugared bacon, and a giant bowl of fresh fruit rounded things off.

A neighborhood walk followed (working off those calories),

and then my family settled in to our sunny back yard while I got Easter dinner ready.  Charlie and Riley had fun with their Ripstix.  Here is my sweet nephew:

It was a mostly Ina Easter:  Virginia Baked Ham, Potato-Fennel Gratin, Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and Roasted Asparagus,

along with English Peas, Spinach Strawberry Salad with Brie and Pecans, and a Honey Bunny loaf of bread.  To find Ina's amazing recipes, just go here and search:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/barefoot-contessa/recipes/index.html

The table was set with my great grandmother's china, and chick Peeps in macaroon nests waited for each diner:

Tummies full, we later found room for Lemon Meringue Pie and Sour Cream Raisin Pie courtesy of the Clearwater Bakery (they had picked it up on their way down, oh my).  The day finished with a rousing round of rummy. 

A perfect day spent with family.