Easter recipe round up (and some polka favorites)

Hey! So I’ve been cooking up a storm lately, but nothing really blog worthy. More so, just some old favorites, many that I’ve already posted. With Easter coming up, there are some good things in the archives for your holiday brunches and dinners so let’s recap today.

This past weekend, I celebrated my annual “Polish Easter” dinner with friends. It’s my very favorite of all the made up holidays, and most of the real ones too. I started inviting friends over years ago as an excuse to cook the Polish dishes my family ate every Easter – sausage, pierogies and of course, the traditional butter lamb. It’s become a favorite of everyone, most especially me. This year, for the kapusta (a sauerkraut and smoked sausage dish), I tried lacto-fermentation for the first time and made my own sauerkraut. I know, crazy but a friend gave made me a fermentation jar for my birthday and I was dying to try it out. Let me tell you, the resulting kraut was ridiculously good in the finished dish. Crazy good! It was easily the favorite of the night. And it’s super easy to make too – just cabbage, salt and about 3 weeks. (OK so it won’t be ready by Sunday but think about it. I used this recipe.) I made a ton of food per usual, some from the blog archives like these recipes:

• Harvest Crackers – just like those fancy expensive ones from Whole Foods! And a great use for those leftover bits of nuts and dried fruits
• Pickled Green Cherry Tomatoes  – maybe save this one until fall but they’re great on a cheese platter
• Sweet & Spicy Beer Mustard – so easy and delicious with Polish sausage
• Wild Rice & Onion Bread – easily one of my favorite breads. I really don’t know why I only make it once a year (I subbed wild rice for the rye berries)
• Escargot Style Garlic Roasted Mushrooms – all the great garlicky flavors of escargot but on roasted mushrooms instead. So. Damn. Great.
• Kolacky (Polish butter cookies) – wouldn’t be Easter without them

For a laugh, I bought a bunch of cheap hollow chocolate bunnies and gently cut the tops of the ears off to make little cups, which I filled with Bailey’s Irish Crème Liquor. Bunny shots! (Pro tip: buy a few extra. There are always a few leakers, as you can see below.)

In addition to the items above, there are a bunch of other recipe here that would be lovely on your Easter table:

Appetizers and snacky things:

• Puff Pastry Asparagus Spears – puff pastry, asparagus, proscuitto baked until crispy. Make extra.
• Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers – super simple and delicious
• Spicy Seeded Parmesan Straws – great for snacking on while that damn ham bakes
• Bacon Wrapped Dates – the legend, the classic

Bready things:

• Soft Potato Rolls – if you need a soft, squishy roll, look no further
• Hot Cross Buns – lightly spiced, iced and fruit studded.
• Buttermilk Biscuits – biscuits make a breakfast
• Orange Sweet Rolls – like the kind in the tube but 1000 times better
• Everything Bagels – yes, you can make your own bagels
• Cheddar Monkey Bread – a different, and cheesy, spin on pull apart bread
• Classic Yeast Coffeecake – streusel and icing topped
• Sour Cream Coffeecake – a moist, bundt style coffeecake
• Sticky Bun Bread – caramelized brown sugar is all you need to know
• Barley Marmalade Scones – a whole grain spin on a classic brunch treat

Brunchy things and side dishes:

• Cold Cucumber Buttermilk Soup – bright, tangy and deceptively easy
• Potato Goat Cheese Strudel – an impressive, crown pleasing side dish
• Zucchini Ricotta Galettes – pretty and delicious
• Roasted Tomato & Asparagus Quiche – everybody loves a quichy
• Quiche Lorraine – the OG of the brunch world
• Popovers & Strawberry Butter – you can’t make these fast enough
• Lemon Ricotta Doughnuts – fry ’em to order and the kids will go insane
• Gravlax (Cured Salmon) (homemade bagels are in the bready things above!) – making your own cured salmon is ridiculously easy

Desserts and sweet things:

• Lemon Tart – is there anything more classic than a good lemon tart?
• Homemade Crème Eggs – if you’re up for a project
• Tuscan Rice Pudding Torte – rice pudding but way better
• Passionfruit Pavlova – elegant and easy
• Lemon Loaf Cake – pucker up
• Brown Butter Blueberry Ricotta Cake – a cross between a cake and a coffeecake and so damn good

So make some delicious things and fire up the polka music! Happy Easter!

Speaking of polkas, here’s a few recommendations to liven up your day.
Who Stole the Kishka – my all time favorite!
In Heaven There Is No Beer – a classic from the Polka OG Frankie Yankovic
Hamilton Polka – a new favorite! How can you beat Lin-Manuel Miranda & Weird Al???

Things I’ve posted about at this time in years past:
nine years ago: Khachpuri (cheesy Georgian bread)
eight years ago: Oatmeal Jam Bars, Pretzel Rolls (still the most popular post)
seven years ago: Guinness Stout Floats
six years ago: Chocolate Banoffee Tart, Liege Sugar Waffles, Corned Beef & Potato Cakes
five years ago: Reuben Knishes, Masala Chai, Banana Bread Bread Pudding
four years ago: Guinness Crème Anglaise
three years ago: Flourless Chocolate Cookies
two years ago: Chouquette, Sausage Hand Pies, Guinness Pretzel Toffee
last year: Upside-Down Guinness Snakebite Cake, Marcella’s Butter Tomato Sauce, Pici (hand rolled spaghetti), Old School Garlic Bread