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By Mary and Bob Haught
Dress Up (Your Table) for Easter
Whether you’re planning an Easter dinner for family members or a larger gathering, you can make it a memorable occasion by dressing up your table with a few simple touches.
No matter what you choose for a main course – ham, lamb, poultry or beef – potatoes are a reliable side dish. They can be served many ways: baked, fried, scalloped, mashed – and for that reason this versatile vegetable so easily is thought of as commonplace.
That doesn’t have to be. All it takes is a little imagination. An appetizing addition to your holiday meal is a dish called Accordion Potatoes (or Pleated Potatoes). Here’s a recipe we use:
6 small baking potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tbsp dried chives
1 tsp each of 2-3 other dried herbs (thyme, tarragon, chervil, savory)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Wash potatoes and pat dry. Melt the butter or margarine. Carefully cut each potato crosswise into 1/8-inch slices. (Tip: Cradle the potato between two wooden spoon handles. That will keep the knife from cutting all the way through.) Place on a baking sheet. Combine butter and herbs; brush over potatoes.
Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until done. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Served hot on a platter, this novel dish makes a very pleasing appearance.
Asparagus is a popular spring treat. It’s good steamed, sautéd or roasted, served hot or cold. But you can dress it up for Easter by tying on a ribbon. The green tops of scallions make excellent material for this decorative touch. (To make the tops pliable, place them in a bowl and add boiling water to cover. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water.) Add a strip of yellow bell pepper to the bundle for extra flair.An alternative, especially for chilled marinated asparagus, is to use a band of lemon peel for the ribbon.
If you’re serving cake for dessert, you’ll draw admiring comments by using an Easter theme. A church friend, Gail Pattie, is a wizard at designing clever creations, such as the Hat Cake.
So you see it doesn’t take that much effort to make the food offerings attractive and appealing as well as delicious.
There’s one more thing you can do to make the meal totally pleasing for your guests: an eye-catching centerpiece. This can be as simple as flowers or blooming branches from your yard or a basket lined with Easter grass from a dollar store. Plastic or candy eggs, chicks or bunnies can add a touch of seasonal color.
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