Mr. boyfriend had the main dish with some delicious ham. He also provided the macaroni and cheese. Our friend Shaye came with roils and fruit salad. I provided scalloped potatoes, a lemon (aka Easter) cake and sauteed asparagus and peas. Overall, way too much food for us, but it was delicious!
I looked around the Web for a couple different recipes to fit these needs. I found several through Foodgawker and other websites. I also turned to my hand Triple T cookbook and combined a few recipes to make the potatoes. It all turned out pretty well, all things considered. Lots of cooking in a short amount of time, but lots of fun in the end.
Sauteed Asparagus and Peas
Ingredients
2 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. minced shallots
1 bunch thin asparagus spears, ends trimmed and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces on a diagonal*
1 c. thawed frozen peas
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. honey
Directions
1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add in the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the asparagus, 1/4 teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring frequently so the shallots don't burn, for about 5 minutes or until al dente. Add the peas and honey and cook about one minute more or until the peas are warmed through. Add in more salt and pepper to taste and serve.
*To trim asparagus, bend one spear near its base to see where it naturally snaps off. Use a knife to trim remaining spears to the same length.
The scalloped potatoes were the best of the three, I think. It took a little ingenuity, but they turned out very well. I was a little nervous at first, but it turned out well in the end. It was a combination of two separate recipes that overall became a good new one.
Scalloped Potatoes
Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes, or 6 medium ones
3 T. margarine
3 T. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 c. milk
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 c. cheddar cheese
Directions:
Peel and cube the potatoes. Melt the margarine in a saucepan over low heat. Blend in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Stir in the milk and heat to boiling. Boil for one minute, still stirring. Arrange the potatoes in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish with a layer of white sauce on top and then another layer of potatoes and sauce. Top with the cheddar cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake for 60-70 minutes. Let stand before serving.
The final recipe is the lemon cake. I think it would have been better if it wasn't so dry, but I think that was because I made it the day before and it just got a little dry. It still had good flavor, though.
Lemon Bundt Cake
Ingredients:
1 c. butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c. sugar ( 1.25 c.)
zest of 1 large lemon
4 eggs, room temperature
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a bundt pan. Mix the sugar and lemon zest together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. In a third bowl, mix the lemon juice and vanilla extract into the milk.
Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until very white and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients mixture, alternating with milk in 3 separate additions. Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake on the middle rack for approximately 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and serve. *I only baked it for 35 minutes before a toothpick came out clean. I also made a lemon glaze instead of dusting with powdered sugar.
Here is a link to the original posting for this recipe.
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