6 Easter Menu Ideas

quiche | home fries | salad | madeleines | raspberry ricotta cake | homemade cream eggs

When I was a little girl the Easter Bunny would bring us dried fruit, maybe some m&ms & a small toy. Rarely did we have the novel chocolate bunnies waiting for us in our baskets. My mom got a nutrition degree from Cornell so I’m pretty sure she laid down the law with the Easter Bunny about what could & couldn’t make the basket. That said there was always plenty of dessert around in the form of baked goods at Easter that were sugary but usually more fruity or Italian cheese cakey, I suppose to compensate for the lack of chocolate bunnies.  That is probably why half of the recipes I pulled for this post are desserts (he he). Grab the links for those 6 recipes here:

1. quiche 
2. home fries 
3. salad 
4. madeleines 
5. raspberry ricotta cake 
6. homemade cream eggs

Easter’s one those holidays that can start early, like breakfast. So why not make some brunchy type foods for your family? We’ll be spending Easter with family & I’ll be bringing deserts. I’ll probably make this or maybe something new. I haven’t yet decided. What are you making?

Happy Easter y'all :)

P.S.: If you're looking for decorating inspiration check out how my mother-in-law decorates here. She never disappoints. It's always festive & tasteful!

P.P.S. Happy Passover, too!

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Toasted Almonds

Growing up my mom would always make a ‘special Easter breakfast’ that usually consisted of strawberries & cream. It was super simple but rich & memorable & we loved it. Now that Easter is almost here I think these pancakes with bananas, chocolate chips & toasted almonds would make for a memorable tradition or you can make them on any weekend morning that you want to make special.

What do you make on Easter morning? Is it something traditional or something new each year?

Jalapeño Scrambled Egg Tacos

I love tacos. We make them at least a few times a month if not weekly at our house. I like them all. It’s so fun to add a little this & that & build as you go & then eat with your hands! What I love even more is serving everything on a cutting board which means less dishes to wash (tiny win!). This week I’ve been making piece meal trips to the grocery store so there hasn’t been a whole lot to work with when I conjured up this idea of egg tacos. We had eggs so that is what went in the tacos. I don’t love scrambled eggs but in these tacos I did.

Regardless, I would make these again for breakfast, lunch or dinner. These would actually be really fun for a brunch party. They’re simple & tasty & most importantly fun to eat!

Raisin, Coconut & Oat Scones with a Maple Glaze

Scones will always remind me of the coffee house that I worked at in college. We always had them & they always sold out. I would always bring some to my mom when I could - she was (& still is) a huge fan of the scones at Immaculate Consumption. I of course ate them but I never made them.

This past weekend I decided I would finally give it a try. I combined a bunch of recipes to come up with mine which I can say I’m proud of. If you’ve never had a scone it’s like the love child of a biscuit and muffin. They can be sweet or savory. The ones I opted to make were sweet with raisins, coconut & a maple glaze. 

Have a great weekend! I hope you make these for breakfast :)

Apple Dutch Baby

I love pancakes, I do. They do take some time to make as you have to make one individually. If you don't have that time to make a dozen pancakes when you're serving guests or more than two people I suggest a dutch baby pancake. It's basically a giant pancake you bake in the oven & then cut up like a pie to serve. So with the time you save flipping your cakes you can get your kitchen clean (because you really don't need to dirty that many dishes to make a dutch baby) & you can actually relax after brunch.

Have you made a dutch baby? What do you put in yours?

Savory Egg, Leek, Herb & Goat Cheese Crêpe Squares

I love making crepes. Albeit they take some practice so if you don’t get them on the first try keep trying, you will. Plus, eating the mistakes is a great perk! I made these for brunch this weekend. I’ve also made this version of them for brunch with my girl friends a while back (like last year!). They’re great to make ahead & to serve at room temperature. They also look super posh & make for a completely satisfying breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Crispy Oven-Baked Home Fries

Ever wonder how your favorite brunch spot gets their home fries to taste in between creamy & fluffy on the inside with a crispy outside? Well I have, so I made it my mission to find out how.

I feel as though I have found the holy grail of making crispy home fries at home in my oven (that's right oven - no frying) thanks to the kitchn’s post! There is no danger of a deep fryer (so that makes 'em healthier right?) & that in itself justifies eating seconds & thirds of these at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

The key take aways from the kitchn’s method is to cook the potatoes partially in water, toss them in olive oil & salt, & then bake them at a super high temperature in the oven. Et voila, perfect home fries every time.

Thirsty Thursday: Brunch Menu + Wine Pairings

It’s really amazing how the right wine/food pairing can make a whole meal taste better. I’ll admit most of the time I stick with wines I like, like Sauvingon Blanc & mild red table wine. I like what I like but I also really like learning about new wines & why they pair well with different foods. 

This is the first (of hopefully many) Thirsty Thursday posts here on Heather O Made that I'll be teaming up with Bottle Rush* to bring you a menu (of recipes) you can make at home & wines you can serve.  Tamara Lover of Bottle Rush will provide the brain power behind knowing which wines will work best.  Tamara is a sommelier (read: she went to grad school for wine & yes you can do that!). She knows her stuff.

This week I chose a brunch menu because I think it’s such a fun meal to invite friends over to have & if the weather permits to sit outside & soak up the sun in the meantime.

Savory & Spicy French Toast

Around 5:30/6:00pm everyday I am reminded that I'm now an adult.  This revelation comes from the fact that I (not my mom) have to answer the question, "what's for dinner?" Last night I perused the web for an idea of what to make. I like to try new things as much as make things I've made a million times. This recipe for savory french toast seemed like a good mix of the two.

Chris loves breakfast for dinner so I thought I'd give it a try.  Note to self: when making french toast of any sort, make sure you have bread in the house. I'd like to give a special thanks to Chris for running out to get said bread last night to make this post possible. Thanks Chris!

I used the recipe I found on Food52.com (worth checking out if you haven't yet) as inspiration while improvising with the things I had on hand.  I served it with a salad for dinner. I think this is definitely a brunch worthy dish for the weekend as well so you have Saturday & Sunday coming at you why not give it a try? Check out my recipe after the jump.

Mushroom, Basil & Egg Crepe Squares

These crepes seem to be my go-to for weekend brunch.  I usually take a look in the fridge at what's left from the week & try to work with it. This recipe incorporates the mushroom mixture from these delicious appetizers plus a basic crepe.

See more photos & the recipe after the jump!

Two Cheese Toast

This toast or open faced grilled cheese has two cheeses. Yes, two. What can I say I'm doing tummy stretches for the food intake the holidays bring. It's only normal to "stretch" before a long race right?

So I'm stretching with this yummy two cheese toast that is bastardized version of the three cheese sandwich at Immaculate Consumption in S.C.  I didn't have three cheeses, I had two. I was pretty much lacking everything else on the original (sprouts & tomatoes) but I had made my favorite honey mustard & I had some spinach.  The result was tasty so I suggest you "stretch" you tummy accordingly!

Click through for the easier than pie recipe. No really it's easier than pie. Pie isn't easy to make, who ever made up that saying any way?  It's as easy as toast. There. That sounds better.