EASTER MENU
UNION SQUARE CARA CARA SALAD
ROASTED CARROTS
GARLIC SCALLOPED POTATOES
GLAZED HAM
JEANNE'S ORANGE ROLLS
COCONUT NEST CAKE
UNION SQUARE CARA CARA SALAD
(recently enjoyed with David in NYC)
6 Cara Cara Oranges
4 cups mixed salad greens, (arugula and spinach)
6 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup fennel, finely chopped
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Peel oranges using a sharp knife, thinly slice crosswise.
Toss together greens, crumbled ricotta, fennel, and pine nuts.
In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice and oil until blended. Drizzle over salad. Toss gently and serve immediately.
ROASTED CARROTS
3 (1-lb) bags Trader Joe's Les Petites Carrots of Many Colors
4 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Minced fresh dill or flat leaf parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
If carrots are thick, cut in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Toss ionn a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet in one layer and roast in oven for 20 minutes.
Toss carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste, serve.
MARTHA STEWART'S GARLIC SCALLOPED POTATOES
(A nod to Martha - our favorite for years)
2 cloves garlic, halved
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature, plus more for dish
3 pounds Yukon gold or all-purpose potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cups heavy cream
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rub a baking dish with garlic and butter generously. Add the garlic cloves to the dish. Arrange potatoes in layers in baking dish, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper and dotting with butter. Pour cream over potatoes. Dot top with any remaining butter.
Bake until golden and bubbling and potatoes are tender when pierced with tip of a knife, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue to bake until top is brown, about 10 minutes more. Let stand about 15 minutes before serving.
INA GARTEN'S GLAZED HAM
1 fully cooked, spiral-cut smoked ham
6 garlic cloves
8 1/2 ounces mango chutney (Major Grey's)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ham in heavy roasting pan.
Mince garlic in a food processor. Add chutney, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest and orange juice and process until smooth. Pout glaze over ham and bake 1 hour, until fully heated and glaze is well browned.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
JEANNE'S ORANGE ROLLS
In a small bowl combine:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tablespoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
Melt 1 square (1/2 cup) butter and add 2 cups milk - set aside
In a mixer combine:
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
Mix in milk and butter, then add:
1 cup flour
yeast mixture
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
Add more flour as needed (about 6 1/2 cups total)
Mix or knead for 4 minutes
Let rise 1 1/2 hours
Divide dough into fourths. Roill out into a circle and cut triangles. Brush with butter. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with PAM.
Let rise for 30 minutes
Bake at 400 degrees, 10-12 minutes - Let rolls cool, then frost.
Frosting:
1/3 cup softened butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cream or milk
Juice of 1 orange
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Whip together.
COCONUT NEST CAKE
Wet ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
4 large eggs
Dry ingredients:
2 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Additional ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon coconut extract
Coconut cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon coconut extract
2 lbs. powdered sugar, more if needed
milk as needed
Toasted coconut
Separate eggs, set whites aside.
Beat wet ingredients together including egg yolks until fluffy
Sift dry ingredients together and stir well.
Add dry ingredients to wet using mixer on low alternating with buttermilk/extract mixture.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites with a pin
Line two 9-inch pans with baking spray and flour (or line bottom and sides with parchment paper.
Bake at 275 for about 90 minutes (i only baked for about 60).
After cake is out of oven and transferred to parchment paper, poke each cake with a few holes and drizzle another 1/2 cup coconut cream over top.
After cake completely cools, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
The next day, frost immediately after removing from freeze. This keeps cake from crumbling while frosting.
Sprinkle with toasted coconut and decorate with Cadbury Eggs.
