Patio Dinner Party: Easter 2021
Easter 2021 was a beautiful day to have a patio dinner party. Given continued COVID restrictions in the DMV, it was doubly nice to get together with family for a low-key but festive celebration. There were ten of us eating with plenty to be had and leftovers for nibbling the next day or two.
Graves Mountain Lodge – Syria, VA
Growing up, Easter was the one holiday that we never spent at home so planning a meal requires no nods to family tradition. Our extended family – approximately 25 of us – would descend on Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, Virginia, after early Mass and frantic Easter basket finding (possibly not in that order). We would keep on our Easter fancies and ride the two hours (each way) to enjoy a ham and fried chicken buffet dinner with all the country fixin’s … none of which I can remember because really the only thing that mattered to me, and I’m pretty sure the rest of the kid population, was winning the Easter Egg Hunt.
Winning didn’t mean finding the most eggs… I mean, they were real eggs… that’s no treat. The winner was the person who found the golden egg. The. Golden Egg. That elusive ovoid was traded in for an Easter bunny. A live bunny! A living, breathing, pooping creature. A girl could just die from the excitement.
One year – and only one which is odd given the sheer number of kids our family would send out into the hunt – my cousin Ginny was on the run at top speed down the slope (Graves Mountain Lodge is on a … mountain), tripped, and fell face first into the Golden Egg! The stuff of legends, I think we tried falling into our luck the years following, to no avail. I’ve just reminded myself that I need to check with her to see whatever happened to the rabbit. Looking back with adult/parent eyes, I would be secretly rooting for my kids to be disappointed.
It’s been forever since we were seated, all of us at a long communal table, to hear the patriarch of the Lodge family announce how pleased they were that we had come and to remember, eyeing us ominously, that we may take what we want but must eat what we take. Hahahaha… I still remember leaving things on my plate. Just because I could.
EASTER DINNER MENU 2021
Good memories. And on to make new ones! Below is this year’s Easter patio dinner party menu. I know, I know… it’s kind of after the fact. But if this year’s taught me nothing else, time flies. Never wishing that to be the case, this will be here next year when I go looking. And if it can help you in your menu planning – Easter or otherwise, all’s the better.
If you make any of the recipes or have comments, please drop me a note below and/or on Instagram @piecrustandpasta and #piecrustandpasta. If you have questions, ask away. Much appreciated!
STARTER
Festivities on this patio this Easter started with glasses of chilled whites and roses and Pizza Rustica on the snack board to nibble until the main event. This is a recipe that I shared a few days ago. There are as many recipes for this stuffed pastry as there are bakers. Filled with Italian meats and cheeses, with different textures in a ricotta/basket cheese base wrapped in a flakey crust, this is the perfect make-ahead starter. Easy to put together and feeds a crowd.
LEG OF LAMB
This beautiful specimen of boneless lamb leg is from the Organic Butcher of McLean, our go-to purveyor of quality meats in NoVa. The night before Easter, I slathered the 5.7 lb. leg (which I had asked for butterflied) with a paste made of 1/4 cup good olive oil, 8ish cloves of garlic chopped finely, and a tablespoon of fresh rosemary chopped.
Easter morning, we salted and peppered it (robustly, it’s the one chance you get to season the meat) and tied it. The leg sat in the fridge until an hour before it went on the grill. BD smoked it on the Big Green Egg using Clay Hill Cookers charcoal (good clean burn) at 250F until it registered 135 on a probe thermometer. For this leg, it took approximately 3 hours. When done, the lamb was covered with foil until it was time to serve. This temperature gave nice medium rare slices at the center and more well-done slices toward the ends; a variety for the crowd.
POTATOES
Every Easter dinner requires a potato dish. My Irish side would say every meal does but that’s a discussion for another post. To continue with my make-ahead theme, I went with the New York Times Potato Leek Gratin recipe by Melissa Clark. I doubled the recipe which fit perfectly into my deep-dish lasagna pan. Some notes for make-ahead: I prepped all the way except for the final sprinkle of cheese and baking. Pressing plastic wrap onto the filling kept the potatoes from turning that odd color gray.
What I would do differently next time is slice the potatoes a little thicker. Using my Cuisinart, I used 2 mm slicing blade but the slices crumbled after baking. I think the 4 mm disk would give a nicer texture. I also poured an extra 1/2 cup or so of cream over the potatoes before baking. Also, when you double a recipe, adjust baking time up. A thicker dish runs the risk of crunchy potatoes at center if not given enough time to bake. Cover with foil when the top browns to your liking. Weird hint: Use a butter knife to check doneness. It should push easily into the center. If you get resistance, add time. These potatoes can be baked and then covered and sit for at least an hour while still staying warm.
ASPARAGUS
It just wouldn’t be Easter dinner without asparagus, the most vegetal sign of spring in my book. I didn’t plan on making a tossed salad (clutching pearls!) but wanted something with a acetic kick to cut through the other rich dishes. David Liebowitz to the rescue. His asparagus mimosa was fantastic! Yes, mimosa.
Not sure why that name; it has nothing to do with morning champagne but would definitely be perfect on a brunch table come to think of it. I actually tripled his recipe which serves two. Triple was plenty for the table with a few stalks left over. I did add the optional anchovy paste he suggests. Its flavor, if you’re wary, is not fishy but adds a certain salty something that really adds to the dish. I also toasted some panko in olive oil for crunch (1/2 cup panko in about 2 tbs of olive oil toasted over medium heat until they toasted; kept in a covered container where they stayed crunchy, until serving). I highly recommend that addition as well. While the recipe calls for roasting in the oven, next time I am going to grill the asparagus. I love the crunch tips that grilling gives the spears.
CARROTS
Color on the dinner table is always important and carrots are a great addition. They’re vivid, symmetrical (yep, that’s a thing for me) and delicious! This go, since the grill was taken, we used an Ottolenghi-esqu recipe for two pounds of thin orange carrots. First I clipped their greens down to nubs (they WILL burn) then generously oiled two sheet pans and set the oven to 425 Convection (that’d be 450F) .
When preheated, I put about 2 tablespoons of butter onto each pan and put them in the oven just long enough to melt the butter and then took them out again. In a big bowl, I put about 1/4 cup of harissa, 2 tsp of cumin seeds (not toasted) and 2 tbs of honey. I put the carrots in and thoroughly coated them in the harissa paste then laid them out on the pans making sure they didn’t touch. They baked in the oven on two racks for 20 minutes, switching top to bottom, back to front halfway through. To be sure they’re the right temp/texture, pick out the fattest one and cut it. If it’s done, the others are. If you prefer a crunch to your carrot, check a thin one.
DINNER ROLLS
These soft dinner rolls from Sally’s Baking Addiction are the perfect accompaniment to my Easter menu. They are soft, as advertised, and buttery with a hint of sweetness from the optional honey-butter added after baking. This is a double batch that I baked in a large deep dish pizza pan. Bonus is they are make-ahead. I prepped the rolls Saturday afternoon and stowed them in the refrigerator until it was time to bake them on Sunday. The extras made delicious lamb sandwiches Easter Monday.
ITALIAN CREAM CAKE
I was looking for a cake recipe that screamed Spring! but wasn’t a carrot cake. The Italian cream cake checks all the boxes for a party cake. It’s impressive looking. You really should make it a few days ahead for the flavors to develop. And it’s three layers of deliciousness that’s plenty big enough to feed a crowd. This recipe from Life Love & Sugar is loaded with toasted coconut and pecans and is frosted with a tangy cream cheese frosting. While it’s definitely decadent, it’s not tooth-achingly sweet. My father-in-law who is a huge fan of the carrot cake was not disappointed by this stand-in. In the least.
REFRIGERATOR CHOCOLATE CAKE
Last, but certainly not least is this Refrigerator Chocolate Cake that we’re (I’m?) partial to calling the Queen Elizabeth Cake. With just four ingredients and best made a day or two ahead of time, this festive, delicious no-bake cake is the perfect party cake. Decadent bittersweet chocolate and crisp digestive biscuits covered in ganache and decorated with Cadbury mini eggs (which would actually be ingredient number five) make for a fine loaf dessert that gets plenty of ooohs! and aaahhs! when delivered to the table. You’ll find my detailed recipe here.