Earl Family's Easter Feast

Why seek the living among the dead? - He is RISEN

The beauty of Easter is that so many celebrate the resurrection. For this year's family celebration I decided to invite those family members who could make it over to our house for a small feast (Easter dinner, anyway). I originally thought about baking a ham, but I had a turkey breast in the freezer and I didn't think many would be able to make it over, so the turkey breast seemed great. Since our grandboys are all grown, no Easter baskets or egg hunts happen anymore. But I had an idea. Everyone likes my wife's deviled eggs, so I would find a way to color them!

The Eggs—Cooking:
I started the eggs in my dedicated egg cooker, one of the best small appliances I have ever owned. They steam to the selected doneness and don't form a green ring around the yolk. I then place the eggs in a SALAD SPINNER filled with very cold water but no ice. Spin the eggs with the spinner and they will cool down FAST. Change out the water and allow the eggs to cool

completely. They should peel rather easily. After peeling I placed the 12 peeled eggs into a deviled egg container/carrier. These are available at the dollar store and are one of the few values in their kitchenware selection. I then begin the process of cutting them in half. This can be a problem using a knife, so I tried my cheese slicer and it worked perfectly! To remove the yolks, I used a teaspoon, then refrigerated the 24 half-yolks to be made into the filling. Now the eggsperiment (coloring) begins!

The Eggs—Coloring:
I followed the dying instruction found on the McCormick site using about 4 oz. of water and half a teaspoon of vinegar. I started with 5 drops of color, but found that 10 was better. and you must leave them in the color a bit longer than when coloring the shells because the whites, when cooked, are somewhat waterproof. After trying the basic colors I expanded my palette by mixing. Some got very weird according to some, but guess what? They were delicious after my wife added her special recipe filling with some extra mustard per request of my #2 Daughter!This was the first item eaten and the only one with no leftovers! Okay, enough with the deviled eggs on a holy holiday. Moving onward...
The feast, is now relocated to Daughter #2's new home because it is a much better location and we expanded the guests to include some of her in-laws too. The more the merrier, I say.

The Turkey Breast:
The turkey breast label says it is slow-cooker friendly, which is perfect for me because we will be eating late in the afternoon and it will have plenty of time to roast. The only problem is it doesn't quite fit! I chose my largest slow-cooker, and covered the bottom in yellow onions, which I quartered. I find this makes a good bed for slow roasted meats.It keeps the meat above liquids as it roasts. I use seasoning salt, pepper, and some fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs. Dried works also. Because of the size of the breast, I must cover it with foil rather than the lid. which works fine with this slow cooker...except, half way through roasting, it stops! I remove the insert and place it in the oven while another slow cooker is prepared and heated. (And they say I have too many kitchen appliances). Disaster averted! This is also a good reason to keep an eye on your meal even though it is slow cooking. I also baste the bird throughout with butter and the juices.

The Potatoes & Gravy:
While the turkey cooked, I work on the sides. My wife thinks I overdo it when I cook for these types of meals, and today was no different. I wanted mashed potatoes, gravy and corn, simple but delicious. I did help myself by using mashed potatoes from a package that use butter & cream, and the gravy packet that comes with the turkey, to which I added a packet of a very good brand of roast turkey gravy mix. Both came out very good and saved me valuable time. This was the first time I tried Idahoan's SIGNATURE russets, and I had never combined the dry roast gravy packet with frozen gravy included with the bird. Both turned out marvelous and everyone enjoyed them!

The Corn I Made:
I had some frozen corn in the freezer, which we rarely eat, that I thought I could enhance a bit. I had a bottle of freeze dried chives, which I added to some olive oil to reconstitute. I then added the chives to the corn along with copious amounts of butter and pepper.. The corn turned out good too!

The Rolls:
At the last minute I decided rolls would go well with all of this! We had no time, but I remembered I had a package of frozen rolls I had purchased for just such an emergency. I removed them from the freezer to a rack in the oven and they were ready in under 15 minutes. That was it for our contributions. Now we just had to figure out a way to keep them warm and get them delivered to our daughter's house. Slow cookers are marvelous for this, and when you get there, just plug them in to keep warm while the guests arrive!

The Corn My Daughter Made:
My #2 daughter also contributed to this affair, even though I want didn't to put her out, and she was letting us use her home. She made a wonderful choice of corn-on-the-cob, which I didn't know about, or I wouldn't have made mine, but it was buttery and delicious.

The Dessert—Strawberry Shortcake:
My daughter also had the perfect spring dessert, strawberry shortcake, for us to enjoy. Nothing elaborate just the simple tastes everyone loves! The aerosol whipped cream was a particular favorite.

Results:
Fun & food was had by all and it was a tremendous get together in a terrific setting for a special holiday!