EASTER

When you think of Easter in our home, you immediately think of Italian ham pies and Easter egg hunts.   Even though my children are now older, we still do an Easter egg hunt, but now the eggs are filled with money.  Both girls still compete with who can find the most.   My job is not any easier in hiding, because I no longer can get away with just anywhere; I have to make it tough since they are older.  They should, after all, need to work for this “free” money.    I have been telling myself for the last 2 years that I need to make a map of the hiding spots.  This year was the first year that we actually did not hide any real eggs.  That decision was the result of two eggs never being found last year until much later in the week or month because I could not remember.  I have sleep apnea, so I blame that for my memory loss!  Truth be told, I actually want to say months, but then you might think that I do not clean my house!   I do, but maybe not quite as extensive as it should be.  Let me also throw in a visual picture of 2 dogs and 7 cats of them accidentally coming across my hiding spots.  This is my excuse why the map has never come to be.  If I hide the eggs the night before, then I could make a map, but due to the animals, I need to hide them in the morning and no one really sleeps in late, so therefore I have no time to make a map. 

Even though we no longer hide real eggs, we still dye them.  Each year I try to find a different kind of dying or decorating kit.  Some years they are quite beautiful and some years, you really don’t want to take credit for them.  You might want to say that you were babysitting some of the little kids in the neighborhood and they wanted to help dye the eggs.   You might get away with that excuse.  See one such example below. 

But we had a blast and we were all crying from laughter.  We videoed this display, along with commentary, for our extended family later in the day.  We cried again with laughter and all the family could say is that “something is wrong with all of you."

The Italian ham pies are what everyone waits for at Easter.  Each year’s pies are compared to previous years and just whose pies are better.   I believe the original recipe, not that there was an actual one, was my Grandmothers or her Mother’s.  Italians (and I am sure others too) tend to just throw things together and go by the feel rather than actual measurements.  My mother and I took years adjusting what we first believed the recipe to be, to get the perfect pie.  Each year my mother, who has not made a pie in years now, will say that she just stopped making them a year or so before.  She also will find something wrong with them to say her pies were better or that I did something wrong without her.  An example of that is one year I said I may have put to much garlic in.  (I refuse to taste the mixture uncooked, where she would have to tell if something is missing or if there is too much of something.)  When the pies were given out she said they were good but that they had a bit too much garlic.  Other family members have said mine were the best.  But I will give credit where it is due, it was my mother that actually did the adjustments when we were trying to perfect it.  She showed me the ropes of exactly what to do and just how thick the crust should be!  The pies are a lot of work and could be costly, but they are a special treat.  We do not make them any other time of year, so they are truly a treat!  In preparation of the pies, I take off work the Thursday and Friday before Easter.  I actually begin on Wednesday night and get everything cut and mixed, so that I can start fresh on Thursday morning.  Each pie takes about 1 hour to bake, so I am baking until the evening hours.  Because they have meat in them, and we cannot eat meat on Good Friday, we make a spinach pie with the leftover crust dough, so we can enjoy the pies on Friday.  I begin passing them out on Saturday to my family and friends.  A little hint if you decide to try them.  Differentiate them by putting a touch of spinach on the top of the spinach pies.  Any dough left over after the spinach pies, we try and do something with, create a cookie with chocolate, cinnamon and raisins or a bread twist with garlic and cheese.    Experiment with whatever!  You might find something that you like.

A dessert that I always make for Easter is a Coconut Pound cake.  The recipe is below for that also.

Italian Ham Pie

Crust Recipe (makes 10) – you will need to make this about 2 times.  The extra crust from the 10 balls, set aside and use for the spinach pies or cookies or dough twists.  The dough becomes tougher to roll after the first time.  If you don’t mind dealing with the toughness of rolling, it still tastes the same.

10 cups flour

5 eggs

1 ¾ cup melted Crisco (25 Tbsp)

1 ¾ cup water

1 teaspoon salt

Make well in flour and add the rest.  Separate into equal size balls – about 10.

Fill with ham pie mixture – Bake at 375 degrees for at least 1 hour.  Rub egg yolk (mixed with very small amount of water) on crust when removed from oven.  These eggs are separate from what is used above!

Ham Pie Mixture

6 sticks of pepperoni – cut in ½ and sliced long ways (cut into small pieces with scissors)

1 lb. bacon (cut into small pieces)

3 pounds ital. sausage (casing removed) (separate by swishing with fingers)

5 lb. canned ham diced (into little cubes)

6 lb. ricotta cheese

1 cup grated locadella cheese (can use romano or parmesan)

4 hard boiled eggs diced

10 large eggs

Garlic Powder

Parsley Flakes

Roll out 1 ball of dough, as thin as possible, fill with a line of ham pie mixture.  Fold over dough to enclose mixture.  Cut off excess leaving about ½ inch to 1 inch remaining around pie.  Seal with fork around pie.

Spinach Mixture

4 large bags spinach

Garlic

Salt

Olive oil, water

Cook spinach, making sure all liquid is gone. Pat dry.

Coconut Pound Cake – Bake at 350 degrees, approximately  1 ¼ - 1 ½  hours. (until pick comes out clean).

1 cup butter

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup frozen coconut, thawed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon coconut extract

Cream butter, gradually adding sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.  Combine flour, soda, salt and mix well.  Add it to cream mixture, alternating with sour cream.  Beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Stir in coconut and flavorings.  Pour into greased and flour 10” tube pan.

Cool in pan 10-15 minutes.  Remove.  Cool completely.  Sprinkle with powder sugar.  (You can also drizzle chocolate if desired).

Hope you enjoy the recipes and my blog!