easter menu inspo
ft. my cheddar chive biscuit recipe
Hi Friends!
I’m happy to report that it’s finally starting to look and feel like spring here in the Northeast, so cheers to surviving another brutal winter. And now that our post holiday hangovers have worn off and our New Years resolutions are officially cancelled, it’s time to start eating goooooood again.
Let’s talk brunch
I’m not a big fan of “brunch” as a concept. I am a die hard breakfast girl, and I cannot be waiting until 12PM to have my first meal of the day. You might be thinking “But Meredith, you can still eat breakfast in the morning before going to brunch…”, to that I say: Babes, that is literally lunch. My other complaint: I find a typical *brunch* is just a few hours too early to start drinking without soiling the remainder of the day with a post champagne headache. If you’re blessed with the ability to have 1-2 glasses of champagne in the early afternoon and NOT suffer from a debilitating migraine that evening, then LUCKY YOU. Also, is there anything worse than returning home from a boozy brunch and just sitting there alone, slightly tipsy, with seemingly the entire day ahead of you?? Just me??
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In lieu of brunch, I tend to gravitate towards a lively late lunch™️ gathering, ideally starting around 2PM. This way, you can have a leisurely morning/afternoon catching up on sleep and/or getting your shit together beforehand. Then, by the time lunch wraps up, it’s already almost 5PM and nearing dinner (and bed) time. Many of my Saturday lively late lunch™️ parties have segued into an impromptu night out with my friends for that reason!
The only exception to this rule, however, is a holiday brunch (I’m not a total Grinch don’t worry). With that said, I feel that Easter brunch is massively slept on, and I would like to change that. I grew up Catholic, and Easter was (and still is) a big deal in my family. Our spread contains the usual suspects, like deviled eggs and various room temp salads (pasta, potato, chicken, egg, etc), but the real star of the show is always the massive honey glazed ham at the end of the buffet.
I envy the families that do a ham for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. For us, on Thanksgiving we only do roast turkey, and for Christmas we only do roast beef. So the annual Easter ham is a once-a-year type of meal for me (remind me to fix that, I need more ham in my life).
For any of my fellow ham enthusiasts, I cannot recommend this NYT recipe for a mini cured “ham” enough. I made this for Easter in 2020 (see above) since the big family brunch was off and it was just going to be me and my parents. The recipe uses pork tenderloin, a much more manageable cut of pork, and cures it in a salt and sugar brine the same way you would a ham leg or pork shoulder. It does require sourcing special pink curing salt, which gives the ham its signature pink hue, and 5 days in the fridge. But beyond that, this recipe couldn’t be simpler. I can confirm it yields some of the most incredible “ham” I’ve ever had. I need to remember to make this this summer to upgrade my cold cuts game for beach sandwiches. And if you’re not curing your own ham from scratch, store bought will do just fine ;-)
In my opinion, the best way to eat a slice of Easter ham is between warm freshly baked biscuits with a dab of mustard and a side of pickles. Although, any warm and buttery baked good will do, but nothing says Jesus hath risen like a cheddar chive buttermilk biscuit (recipe follows).
Cookbook Update
Today I have my first day of press to promote my cookbook and I’m half nervous half excited. This book has been years in the making. Technically, I started writing it in 2022/2023, but it takes inspiration from recipes and memories I’ve gathered for the past 2 decades. And to be completely honest with you, it’s terrifying to think about it being released out into the world. Like why does it feels like the world is going to be reading my diary???? help 😭
For more Easter Inspo
Salmon is always a hit. You can’t go wrong with a classic smoked salmon and schmear spread, or you could get fancy with a smoked salmon tart. If you’re serving salmon as the main, I love this citrus roasted salmon recipe, as well as this rainbow salmon salad with creamy basil vin!
What I’m Cooking
