Monday, April 25, 2011

easter weekend

It was hard to see the weekend go....especially sending the boy back to school. blah. who needs school? Isn't August through April enough?

This weekend we ate more (still stuffed), played harder (the girl scraped her face off falling off a skateboard....she'd dainty like that), and stayed up later than normal (stuck in a heated game of Sorry....we are party animals!)

The Menu:
Breakfast: we had Martha's orange pull apart rolls (made with whole wheat pastry flour).
In between: Cadbury Eggs.
Dinner: Roast Chicken with dill, oregano, lemon and garlic.
The absolute best potatoes I have ever eaten in my life (recipe here). Gruyere cheese is my favorite.
Deviled Eggs (of course.)
Mouth watering artichokes from The Cookbook....guess you'll just have to pick up a copy when it's done to get the recipe! (see cookbook updates here)

here are just a few photos....haha mostly of food but that's how I roll.
jolueaster copybaskets1 copybaskets copytable1platebubbles copycake2 copycake1 copy

Oh....and I made angel food cake. Have you done that? I was absolutely terrified that it wouldn't work out....but it did!! yum. I knew I could count on Alton Brown to lead me through step by step.....although I would recommend not starting such a thing at 10 o'clock at night...it really could have been a disaster.

Angel Food Cake
recipe from Alton Brown 

1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 egg whites (the closer to room temperature the better)
1/3 cup warm water
1 teaspoon orange extract, or extract of your choice
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a food processor spin sugar about 2 minutes until it is superfine. Sift half of the sugar with the salt the cake flour, setting the remaining sugar aside.

In a large bowl, use a balloon whisk to thoroughly combine egg whites, water, orange extract, and cream of tartar. After 2 minutes, switch to a hand mixer. Slowly sift the reserved sugar, beating continuously at medium speed. Once you have achieved medium peaks, sift enough of the flour mixture in to dust the top of the foam. Using a spatula fold in gently. Continue until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Carefully spoon mixture into an ungreased tube pan. Bake for 35 minutes before checking for doneness with a wooden skewer. (When inserted halfway between the inner and outer wall, the skewer should come out dry).

Cool upside down on cooling rack for at least an hour before removing from pan.


We topped ours with homemade whipped cream and strawberries. 

enjoy!


22 comments:

Lesley said...

your kiddos are just precious!

and that strawberry angel food cake looks aaaamazing.

Rachael said...

Your kids look so cute!!
Love the Easter egg colors!
That chicken looks so good!
Love the table setting, and yum, cake...

banananutmeg said...

confession: I have NEVER cooked a whole chicken. There is one in my frig, and my friend Carolina from El Salvador is going to teach me. Yay.

But it won't have lemon or dill or garlic on it...just some mysterious spices I can't pronounce that she told me to pick up.

I will have to try your version next! Happy Easter!

Kaitlyn Luce said...

Your kids are just so precious. It looks like you had a wonderful Easter!

Tara said...

Beautiful kids, beautiful tulips, beautiful dinner! That was a pretty post. Tiffany made these potatoes: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/red-white-and-blue-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html
Holy moly, they were so good! The gorgonzola gave them some major flavor.
Great job on the angel food cake, I made one from a mix a long time ago, which did NOT turn out, I'll have to try that recipe, looks amazing!

Unknown said...

looks amazing!

gram said...

... home-made angelfood cake!! .. this gram is impressed! ... definetly going to have to get those chickens!... dinner looks delish!!

Lula. said...

Could your kids be cuter??? Seriously priceless expressions on their faces. How do you get them to hold hands and be all cooperative like that? You must be magic.

Looks like a beautiful and delightful weekend!
xo

Laura @ Laura Likes Design said...

I love the aerial shot of the Easter basket! So great!

Brittany said...

the kids are adorable! and yes, the food looks delicious. though at this point, i'm sort of off food. ha!

Urban Nester said...

CUTE kids. i wish we had little kids running around at our house on easter. maybe in a few years :]

xoxo,
http://alwaysamrsforeverakidd.blogspot.com

True*Lu said...

Shoot--that table setting was so simple and cute! And, yes--looking forward to when that cookbook comes out!

Mommy Sauri~ said...

His tie looks great. Oh my gosh those Tulips are amazing. Your baby girl is very cute too. Thanks for the great pics.

infinitezest said...

beautiful pictures! I really want angel food cake now

kate said...

i'm seriously so proud of myself for how good the chocolate cake turned out! (i'm not a great cook) maybe i'll try this next?

your kids are so adorable!

Haley said...

loved their Easter baskets!! the moss adds such a sweet, natural touch :)

and that delicious angel food cake recipe is another reason (added to my huge list) to buy a food processor! :)

Mariel Torres said...

that cake looks absolutely mouthwatering!

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Anonymous said...

What a beautiful presentation with whole strawberries! I tried to make an Angel Food Cake over the weekend, too, but I wasn't as successful! I made the attempt without a lot of necessary gear, ie. an electric mixer. I couldn't get my egg whites to stiff peaks...but I think this was maybe due to my mixing bowl not being completely dry (oops). But I'm looking for thoughts on whipping up an Angel food cake by hand - if I try again, do you think it could be done?

Tina @ MOMS CRAZY COOKING said...

we are looking for Angel Food Cake recipes for National Angel Food Day. If you would please stop by and link-up this recipe and/or if you have any other Angel Food Cake recipes!

http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/2011/10/this-weeks-cravings-50-angel-food-cake.html

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