A Southern Easter dinner

(Editor’s note:  We asked tea expert and Westfair contributor Ellen Easton to supply us with a recipe for Easter. She has given us a bounty in the form of a menu and accompanying recipes for a Southern-style dinner that includes recipes from her mother, the late confectionary artist Reva Paul. It’s perfect for Easter Sunday, March 31.) 

• Corn Chowder 
• Reva Paul’s Southern Biscuits 
• Green Bean Casserole 
• Macaroni and Cheese 
• Baked Glazed Ham with Pineapple 
• Carrot Cake 

(Recipes ©Ellen Easton. All Rights Reserved.) 

Corn Chowder ©Ellen Easton (All Rights Reserved.) 

Ingredients:  

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
• 1 sweet onion, chopped 
• 1 medium shallot, chopped 
• 3 garlic gloves, chopped 
• 1 teaspoon Reva Paul’s seasoning mix (2 and 1/2 tablespoons onion powder, 2 and ½ tablespoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper) 
• 1 small can yellow corn, drain liquid 
• 1 small can white corn, drain liquid 
• 8 ounces vegetable stock  
• 1 cup nonfat Lactaid milk (Do not use skim or low percent milk. Whole milk or cream is OK.) 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
•  ¼ cup sherry (optional) 
• Fresh (or dry) herbs — tarragon, thyme, sage, rosemary – a few fresh sprigs of each to taste or ½ teaspoon of dry ground of each to taste.  

Directions: 

Place olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Add onions, shallots, garlic and seasoning mix. Cook until translucent for 2 to 3 minutes. Add corn, stock herbs and nutmeg. Simmer 10 minutes over a low flame. Add milk. (Optional:  Add sherry.) Emulsify until blended, leaving some texture to the broth. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and serve or refrigerate and reheat to serve the next day.  

Croutons, cooked crabmeat, lobster or scallops may be added if desired. 

Rosemary croutons: Lightly brush the bread of your choice with olive oil. Sprinkle ground rosemary and optional grated Parmesan cheese on top. Place on a cookie sheet in 350-degree oven until toasted. Remove from the oven. When cool, cut into small cubes. 

Reva Paul’s Southern Biscuits ©Ellen Easton 

Reva’s Prep tips: Reva used White Lily Flour, but all-purpose (AP), such as Gold Medal, is also OK. If using AP, add a little extra buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time. 

Butter must be ice cold, crumbled to medium-size pieces. 

Real buttermilk is best, but homemade can be substituted. See recipe below. 

Whisk the dry ingredients together before adding to the mixture. 

If adding herbs, spices, cheese, fruits or chocolate chips, include with the dry ingredients. 

If adding fruit, dust with flour before adding into the dry ingredients to avoid discoloring the dough. Biscuit dough has a wet texture. 

Do not roll the dough. Use your floured hands to form small balls of dough. Use a cookie cutter 1 to 2 inches in size to cut straight down into the dough. Do not twist the dough. 

Ingredients  

• 2 cups White Lily flour or all-purpose (softened wheat flour), not self-rising. 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder  
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 
• 6 tablespoons unsalted very cold butter, crumbled 
• ¾ cup buttermilk (See recipe below.) 
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda for buttermilk 
•  2 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter, melted 
• 2 tablespoons milk, to glaze tops.  
• Optional: Herbs – chives, parsley; spices – cinnamon; cheddar or Parmesan cheese; blueberries; chocolate chips. 
• For homemade buttermilk: ¾ cup of whole milk; 2 teaspoons of white vinegar; 1/8-teaspoon baking soda. Place vinegar and baking soda in a bowl. Add milk. Allow to sit, approximately 15 minutes, until the milk thickens.  

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients together – flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut ice-cold butter into the dry flour mixture with pastry cutter or fork. Place the flour and butter mixture into the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove the mixture from the freezer. Stirring with a spoon, add in the buttermilk. The mixture should now be wet. Flour a sheet of wax paper or baking mat. Also flour your hands. Gently use your hands to form the wet dough into a small ball. Knead very gently. The less you touch the dough the lighter your biscuits will bake. Touch no more than 8 times with hands. Flatten the dough to 1 and ½-inch  thickness. Cut the dough, using a 1-to-2-inch wide biscuit or round cookie cutter. Place on a baking sheet spaced apart. Brush with milk. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes. Check at 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately brush with warm butter. Serve with gravy or jam and preserves. 

Reva Paul’s Southern Baked Ham ©Ellen Easton 

• 6 to 8 pound fully cooked bone-in ham
  
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 2 to 3 tablespoons French’s yellow mustard 
• 1 fresh orange, sliced 
• 1 can pineapple slices, save juice 
• 1 cup fresh orange juice and canned pineapple juice 
•  2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 
•  1/8 teaspoon black pepper 
• Cloves 

Directions: 

Arrange the oven rack to its lowest position and preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a sharp knife, score the ham in a diamond pattern not more than ½-inch deep. Place one clove into the score of each diamond. Mix the mustard and brown sugar together to create a paste. Cover the ham with the paste. Sprinkle thyme and place orange and pineapple slices on top to cover the ham. Place the ham, flat side down, in a roasting pan and loosely cover the ham with aluminum foil. Place in the oven for 2 hours. Combine the orange and pineapple juice. Every half-hour remove the foil to baste the ham with the orange-pineapple juice. The ham is thoroughly cooked when the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The glaze will form a sticky crust. Remove the ham from the oven and allow it to rest 10 minutes before slicing. Serves 8. 

Accompaniments — biscuits, macaroni and cheese, Green Beans Almondine. 

Green Beans Almondine Casserole (Reva Paul’s recipe adapted by Ellen Easton) 

Ingredients: 

• 2 pounds green beans or haricots verts 
• 1 pound Baby Bella or Button White mushrooms, sliced  
•  Lea & Perrins Worcester sauce 
•  2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely diced 
•  4 cloves of garlic, finely diced 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 2 tablespoons Wondra or All-Purpose flour 
• 4 large sprigs of fresh thyme or one teaspoon dried thyme 
•  Reva’s Seasoning Mix (2 and 1/2 tablespoons onion powder, 2 and ½ tablespoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 
•  2 cups of whole milk or nonfat Lactaid milk 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 cup roasted slivered almonds 
• ¾ cup French’s fried onions (optional) 

Directions:  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash and cut off the ends of the green beans. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place green beans and sliced mushrooms on the cookie sheet. (Optional:  Add a splash of Lea & Perrins across all.) Roast approximately 5 to 10 minutes until tender but not too soft. Remove from oven and set aside. Place olive oil and butter into a frying pan or large saucepan on the stovetop over a low to medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, sprinkle with Reva’s seasoning mix, dust with ground cinnamon. Stir occasionally until caramelized into a soft glazed consistency – about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from pan, add to green beans and mushrooms and set aside. 

Prepare sauce for casserole. In a large saucepan over a low to medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the Wondra or flour stirring until roux is golden brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk and cream, stirring over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer until the Béchamel sauce is thick and bubbling, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add Parmesan cheese to mix all together until sauce is smooth with no lumps. 

In a 2-quart baking dish or Pyrex glass dish, place the green bean, mushroom, onion and garlic mixture evenly across the dish. Add the sauce evenly across the top of the mixture. Tightly cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until sauce is bubbling. Remove the foil and continue to bake another 10 minutes until slightly browned around the edges. Add topping of slivered almonds and optional French’s fried onions. Bake 3 more minutes until almonds and fried onions are just a bit darker and fragrant. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving. Serves 8. 

(Note:  If prepared a day in advance, tightly cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. To reheat bring to room temperature. Place tin foil, pierced with the tines of fork, over the casserole dish into a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven and heat until warm, approximately 10 minutes.) 

Classic Carrot Cake ©Ellen Easton 

Ingredients : 

For carrot cake: 

• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 
•  ¼ cup superfine sugar 
•  1 cup vegetable oil 
•  3 large eggs 
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, Nielsen Massey Madagascar Bourbon if available 
• 1 level tablespoon nonfat, plain Greek yogurt 
• Zest from 1 orange, finely grated 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
•  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
•  2 cups self-rising flour 
• 2 cups of carrots, grated 
•  3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped; colored sanding sugar; colored sprinkles (optional) 
• For Ginger Sugar Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 2 tablespoons milk or water. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. To thin the glaze, use more liquid. 
• Or for Cream Cheese Icing: 7 ounces cream cheese, softened; 1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh-squeezed; 2/3 cup powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar), sifted. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Yields enough frosting for one 8-inch cake. 

Directions: 

Prepare and set the glaze/ icing aside until ready to frost the cake. 

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Prepare 1 round 8-inch cake pan or cupcake pan with vegetable baking spray. (I use Pam Baking Spray.) Dust with Domino light brown granulate or white granulated sugar to coat the bottom and sides of the cake pan. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the brown sugar, superfine sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract and yogurt. Stir in the orange zest, cinnamon and ginger. Sifting the flour over the bowl while gently folding into the mixture. Fold in by hand the carrots and walnuts/ pecans. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake approximately 60 to 75 minutes. The cake is ready to remove from the oven when a toothpick placed into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

Remove from oven, let cake cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes and then turn cake out of the cake pan onto the wire rack to cool completely.