Easter 2025

[Duvel]

Even later than @Shelby last year I realized there is no 2025 version of the annual Easter thread. Let’s correct that 😉

 

Out Easter 2025 started on Maundy Thursday when we drove up to Northern Germany to visit my parents. My sister and BIL were joining as well. Before arriving at home we visited the most kissed girl in the world and bought some goodies for Easter in town …

 

 

My mom is not that agile anymore, so this year I was in charge of the whole food during the weekend. Which is a big thing, since she always liked to pamper us - and surely enough when we arrived an still warm mandarine cheesecake was waiting for us 🤗.

 

 

I took over from there. Dinner was a “light” affair (in view of the things to come): I recently presented my mom with an air fryer (easy to use, easy to clean), so she asked how to make chicken wings - and dinner was set: chicken wings (both “spicy” with blue cheese dip and “kindergarten”), steak with herb butter, loaded nachos with dips and a green salad with mustard dressing for good measure. No complaints (and my father will get wings now once per week ☺️) …

 

 

Good Friday started with a regular breakfast before we all went to a nearby spa town for some hot springs and relaxation. For dinner I brought 4 kg of fresh Palatinate Spargel with me from our area.

 

As you are aware, asparagus is king in Germany during spring season, and this one was as good as it gets. I ate several sticks raw while preparing. Served with young potatoes anda regular Hollandaise (for my parents and me) and a lemony one for the younger ones. Typically one would serve raw & cooked ham with asparagus, but to keep in the Good Friday tradition I purchased Scottish smoked salmon, brown shrimp, smoked eel and boiled octopus legs instead. It was a match made in heaven. Everything was finished 🥳

 

 

[Duvel]

On Saturday we took care of some things at home, before making a little hike through the local forest.

 

 

The weather was beautiful and @weinoo will be delighted to hear that the whole forest in wild ramps and woodruff. You could smell them actually from the paved trail. You are allowed to take one handful, we we did …
 

 

On the way back we stopped at a local farm, that sells their produce in a small shed next to the road.

 

 

Their sausages are great, all homemade from their pigs. You pay by an honor system: take what you want (price indications are given) and place your money in a box. Good stuff !

 

 

The night before Easter Sunday my hometown (just as many others in the area) light a bonfire to celebrate, which my be linked now thematically to Easter but is more of a pagan ritual, definitely predating anything Christian in our area.

 

I prepared some antipasti for dinner: grilled veggies, pickled champignons, dips, some olives, buffalo burrata with tomatoes and a rosemary focaccia, that I started two days ago upon arrival.

 

 

Upon dawn we climbed up the local hill and watched the bonfire.

 

 

Of course there was some curry sausage to be had, together with beer and good company 🤗

 

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel

 

Nice !

 

Pleased you are back .

 

your posts have been missed , sausage wise at least !

[chromedome]

Yup, good to see you! It's been too long.

Easter dinner here was nothing out of the ordinary. Did a ham, scalloped potatoes, squash, veg, etc, and an apple crisp for dessert. My GF sadly can't eat pork anymore (especially cured pork) for medical reasons, but through cautious experimentation we've discovered that she can still eat foods infused with the ham's flavor. So I poached a chicken breast in the ham's drippings for her, and she got to have the (lightly) ham-infused chicken breast with the various side dishes and ham gravy.

Then I popped the remainder of the ham into the Instant Pot the next day for 20 minutes, deboned it and put the bone back in for another 20 minutes, and made split pea soup. She can eat that as well, and had missed it sorely. I just dice up a bit of ham to go into my own bowl along with the soup, for the full experience.

 

I also baked cookies and sent a box off to the grandkids in Alberta, since the postal strike had prevented me from sending their usual box at Christmas time.

[Duvel]

Easter Sunday started off with a nice breakfast (before the Easter egg hunt) …
 

 

Little one had prepared “rabbit” marshmallows, that were enthusiastically received. None survived the breakfast (much to everyones surprise) …

 

 

Well before breakfast the traditional leg of lamb was prepped and went into a low oven for the better part of the day …

 

 

While it was doing its thing unsupervised, we played games and made another round in the fields, only briefly interrupted by “the other traditional lamb” 😉

 

 

At dinner, the leftover asparagus plus the cooking fond was made into a nice Spargelsuppe. So nice, actually, that noone took a picture 🤭

 

 

The lamb (that after ~8h in the oven was meltingly tender) was served with string beans (and hazelnut/panko/browned butter), roasted carrots with honey & thyme, mashed celeriac with potatoes and pommes duchesse. 
 

 

 

Very, very good. And plenty of leftovers, too 🤗

 

As dessert we had a classic red wine foam with berries. 
 

 

And finally a apricot brandy to call it a day. Good times indeed 🥳

 

[rotuts]

@Duvel

 

what are these ?

 

 

Jams and jellies ?

[Duvel]

Yeap, my mom makes them. Raspberry, lemon & ginger, “across the garden” (red fruits) and elderberry. Plus storebought Nutella, Biscoff cream and local honey …

Edited April 23 by Duvel (log)

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Spargel

I ALWAYS think of you when I think of this--I am so envious.  That looks divine.

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

You pay by an honor system: take what you want (price indications are given) and place your money in a box. Good stuff !

 

This.  Is.  Awesome.  

 

SO good to see you and your family and all of your delicious food!  I love the bunny rabbit napkins.  

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Yeap, my mom makes them. Raspberry, lemon & ginger, “across the garden” (red fruits) and elderberry. Plus storebought Nutella, Biscoff cream and local honey …

 

Are you able to procure fresh elderberries and/or the flowers?

[Tropicalsenior]

@Duvel even though I know that I am going to have to suffer the agony of envy every time you post, I am so glad to see you back.

[Duvel]

12 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Are you able to procure fresh elderberries and/or the flowers?

Yes, you can buy the flowers or forage them easily. I am not sure about the berries, but would assume so.

[KennethT]

@Duvel Happy Easter and I am so glad to see you!

[FauxPas]

Frohe Ostern! 

 

Such delicious-looking food and lovely family traditions!

 

Nice photo of you and your dad at the bonfire. I missed seeing a photo of your son, though! Your 'little one' who is likely becoming less little all the time, ha.  🙂

 

So nice to see you back here! 

[TdeV]

@Duvel, thank you for coming back. Lovely to see you and your Dad.

[MaryIsobel]

Another who is happy to see you back.

My goodness - your days of Easter spreads put my brunch to shame! We had our two daughters and their husband/fiance, as well as fiance's parent for Easter brunch. Mimosas, caprese skewers, then ham, cheesy potatoes, Ina's green green, green spring vegetables, a salad with artichoke hearts, roasted red red peppers, red onion, red lettuce, romaine and a red wine/olive oil/parmesean dressing. My daughter supplied dinner rolls that she had gotten up early to make that day and we had carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a trifle made with angel food cake, passion fruit curd, mangoes, raspberries, kiwi and whipped cream. Everyone was sufficiently stuffed. Havind had only daughters, I am still in awe of and learning how much those 30-year-old fellows can put away. Told. my husband that we might need two hams next year!

Edited April 23 by MaryIsobel
hit submit too soon (log)

[gfweb]

Me too. Glad you are back.

[ElsieD]

Welcome back, @Duvel.  I've missed you.

[lemniscate]

On 4/23/2025 at 3:54 AM, Duvel said:

woodruff.

 

I've had woodruff syrup added in beer in the past, but I cannot recall the actual flavor profile.

 

We had breaded veal cutlets (I had a D'artagnan veal roast I sliced and pounded into thin cutlets), sauteed mushrooms, steamed green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, sliced fresh tomatioes and carrot cake (Trader Joe's mini sheet cake, so good!).

 

Before lunch we did the "egg war" or "egg tapping".   Mom won (again).

[FrogPrincesse]

Thanks for starting this thread, @Duvel, and great to see you back on eGullet!

 

It was just my husband and me this year. We started with a simple little gems - heirloom tomato salad, and homemade confit garlic and sun-dried tomato focaccia.
 

For the main course, I made a classic mustard-crusted and garlic-studded rack of lamb and Kenji’s best crispy roast potatoes (which disintegrated a bit, but were very tasty). I just love a good rack of lamb and this was perfect!