Recipes, tasty tips add up to a fabulous Easter dinner

Today is Easter Sunday, a time of joyous celebration, is a time for happy family get-togethers, and the accompanying feasting is appropriate.

Since spring is here, spring veggies will lead the way on many tables — generally delectable asparagus, lightly steamed and served simply with butter and lemon slices and perhaps rice pilaf or roasted potatoes. Salad? Easter eggs of course. Peeled, quartered lengthwise, and nestled in lettuce nests with your choice of artichoke hearts, sliced bell peppers, green onions and a variety of dressing/dips at hand.

Grandma always let sweet potatoes have their “last hurrah” at the Easter table with these good quickie biscuits served with our faithful cow Buttercup’s rich butter.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 cup mashed cooked

sweet potatoes (use baked or canned)

3/4 cup milk

1 3/4 cup sifted flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

Preheat oven to 400 and place rack in lowest third position. Mix mashed potatoes with milk in small bowl.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse meal. Make a well in the center and pour the sweet potato mixture into it. Stir thoroughly until dough masses together.

Note: This dough will be very soft, so it is not able to be rolled. Simply turn it out onto a heavily floured work surface and sprinkle top with more flour.

With well-floured hands, pat out to 3/4 inch thickness, cut into 2 3/4-inch rounds with floured biscuit cutter or glass, and arrange on ungreased baking sheet. Space 1 1/2-inches apart and bake until light brown, 30 minutes.

Marmalade Glaze

Though family traditions often opt for leg of lamb or ham for the Easter dinner, this simple but great glaze will enhance either of them.

Combine 1 cup orange marmalade with 2 tablespoons of horseradish mustard and spread on lamb or ham about halfway into baking.

For the ham, score fat to make 2-inch diamonds, insert whole cloves at junctions, then place on rack in open roasting pan; bake, uncovered, until meat thermometer inserted into center of ham registers 140 degrees — (depending on whether or not the ham is precooked).

Peel off fat (if thick enough to be necessary); spread half of mixture over ham. Bake uncovered 15 minutes, then spread ham with remaining glaze. Bake 15 minutes longer or until glaze is set and ham is well browned.

For lamb, since it is cooked quicker and at a higher temperature, I begin by putting garlic slices into slits and rubbing lamb with a mixture of soy sauce and cooking oil (a la Julia Child’s timeless recipe); then 1/2 hour before lamb is done, spread mixture over lamb, bake for 15 minutes, then spread with remaining glaze for remaining cooking time. So easy but so good.

Note: If you prefer a side of salmon or seared salmon steaks, the glaze is remarkably good on the fish as well.

For a small family, consider this luscious entree.

Tarragon Cream Chicken

(for 4)

2 tablespoons butter

4 boneless chicken

breast halves, skinned

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 cup chopped shallots

1 teaspoon dried tarragon,

crumbled (or 1 tablespoon fresh, minced)

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Lemon slices

Chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned, only a minute or two per side.

Stir in broth, shallots and tarragon.

Cover and simmer until chicken is opaque and fork-tender, 10 minutes, turning once. Transfer breasts to a heated platter and keep warm.

Boil pan juices until reduced to 1/2 cup, then add cream and cook until reduced to a fairly thick sauce, stirring constantly. Mix in lemon juice and peel; season with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over chicken breasts, garnish with lemon slices and parsley, serve. Yum.

Easter dessert should be heavenly, pure and utterly delectable. Here it is.

White Chocolate Royal Mousse

1 package (6 squares)

Baker’s Premium White Chocolate

1 1/2 cups whipping cream, unwhipped, divided

Melt white chocolate and 1/4 cup of the cream on top of a double boiler over simmering water, making sure the top pan does not touch the water beneath.

Heat, stirring as the chocolate begins to melt, continuing to stir until completely melted. Cool for 20 minutes at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a chilled medium bowl until soft but substantial peaks form.

Fold half of the whipped cream into the white chocolate, gently blending in well. Fold in remaining whipped cream just until incorporated (this provides a fluffier mousse).

Spoon into dessert dishes or chill in a bowl for pie. Refrigerate for two hours or until ready to serve. Garnish as desired with fruit, mint leaves, chocolate curls, or an orange peel.

Makes 6 half-cup servings. If you’d like to serve your mousse as a pie, here’s an incredible shell to do it justice. Make this the day before.

Meringue Nut Shell

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup very finely chopped walnuts

Generously butter a 7 or 8-inch pie pan, flour and tap out extra. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until foamy.

Gradually add sugar and continue beating until the meringue forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla and nuts.

Spread mixture on bottoms and sides of prepared pan and bake at 250 (low) heat for 40 minutes, using a timer. Turn off the oven, leave closed, and allow the shell to cool for at least 1 hour in the oven. Remove, cool completely to room temperature and fill with chilled mousse. Chill in refrigerator until serving time.

(Editor’s note: For many years, Valle Novak wrote gardening and cooking columns for the Daily Bee. “Weekend Gardener” and “Country Chef” became renowned for their humor, information, and common sense advice on how to do everything from planting to cooking. While she recently passed away, she has left behind a number of columns to share with and delight her many fans. This is one such column and was originally published on March 2010.)