For our starter, we served Baby Spinach Salad with a Lemon Vinaigrette and Goat Cheese Blossoms. The goat cheese blossoms make a pretty presentation on the plate and are so easy to make.
Recipe for Goat Cheese Blossoms:
(Make 6)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
8 oz. soft goat cheese, aprox. 1 cup at room temperature
3 tbsp. heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tsp. Dijon Musard
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 375F with the oven rack in the middle position. Brush muffin tins with melted butter. Stir together the goat cheese, cream, egg, mustard and pepper in a bowl.
Combine well.
Cover phyllo pastry with adapened towel to prevent it from drying out. Arrange 1 sheet on a work surface, and then brush with melted butter. Cut phyllo into 4 rectangles and arrange 2 of them, one over the other in a crisscross pattern and place the into the muffin tin. Repeat the procedure with the remaining 2 sheets of phyllo so that you have 6 in total.
Spoon goat cheese filling into cups and loosely gather the edges of the phyllo to form flowerlike shape. Place a blueberry into the centre of each cup. Brush pastry with melted butter. This makes it turn golden brown and flaky.
Bake the phyllo blossoms until the tops are golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. (Keep your eye on them to make sure that they do not burn)
Transfer from pan to cool slightly before serving.
Flavours of spring tantalize our taste buds with our Baby Spinach Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette.
Recipe:
10 cups of baby spinach leaves
1 cup of blueberries
Lemon Vinaigrette
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. finely chopped shallot
3 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Whisk together the olive oil, shallots, lemon juice, zest, Dijon mustard, sugar and salt. Toss with the spinach leaves. Divide the salad among the plates and garnish with blueberries. Put a warm goat cheese blossom along side each salad. Serve immediately.
To accompany the salad starter, we serve up slices of our Spring Asparagus Loaf. This savoury bread just beams with its bright yellow colour dotted with green asparagus. It tastes great even when served without butter. Although I have to confess, next day for lunch (not letting anything go to waste) we slathered the leftover bread with Asiago and Artichoke dip. Needless to say, the leftover bread was quickly consumed!
Recipe:Spring Asparagus Loaf
This loaf is encrusted in puff pastry which gives it an added eye appeal
Ingredients:
1 pkg of frozen puff pastry, thawed (use pre-rolled sheets which are easy to use)
Filling:
8 large asparagus
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup fresh crea
3 large eggs
1/2 cup soft goat cheese
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 packet of yeast
2 tbsp. grated Gruyere cheese
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and dust an ovenproof loaf pan with flour and line with puff pastry. Bake in oven at 375F for 12 minutes. (Be sure to cover the puff pastry with tin foil to prevent it from puffing up.)
Lightly peel and remove the toughest parts of the asparagus. Boil in salted water for 3 minutes. Remove and place in cold water bath to prevent further cooking. Drain and pat dry.
Whisk eggs in a bowl with the cream, salt and pepper. Add the silfted flour and yeast and slowly drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. Add the goat cheese. Add the grated Gruyere cheese. Combine mixture well.
Fill the pastry lined ovenproof pan, alternating layers of this mixture and the asparagus.
Bake for 45 minutes in a 350F oven. Let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding from pan.
Serve warm.
Evan always dazzles us with his mastery of carving techniques He showed us how to trim the lamb properly removing excess fat but leaving enough on for flavour. His meat is simply the best. He knows the farmers where his get all his meat and poultry products ensuring that they are raised free range and antibiotic free.
Evan seasoned his saddle of lamb with a combination of 1tbsp. of Keen's Mustard, 2 tbsp. of Balsamic Vinegar, fresh Rosemary, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. He rubbed this on all the side of the lamb
To create the saddle, Evan stacked the seasoned filets of lamb and tied them together.
Ready for the oven. Evan suggests placing the lamb in a roasting pan into a 450F oven. Then turn it down to 325F and cook for 45 minutes to an hour until the lamb is 135-140F inside. This method makes a nice crust on the outside but creates a tender, juicy inside!
Roasted to perfection! Ready to carve.
Evan makes it look so easy! Pink and juicy inside. It doesn't get any better than this!
We served our lamb with a Potato Artichoke and White Cheddar Gratin, Savoury Carrot Pie and a Three Pea Medley. Mmmm. It was delicious!
For dessert? Evan brought us the Village Grocer famous chocolate layer cake from his in-store bakery. It wouldn't be Easter without something chocolate! Rich and decadent it was the perfect ending to our Springtime feast.
Wishing you a happy Easter celebration with family and friends!
Linda & Karen
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