Happy Easter!

Spring finally arrived a few days ago, although you wouldn't know it based on the snow we received today. Yep, big gloppy flakes that thankfully will not amount to a hill of beans.

I hosted Easter dinner with my parents this afternoon. What fun! I cant believe how much prep time it takes to prepare a meal for only four people. I makes me wonder how my mom did it for nine people every single day...two or three times over even. I enjoy entertaining, picking out the menu, setting the table, arranging pretties to make things nice. I got to break out some of the vintage napkins and tablecloth that I purchased for use at my wedding...Ive been waiting for the perfect time to do that! What's your favorite part of entertaining? Or maybe you'd rather be entertained by someone else...

Here's what I put together for this afternoon's lunch:

Baked Ham with Dijon-Pineapple Sauce

Scalloped Potatoes

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

Corn Pudding

Spinach and Baby Greens

Apple & Mandarin Orange Salad w/ Strawberry Vinaigrette

Yeast Rolls

Iced Tea

Carrot Cake

I highly recommend the Dijon-Pineapple Sauce! It was a delicious addition to the ham (which was already awesome on its own) but I think it would be extremely tasty on just about anything pork....especially chops. It was super easy to make and you can find the recipe by clicking on the link above. The only thing I did different, I didnt baste the ham with the sauce during the cook time. I just added all the ingredients together and served it on the side. It makes 3+ cups Im sure.

The apple salad was just something I dreamed up, luckily it didnt turn out too bad. Some Granny Smith and Gala apples, two small cans of mandarin oranges, dried cranberries with almonds, all tossed with a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. This would be a great summer time salad!

My mom made her signature yeast rolls, which were totally delicious! You just cant get rolls like hers from the store and it really isnt a holiday without 'em.

And to top everything off, after we gave our bellies a rest of course, was some homemade carrot cake. Okay, so Ive never made real carrot cake before...so this was a test. Grating a pound of carrots was the most time consuming but in the end...totally worth it! Some time ago, and I have no recollection as to how, I stumbled upon this lady's blog. Mmmm, she always has delicious looking treats! Anyway, I just happened to pay her a visit the other night and she had a carrot cake featured...perfect, just what I was looking for. Yep, super de dupper delicious! The only small detail I maybe would change, is the frosting. Very sweet, but maybe that's me because I like a cream cheese frosting that you can actually taste the cheese in. The only change I made to that recipe was that I used orange extract instead of orange zest. I dont own a zester...maybe I should? How often do you zest things?

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying each other's company...and eating jellybeans... I hope your Easter was just as nice!