Styled and Savored #009
Your weekly curated guide to great finds that make your home life easier, fuller, richer, and happier.
Ever plan on doing something a certain way, but when you start to put it together, you realize you have so much excellent material you have to completely rip up your original plans and go whole hog in a completely different direction?
Well, that’s what I’ve been wrestling with for this week’s Styled & Savored.
I had intended to just give another nod to the upcoming Easter holiday with a single recipe (which I’ll share in just a moment), but as I combed through all the blogs and feeds I follow, I kept finding a plethora of great Easter content that I couldn’t not share in anticipation of the upcoming holiday.
So, with that in mind, let’s make this the definitive Easter edition of Styled & Savored to help you with recipe ideas and hosting options to help you and your family celebrate in style.
Peanut butter Easter eggs
When I saw this recipe from the Crowded Kitchen blog, I knew it was a lock for this week’s S&S. There was never any doubt for me in that regard for three reasons:
This recipe is amazingly simple and easy to prepare
The finished product looks great and is so tasty
Peanut butter is one of my dessert weaknesses
I’m embedding the Crowded Kitchen’s Instagram post for these eggs below just so you can see a little better how they prepared these because, while I do think this recipe is easy to make, it’s critical that you get the coating to set quickly once the eggs get dipped into the melted white chocolate.
The recipe mentions this, but I don’t think it’s emphasized enough, and it took some experimentation beyond the recipe’s instructions to get it right. You’ll want to put a toothpick into each peanut butter egg and then put them into the freezer for at least an hour before you dip them. The colder eggs will help the white chocolate set faster, so you can put the egg down without deforming the coating, and you can pull the toothpick immediately.
Be patient with this part of the recipe. You may need to stick the eggs back into the freezer as you go through this process to make sure the surface stays cold. You may also need to reheat the chocolate to prevent it from solidifying. Just take your time, and don’t hurry. Remember, slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
I made this recipe and brought it into the office for everyone to try, and the reviews were fabulous. These eggs are rich and flavorful, and they’re a nice surprise for guests as they look a lot like robin’s eggs – particularly if you serve them in an egg container as I did and as they’re presented in the video.
Give these a try!
Bird’s nest cookies
Bird’s Nest Easter Cookies © Pioneer Woman
A second cute and fun Easter dessert recipe are these wonderful bird’s nest cookies from the Pioneer Woman blog.
As the article points out, the star of the show is going to be whatever Easter candy you use to decorate each individual cookie, but the nest portion is also interesting because you use chow mein noodles (for that extra crunch) coated in white chocolate and peanut butter (YUM!).
These are also a fun recipe that your kids can help with as you decorate the cookies.
Asparagus and goat cheese quiche
Nothing says springtime like a quiche. The very nature of this primarily egg-based dish screams Springtime, but throw in the addition of fresh asparagus and creamy goat cheese, and now you’ve got the makings of a breakfast feast.
Asaparagus, goat cheese, and gruyére quiche © Serious Eats
Of course, Springtime is also perfect for brunch, and that’s what really drew my eye to this recipe. My wife and I have a reservation for an Easter brunch this year, and it’s been a while since we made it out to a high-falutin’, hoidy-toidy brunch, so we’re really looking forward to this one.
When I look over the menu for any good brunch, at least one kind of quiche is ALWAYS on the list of possible options. In fact, I’m so pumped about this brunch that I was inspired this weekend to make a Greek-ish spanakopita-style egg casserole with chopped spinach, feta cheese, and turkey sausage. It was fantastic, if I do say so myself.
So, it’s no wonder that I’m eyeing this quiche recipe with the same kind of anticipation. Expectations…nothing but deliciousness.
First, the crust is made from scratch, and I know baking is not everyone’s thing, and if it’s too intimidating or too much work, don’t worry. Just use a store-bought crust. But if you enjoy baking, I really think you’ll enjoy trying the buttery, flaky crust that’s part of this dish.
Second, there’s the goat cheese, gruyére, and of course, the fresh asparagus. It’s hard to go wrong with a tart, tangy goat cheese paired with eggs, but then throw in the smooth, creamy gruyére, and you’re starting to reach the stratosphere of quiche greatness, in my opinion.
Top all that off with some fresh asparagus – one of my all-time favorite Springtime veggies – and you’re really in for a treat.
This is a great make-ahead dish you can prepare a day or two prior to Easter Sunday, and serve it to your family for breakfast after they’ve slept in or serve it after church for a delicious brunch.
Emergency fixes that’ll save your bacon…errr…ham
Few things are more stressful than being tasked with making the main dish for your family at a holiday gathering. For Thanksgiving, the pressure is all on the person making the turkey.
© Girl Carnivore
For Easter, ham is the traditional main dish, and sometimes things can go wrong despite our best-laid plans.
Fortunately, the Girl Carnivore blog has a great article to help alleviate some of that stress and pressure with their post on emergency ham fixes.
What if it’s Easter morning and you forgot to take the ham out to defrost it? No worries. Girl Carnivore has you covered. What if your ham is overcooked and dry? No problem there either. They’ve got suggestions. What should you do if you accidentally threw away the glaze with the rest of the packaging or what if the ham is too salty? Again, not a big deal. Follow the instructions for a variety of very common ham cooking issues, and minimize the stress of holiday meal prep.
The host with the most
The only thing that might be more stressful than making sure the Easter ham is perfect for the holiday would be if you’re the person playing host for the holiday.
Host Easter like a pro instead of a rookie with these tips from Chris Loves Julia
Not to worry on that one either. We’ve got you, fam. Chris Loves Julia has a fantastic article on their five favorite tips for hosting your first Easter holiday. You’ll look like a pro rather than a rookie if you just follow their simple advice.
We’ll let you dig into the details, but to summarize, they say you should:
Make it a potluck
Make it a brunch
Make the main dish ahead of time
Change one thing on your table setting
Have an activity at the table
That’s it for this week. Let us know your thoughts about any or all of the featured posts in this edition of Styled & Savored, and tell us what you’d like to see us cover in future editions as well.
