Hot Cross Morning

I asked my husband if he wanted anything special for Easter, and he replied he wanted Hot Cross Buns for Easter breakfast. He knows that question always means what does he want me to cook or bake...

I could not remember ever making Hot Cross Buns before. I'm sure my mother made them for us, and I likely helped, but I never made them as an adult.

Like many times before, I did some research and pieced together a recipe...

Hot Cross Buns

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg for dough, 1 large egg for brushing

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup currants

Milk and confectioner's sugar for icing/glaze - amount depends on texture you prefer

Combine water and milk in saucepan and warm until about 100 degrees F. Remove from heat and sprinkle yeast and pinch of sugar over surface of liquid. Set aside with out stirring, until foamy and rising up the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

Whisk the butter, 1 egg, and vanilla into the yeast mixture.

Stir the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Stir to make thick, slightly sticky dough. Stir in currants. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and elastic. You may have to add more flour. Shape into a ball.

Brush the inside a large bowl with butter. Put dough in bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size. It look a little over an hour.

Turn out dough and divide into 12 equal portions and make into round rolls. Place them in a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking pan, leaving a little space in between each roll. Cover the pan and let rise until the rolls almost reach rim of pan, more than doubled. It took about 45 minutes.

Brush buns with beaten egg. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven until brown and puffy, about 25 minutes.

For the glaze, stir together confectioner's sugar and milk until smooth. Use a pastry bag or zip-loc bag to ice buns in a thick cross shape over the top of the warm buns.

Whiskey Punch for Easter

Punch is a big hit in our house. We try to always have a flowing bowl each time we have guests.

For our Easter dinner, I decided to make a whiskey punch. Everyone enjoyed it, even folks who were hesitant because they aren't fans of whiskey. Crazy, right?

The punch was a lovely golden color and I used orange and lemon slices to garnish. To keep the punch cold, I made ice blocks in washed and reused milk and juice cartons.

Here's the recipe, but keep in mind I don't normally advocate use of juice concentrate, but I was making a lot of goodies for our meal, and it was really easy to use frozen lemonade. Plus, I don't think the taste suffers quite as much for lemonade as other flavors.

Whiskey Punch

1 can of frozen lemonade (I prefer Minute Maid)

3 cups of orange juice

18 ounces of pineapple juice

2 liters of ginger ale

1 pint of whiskey

1/2 cup of simple syrup

I combined the juices, whiskey, and simple syrup ahead of time to meld flavors and kept everything in the refrigerator. Just before serving, I placed the ice blocks and fruit slices in the punch bowl. I gave the mixture one last stir in the refrigerator pitcher, then poured over the ice. Finally, I added the 2 liter bottle of ginger ale.

Lemon Meringue Memories

I was feeling nostalgic as I planned our Easter meal, so I decided to make a couple of pies that my grandmother always made - Chocolate and Lemon Meringue.

I couldn't find her recipe for Lemon Meringue, so I tried to re-create it based on some online research.

I felt sure it would come out well. I mean, look at how pretty it looks. And, my husband and I had a lot of fun making it together. However, once we sliced it for our guests, it was still a bit soupy. Any advice or suggestions are welcome. Here's what we did...

Lemon Meringue Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie


4 egg yolks

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter

juice of two lemons (about 1/2 cup)

zest of 1 lemon

1 9-inch pre-baked pie shell

Whisk egg yolks and set aside. In medium saucepan, whisk together cornstarch, water, sugar, and salt. Turn heat on medium, and stirring frequently, bring to a boil. Boil for at least 1 minute. Remove from heat and use it gradually to temper the egg yolks.

Return egg mixture to saucepan, turn down heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for at least one more minute. Remove from heat and add butter, lemon juice, and zest until well combined.

Pour mixture into shell and top with meringue while filling is still hot. Bake for 12 minutes until meringue is golden.

We cooled the pie on a rack, and then kept in overnight in a pie carrier in the refrigerator. The meringue didn't weep much at all and the flavor was pretty nice, but the filling sure was runny.

To make meringue topping: You can use a meringue powder, but I used the whites from the 4 egg yolks that were used for the filling.  Make sure your bowl if very clean and dry and there are no yolk remnants so as not to interfere with foaming.  Whip egg whites and 1/8 tsp of cream of tarter for each white.  I used a hand-held mixer and whip until stiff peaks form.  Stiff peaks hold their shape and form when the egg white foam is glossy and clings to the bowl.

To prevent weeping from meringues, be careful not to underwhip or overwhip the egg whites.  Also apply the meringue to a lukewarm (neither cold nor hot) filling.

Dill - A Sign of Warmer Weather

Dill is my favorite herb. I just love it. I not only like the flavor, but I enjoy its association to me with warm weather. I add fresh dill to many dishes during the spring and summer. The most popular is my potato salad. I'll make it for Easter with ham and cheddar biscuits. And, I make it for nearly every cookout over the summer.

I already purchased the ingredients for my Easter meal, including the fresh dill, but I need to keep it from wilting between now and Sunday. To help, I wrap it in a damp towel and then place it in a plastic bag and keep it in the refrigerator.

So, here's my favorite potato salad recipe...

1/4 cup canola oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (use more or less, depending on your taste)

4 pounds of new potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

3 Tbsp of chopped fresh dill (more to taste)

2/3 to 1 cup of mayonnaise (to taste)

2 small bunches green onions, chopped

Combine oil and garlic in a bowl; set aside. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender; probably 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl.

Whisk vinegar and next three ingredients into oil mixture. Pour this over warm potatoes, tossing to coat. Cover and chill for about 8 hours.

Combine potato mixture, mayonnaise, and green onions, tossing gently. I sometimes sprinkle in just a bit more chopped dill before serving.

Alterations to the recipe - You can use any fresh or dried herb, that you like. I just happen to be fond of dill. I also change up the potatoes I use, depending on my mood or what is available. My favorite is probably new red potatoes. As the cook, you can also decide whether to peel the potatoes. Folks don't seem to mind either way.

You can also mix it up by using different varieties of vinegar. Don't feel limited to just plain white vinegar. If you don't like green onions, you can try something else to give the salad some color and a bit of texture, like carrots or celery. I don't like a heavy amount of mayonnaise, but you may, so make it to your taste.

A word of caution: I use whole-fat or low-fat mayonnaise for this salad. I've tried it with no-fat and it tasted horrible and didn't have the consistency that folks crave. If you must cut the fat, I suggest using less low-fat mayo or trying a blend of mayo and sour cream to help improve the texture and flavor.