Can You Really Order In The Family's Traditional Easter Dinner And Still Please His Mother?

Countdown to Easter! Soon many mothers will be cooking the family's traditional Easter dinner. Already the kids are excited about the Easter candy and chocolate bunny. They're reminding you to get "the solid chocolate rabbit", - not the hollow one. They won't care about the Easter dinner. But everyone over twelve will. So what delicious Easter food will you make? Or does just thinking about cooking Easter dinner make you tired? How do you feel when you think about spending Easter day in the kitchen cooking for his extended family?
Oh good, glad to hear it. You're revved up and ready to bake six new kinds of Easter breads complete with hand-carved butter bunnies carrying flower baskets. You ROCK girl! Rachel and Martha move over!
What? This isn't you? You've already begun dropping hints to the hubby about going out to one of those fancy Easter brunches? Did he really say "okay, but mother won't like it"? No, don't tell us what you said back. Time to turn things positive.
Time to order in the family's traditional Easter dinner. With his mother in mind, you know you'd better find some highly impressive Easter meat. If a ham is what she always made, that's easy, here's an applewood-smoked ham you can get pre-cooked and spiral-sliced that will likely taste even better than hers. Now, wouldn't that be a shame, your ham showing up hers. You could instead go with the bone-in ham, but you'd have to dirty a pan. Still, this Wisconsin ham tastes good enough to spend a few minutes washing out a pan, even if you do forget the non-stick spray.
What's that? You can't go with a ham because Mother-in-law added a non-compete clause to your pre-nupt contract? Okay, not to worry, there's always the lamb. I say that so nonchalantly. A roasted leg of lamb is likely the absolutely most impressive piece of meat that you can put on an Easter dinner table. But this lamb is easy to prepare! And you won't be able to beat this lamb's delicious flavor with any supermarket lamb roast.
No of course lamb's not too showy. But if you fear "Mother" will think you're putting on airs with a lamb, then I say go for a bird. Roasted duck or pheasant are always pleasant (and rhyming). They too taste as great as they look. But if hubby and you hate carving, then try the boneless roulade. It sounds fancy, it looks fancy, and it is fancy. This rolled chicken stuffed with sage and cranberry dressing is a gourmet treat for Easter dinner. And best of all? Just heat it up and it's ready to eat!
Are you cheering up with the prospect of ordering in these easy Easter meats? But the vegetable side dishes still sting the back of your mind? No sweat. Buy some fancy flavored rice. Wisconsin, - home to wild rice fields extraordinaire, makes some fantastically-awesome rice mixes. Their flavors are so complex, no will suspect you just dumped the rice in water and boiled it. The gourmet rice mixes come in lots of flavor combos so you can choose the right mix to accompany the meat you choose.
And for something green? Ask your mother-in-law to bring her favorite (fill-in-the-blank) vegetable side-dish. She'll be happy to do so; no non-compete clause clutters her recipe box. Plus, a dish from hubby's past will add a feel of tradition to your family's Easter dinner.
But for dessert, be sure to break out of tradition and break out the good stuff! Spoil the family with a scrumptious carrot cake and hand-decorated Easter cookies. These too, like all the rest, can be delivered to your door. Easy ordering. Easy Easter. Now that makes for a happy mother!

Wisconsin Holiday Foods: Scrumptious Gourmet Foods For Christmas Eve Dinner And Christmas Morning Breakfast

Festive foods liven up our holiday traditions. Christmas foods decorated in reds, whites, greens, and golden yellows presented on a simple white tablecloth transform an ordinary meal into a holiday feast. So this holiday season if you are looking to coordinate the colorful with the edible, here are some suggestions.
Let's start with the shades of Christmas red. I can't resist the peppermint fudge topped with candy cane chips. Okay, the fudge is pink, but It Looks Christmas! It's certainly as 'Christmasy' as the Santa Claus sugar cookies. And since we're starting with the dessert table, let's match those cookies with ice cream - red, green and white peppermint ice cream! Ah-haa! A peppermint theme here! Peppermint's cool sweetness carries the frosty excitement of winter's first snowfall. And if we've got the peppermint ice cream, how about scooping it on top of a Winter Wonderland Peppermint Chocolate Cake! And since we're talking cake, what about gingerbread! What says Christmas more than a deep, rich gingerbread cake with pure white frosting? Cake with peppermint ice cream and steaming coffee or hot chocolate? Of course we love winter! Of course we love Christmas! We're feasting!!!
But you also want "good food" aka "healthy food" before the desserts? Do those come on a Wisconsin holiday table or are Wisconsinites all sweets now and guilt later? Nonsense! Wisconsin gourmet chefs excel at cooking all courses of a holiday meal!
So let's talk turkey! Low-fat, high-flavor smoked whole turkey for Christmas dinner. It's a no brainer, no-work, and delicious holiday entree. Tired of turkey? Want meat? Easy, - Wisconsin beef is scrumptious. How about a Christmas Eve dinner featuring a Chateaubriand beef roast? It looks impressive, is simple to cook, and tastes heavenly. Equally as festive and a rival in flavor is the Wisconsin leg of lamb roast. Nothing says "special occasion" better than a leg of lamb. And what's a favorite Wisconsin holiday libation? A Tom and Jerry of course, - not the cat and mouse, - THE MIX! The secret's in the MIX!!! Yes, get the party rolling! Put on the holiday music! Listen to Wisconsin's Expressions of Christmas CD as you dine and sip the holiday brews. Christmas Eve only comes once a year, - pull out all the stops!
But what about Christmas morning? How will you feel at 5:45 am when the little ones beg you to rise and see what Santa Claus brought? Will you feel as cheery then as you did the night before? No, but you'll fake it. And Wisconsin holiday food can help. Start off with gourmet coffee, - make sure it's gourmet so it will pack a wake-up punch of flavor and a lot of VA-Va-Va-Voom! Next, serve up the Christmas kringle. A little sugar in the happy shape of a Christmas tree will bring warm smiles to everyone faces. Merry Christmas! - the way it's supposed to be. Another holiday of incredible eating with those we hold dear! Celebrating the good life the Wisconsin way!