Easter recipes

Easter Rice Pie

1⅓ cups cooked aborio rice, cooled/room temp.

¾ cup sugar

⅔ cup whole milk ricotta cheese

4 eggs

1 pt. half & half

1 tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. lemon juice, fresh

2 dashes cinnamon

9-inch pie crust (homemade or Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a 9-inch, deep-dish pie pan dish with dough.

Beat together sugar and ricotta. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. Add half & half, vanilla, lemon juice, and 1 dash of cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in rice.

Pour filling into crust and sprinkle lightly a dash of cinnamon on top.

Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 50 minutes. Should be lightly browned on top and may be slightly jiggly toward center (will set up when cool). Let cool completely. Serve chilled or room temperature.

-- courtesy of Jessica S.

Ginger ale-Honey

Mustard Glazed Ham

8½ lb. ham

1 cup ginger ale

¾ cup mustard

½ cup honey

½ cup light brown sugar

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Place a 8½-lb. ham in a shallow roasting pan with a cup of ginger ale. Tent with foil and cook for 2½ to 3 hours.

Prepare glaze -- 30 minutes before ham is done cooking, mix together ¾ cup of prepared mustard, ½ cup honey and ½ cup light brown sugar.

Take ham out of the oven and score the top and smother with glaze. Spoon the ginger ale juices over the glazed ham and put back in the oven for at least 10 minutes. Re-glaze and then serve.

-- courtesy of Tiffany Ash

Whiskey Wild Cherry Coke Glazed Ham

Bone-in fully cooked ham

½ cup whiskey

3 cups cherry coke

½ cup brown sugar

whole cloves

salt and pepper

pinch of each, garlic powder, paprika, ground thyme, cayenne pepper and oregano

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Score the ham on the diagonal along the fat side and insert whole cloves in the corners of each slice.

Season the ham with salt and pepper. Mix together a pinch of each herb and rub it over the ham.

Cover the ham with brown sugar and pour 1 cup of cherry coke in the bottom of the roasting pan. Cook the ham for 1-1½ hours. Mix the remaining cherry coke and whiskey and baste the ham with the mixture often throughout the cooking process. When you are out of the whiskey and cola mixture, use the pan juices.

Cook until the ham reads 140 degrees on a meat thermometer. Take it out of the oven and tent with foil for about 15 minutes.

Remove the cloves, slice and serve.

-- courtesy of Monica Keleher

Rosemary Bacon Brussels Sprouts & New Potatoes

2 lb. brussel sprouts (fresh or frozen)

5 sprigs rosemary, large/fresh (leave whole)

6 slices, thick-cut smoked bacon

1 lb. new red potatoes, small and quartered

2 oz. olive oil, light

1 small sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced

course salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

If using frozen Brussels sprouts, thaw first. Cut off the hard ends, and cut large ones in half. Set aside.

Wash rosemary and new potatoes. Pat the rosemary and potatoes dry. Cut the potatoes into quarters. Place the potatoes and rosemary in an oven proof container, spreading them in a single layer with the rosemary under and on top of potatoes. Pour the olive oil on top, sprinkle with coarse ground salt. Mix very well. Cover, and place bake for about 15 minutes.

Using a large skillet, such as 16-inch cast iron, fry the bacon at medium-low to medium heat. Render the fat from the bacon, and when bacon is done remove to paper towels to be crumbled prior to serving.

Add brussels sprouts to the bacon fat in the pan, then add onions. Cook about 5-10 minutes.

Remove potatoes and rosemary from oven. Mix very well. Leaving as much olive oil behind as you can, add the potatoes to the pan with sprouts and mix together. Place rosemary on top and cover. Cook at a nice sizzle, stirring frequently.

When sprouts are crisp tender and the potatoes are soft through, remove the rosemary and discard. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper to taste.

Crumble and mix in ¾ of the bacon. Remove all to a serving bowl or plate, and crumble the rest of the bacon on top. Serve.

-- courtesy of Staci Smith

Hot Cross Buns

4¾-5½ cups all-purpose flour

⅓ cup sugar

1½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

2 pkg. active dry yeast

¾ cup milk

½ cup water

¼ cup butter or margarine

3 eggs

1 cup raisins or 8 oz. mixed, dried, candied fruit

Combine 1½ cups flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and yeast. Heat milk, water, butter or margarine until hot, about 130 degrees, then add to dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon beat for 2 minutes. Stir in beaten eggs and blend well.

Add enough flour to make soft dough. Knead 6-8 minutes.

Add the raisins or candied fruit in this step, kneading to mix in evenly.

Cover; let it rest until dough rises, about 1 hour. Punch down. Divide into 18-24 balls by using a greased ice cream scoop to measure equal amounts.

Put on greased sheets or in 8-inch pans about 1 inch apart. Cover and let them rise, about the same amount of time as the first resting. The balls should double in size.

Brush the dough with an egg white mixed with a tablespoon of water before baking buns.

Place in a preheated, 375-degree oven, for about 20 minutes. When nicely browned let cool on a rack. Frost with a mixture of confectioners' sugar and fresh lemon juice or vanilla flavoring.

-- courtesy of Beth M.