Easter Dinner

This year for Easter Michael and Claire were here helping us get baby's room ready so we invited our friends Casey and Cheryl over and had a yummy dinner. We've made both parts of this meal and I think put together it might be a new Easter tradition. We had Grilled Meats and Vegetables with Saffron Orzo, and Gluten Free Carrot Cake (in our bunny shaped cake pan). The meal provides something for everyone and is great for a Spring/Summer day when it's fun to grill out and feed a crowd.

The boys grilling

Our Easter dinner table

The dinner dish was originally from the Food Network but we make some minor revisions. We usually add steak, and only use boneless skinless chicken breast (just for convenience). I also think adding onions (maybe pearl onions) and tomatoes would be an excellent addition to the vegetables but we never have enough room on the grill. We also made an additional serving of yellow rice to make the meal optionally gluten free. You can find the recipe on the Food Network link above or a previous post about this meal on the blog last June.

Food ready to go on the grill . . .yum yum!

The orzo cooking

The cake was modified from the best carrot cake I've ever had . . . it's in "The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook". This time we made it with All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour and it turned out great but it is also excellent in it's original form. Here's the recipe:

Cream Cheese Icing (make ahead of time and refrigerate as it is very soft).
2, 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth on medium speed with electric mixer (about 3 minutes). Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to thicken.

Carrot Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
1- 8 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans (plus extra to sprinkle on top of cake)
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut


- Preheat oven to 325.
- Toast pecans and set aside to cool.
- Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans, then line bottoms with wax paper. (This time we used a bunny shaped pan but I've also made it the traditional way).
- In a small bowl sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl beat the oil and sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until light and thick (about 2 minutes).
- Add vanilla and beat well.
- Gradually add dry ingredients, beating until well incorporated.
- Stir in carrots, pineapple and juice, pecans and coconut.
- Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes (until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean)
- Cool in pans on wire rack for one hour.
- Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
- When cake is cooled ice and sprinkle with toasted pecans as desired.
Enjoy!

Here's our cute bunny, decorated by Claire.