Welcome To A Few Easter Recipes!

Special Corned Beef!

Every Easter countless people make a ham. I'm here to give you an alternative. And that is a Corned Beef cooked like a ham!

The 2 common types of Corned Beef are: the point, and the brisket.

The brisket is a stringier meat, generally, and the point a denser, more "ham-like" type of meat.

Like ham, Corned Beef can be more, or less, salty. A lot depends upon the brand, ask your grocer. Also, the denser tip tends to be less salty. But by simply changing the water 1/2 way through the boiling stage, you can have a less salty piece of meat.

To make a pseudo ham, do the following:

Trim any extra fat from the meat; boil in a large pot as per directions; take out of the pot when done, and drain well.

When well drained, (You can boil it the night before, and bake on the night of your dinner ~ store in the ice box in a covered bowl in no liquid.) have a Pyrex dish ready, and whatever you put on it for flavor. I make cross cuts in the top of the Corned Beef, and spread on a stiff, mustard/brown sugar mix.

Bake in a low to medium oven until a glaze forms. Whatever you use, bear in mind that the meat is fully cooked, and watch carefully to prevent the glaze from burning.

Serve with whatever you would normally have with a ham; or potato disks boiled in the water which the Corned Beef was boiled in, offering with salt if needed, pepper if you eat it, and butter/margarine/or olive oil; and freshly cooked Spring asparagus. Add your favorite trimmings.

Following is my favorite Italian Spring bread!

When I was still fairly newly married, I saw a recipe for a special Italian bread made for Easter. I was going to see my grandmother, parents, and other family (husband's parents, brothers, etc.) and was taking something, so I decided to make this bread. It was wonderful, and also a sight to behold! The following recipe is not the exact one from that time, I lost a few of my favorite recipes when we made a long move many years ago, but hope that it will be very close!

One of my tricks to make it spectacular, was how I colored the eggs. When you dip an egg in dye it's nice, but if you let it sit in the dye for a long time, rolling often to color evenly (I do one of each color at once and have a "turner" for each so that the colors do not mix), they come out *much* nicer looking!

Italian Easter Bread

• 3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1 Package Active Dry Yeast
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2/3 Cup Warm Milk or Water ~ 120-130 degrees
• 2 Tablespoons light olive Oil, or butter ~ softened
• 7 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon Anise Seed (Or more if preferred ~ Also, you can pre-soak them in warm water, or not.), or anise flavoring if preferred.
• Light Olive Oil
• Optional: 1/4 cup blanched almonds ~ chopped; and/or a handful of candied fruit.

Optional Drizzle Frosting

• 3/4 Cup Confectioners Sugar, sifted
• 1 Tb. Light Cream, milk, or other liquid.
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla
• 1/4 pinch optional Salt

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour with the sugar, yeast and salt.

Add milk and butter; beat 2 minutes on medium speed, if using an electric mixer.

Add 2 of the eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes on high speed if using an electric mixer.

Stir in the aniseed and nuts/fruit, if you are using them; mix well.

Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth, maybe 6-8 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl; turning once to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled; about 1 hour.

Dye remaining eggs (Raw); lightly rub with oil.

Punch dough down. Divide in half or 3 pieces; roll each piece into a 24" rope. Loosely twist ropes together (Braid if you use 3); place on a greased baking sheet and form into a ring. Pinch the ends together. Gently split ropes and tuck eggs into openings so that they are barely in.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Use a light egg wash if you like, but avoid getting it on the eggs.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.
IF you are drizzling on "frosting", do it while the bread is still slightly warm.