Easter Dinner - The 2015 Version

Here's the new recipe we're trying this year - Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus. Two ingredients, isn't that easy? I got the inspiration from this website; we'll see how it turns out! Should be delicious!

Basically wrap bacon around asparagus spears, then bake for 20 to 25  minutes. The author's suggestions were to use half a slice of bacon, length-wise, (preferably the center-cut type), and thicker asparagus stalks. That works out well, because the asparagus I found this week was thicker than I like it to be. Put it in a cold oven, turn it on to 400° and bake until the bacon is done.

And just in case the bacon falls off, there will be Hollandaise Sauce as a back-up.

We're having roast lamb, but I'm using a variation of this recipe and roasting the potatoes with it as well. My father-in-law likes mint jelly with his lamb, so I'm not adding the rosemary, but I did add some garlic. Here's the procedure for Oven Roasted Lamb:

Let the lamb sit at room temperature for about an hour. Preheat oven to 400°. Wash and dry some potatoes (I used 3 pounds of Yukon Gold this time) and place in the roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and some minced garlic and roll around to coat. Top with the boneless leg of lamb (about 7 pounds). Salt and pepper to taste, and add a bit more garlic as well. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350° and bake for another 60-80 minutes (or until a meat thermometer registers 135° for rare or 145° for medium). Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let sit for 20 minutes before carving.

The first course will be a simple green salad with Orange-Poppy Seed Dressing and dessert will be Chocolate Mousse. I might have chosen a more "spring-like" option, such as Strawberry Cream Dessert or Layered Pineapple Dessert, but I asked Wayne for input when selecting the dessert, and this was his choice. It's chocolate; I'm not complaining!

I wrote this before dinner, but now it's over and I'm adding the pictures. It was delicious and everything turned out as I imagined. Maybe it will give you some ideas for your dinner!

Because there was leftover Hollandaise sauce, Wayne requested Eggs Benedict for breakfast. The variation I served him was so good that he mentioned twice it should be added to a cookbook. So, here you go: toast an English muffin, reheat (just for a few seconds) the bacon-wrapped asparagus, poach an egg, and reheat the Hollandaise sauce (this is also a bit tricky because you don't want it to curdle). Then assemble from the bottom up - English muffin, asparagus, egg, sauce. Yummy! [Sorry I didn't take a picture first!]

Happy Easter!