baked some babka coffee can style for the family for easter last night till about 1:30...yeah, my family requests the sprinkles...heh.



woke up, did all the "first nice day of spring" yard work and cleaning out of the garage....for about 7 hours.


backyard is grass looking good so far...




Then went grocery shopping, then...for 6.25 mile run.

tonight, experimented with the KA meat grinder and some chuck...came out good for a first time. Some margaritas. Ended up using some Patron silver I had leftover as I want it out of my cabinet already. Didn't wanna ruin the good stuff. Just didn't feel right...

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I think maybe a little too fatty?





and a not-as-good-as-daniels money shot.

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Click the "read more link" for the rest of the pictures....


Last year we had it at our house....here's the post.
http://randallpmcmurphy.blogspot.com/2008/03/easter.html

This year, at my parents. we made the crostini 'bar' and some loaves of bread. and a couple of magnums of some cheap italian wine. most people opted for herring and rye bread over our stuff.....such is life. Although my parents gave up on passing dishes around and serve it buffet style with these buffet stations they got at Sam's club. they were classy and went paper plates this year too!! our bread (from artisan bread in 5 minutes a day, almost ready to give a solid opinion on this book...) 2 vats of sausage and peppers and a crock pot of mashed potatoes.....ugh. happy Easter. To think it's not even our real easter...that's not till next week. pfft.

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This is the first time our families were meeting. I've never had a dinner where 2 complete families met so it was a little exciting. Her parents and Grandparents came and my parents came along with my sister and her boyfriend. We came up with a huuuuge menu. We just kept adding to it....don't mind the "names" much of it was very campy and inside jokey. We've also been watching a lot of Top Chef. We thought it would be neat to print out a menu...

Easter Menu

Hors d'œuvre
Deviled Eggs
Vegetable Crudités with a Cream Cheese and Chives Spread
Pickled Herring with a Slice of Fresh Onion on Rye
Shrimp Cocktail with Homemade Horseradish Cocktail Sauce
Giant Mushrooms Stuffed with Feta Cheese Topped with Fresh Breadcrumbs
Salads
Simple Green Salad with a Variety of Dressings
Traditional Belarusian Potato Salad
Entrée
Smoked Ham Basted with a Tangerine Glaze
Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast
Fresh and Smoked Sauerkraut Over Kielbasa
Swedish Meatballs
Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Sides
Mashed but Fluffy Potatoes
Mrs. Paul’s Famous Sweet Potatoes
Asparagus Roasted with Garlic and Parmesan
Butter Infused Corn
Homestyle Baked Beans
Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Dessert
Fruit Pie ala Timko
Chocolate Brownie Cake
Babka
Cookies
Coffee
Drinks
Miller Light
Coors
Wine
Soda

Easter started a few days ago making Babka's for the family....someone has to keep the tradition!












Oh yeah I redid my office too...




We dyed eggs...



Don't ask...


Laurie took on flower duty. At one point I made a comment alluding to the fact that I thought the flowers grew those bright color. I'll never live THAT one down...












Had to drop by Marshalls on the way to get my hair cut on Saturday and found a few gems in the cookware dept. 2 all-clad pots and 2 calphalon pans to complete my set..






Chocolate Almond Brownie Cake





Laurie had the idea of doing stuffed mushrooms with Feta stuffing...




Easter morning comes....I wake up at 6 to put the turkey on...this was quite the 'experiment' and I was really unsure "if" it would work..it did.



Fresh Rye Bread


Baked Mac and Cheese




Mom and Dad came over, Mom making the herring.




No one touched the salad...Mushrooms and Eggs were a big hit...


Yep and a Ham...


And lots of other stuff...


Dessert

Along with the chocolate cake..

Overall, we had VERY little leftovers.....the things I thought would be a hit that were on the original "menu" were not so much (backed mac, asparagus) and the things we added last minute, were a HUGE hit...(stuffed mushrooms, fruit dessert)

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