Easter

By Christy Rost, March 2005

One of my all-time favorite Easter holidays was celebrated in a grand country home in the Loire Valley. Just a few hours drive from our Paris home, we had the estate to ourselves, thanks to the generosity of dear friends. Leaving the hustle and bustle of Paris behind for a few days was a welcome change. Our young sons loved the opportunity to run and play in the yard, after so many months of living in a “flat” in the heart of Paris.

Because it was Easter, one of our first activities after our arrival was to color eggs for the Easter baskets. Unfortunately, we ran into a bit of trouble with this usually simple tradition. The only dye we could find in French markets contained a heavy oil base, and the color stuck to the eggs in uneven streaks. While the eggs looked beautiful, I can still recall the panic my husband, Randy and I felt when we realized the oily dye wouldn’t rinse off the china cups we used to color the eggs.

It was very late that night before Easter, and we tried every cleaning solution we could find in our friend’s kitchen. After many scary moments and a lot of elbow grease, we finally succeeded in removing the dye from the beautiful assortment of cups and bowls. What a relief!

These days, preparing for Easter contains fewer late-night adventures. While Randy and I still color eggs every year, it’s a much more uneventful process, except for an occasional dropped egg. But I loved the simplicity of our Easter in France – a young family celebrating the holiday with whatever was at hand.

You’ll love this month’s recipe for Fruit Glazed Ham Steaks for its simplicity, flavor, and colorful appearance. Instead of a large, bone-in ham shank, which is too large and complicated for many families and holiday gatherings, this delicious recipe utilizes a much smaller and easier-to-handle ham loaf. The meat is sliced, sautéed, then garnished with a gorgeous fruit compote, flavored with brown sugar, molasses, and a hint of cinnamon and cloves. It’s an easy, but still traditional approach to celebrating Easter.