What should I cook for my family on Easter - what's your family's traditional meal?

Question

I want to bake a ham, but I'm not sure what side dishes or desserts I should cook. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

To those of you who do not celebrate Easter, you're invited to come eat with us and see why it's a wonderful holiday!

Hi, Randy! No, we aren't making a 'food fest' out of the Easter holiday - my family knows the true meaning of Easter, we just enjoy getting together and celebrating the fact that He is risen!!!

Thanks for the recipe, Libby, but my family is kind of like Sweetmusic's - if I don't make brandy cake, I'll be drawn and quartered! I will save it, though, and try it soon!

Wow, Amato! That's a total Italian meal, and I love it because you are starting your own traditions!

Answer 1

My friend was actually just making fun of me for how much I'm making on Easter but I come from a large italian family and italians like to eat. So we'll start out with appetizers: spinach dip, bruschetta, fried artichoke hearts, an antipasto or fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and prosciutto, roasted peppers, and stuffed mushrooms. Then for the first course it's Escarole Soup (many people refer to this as italian wedding soup, I don't understand why - I've never seen it served at a wedding). The Second course is lasagne (italians have to have their pasta no matter what). For the main course we have a ham as well as a turkey with stuffing. Sides include candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes w/ brown gravy, green beans almondine, peas, corn and asparagus. Then for the salad course, an array of olives and peppers and different pickled vegetables. Finally for dessert; ricotta pie, easter bread, pizzelles, biscotti, and whatever else someone decides to bring over. It's quite an event.

Answer 2

In many countries, lamb is traditional. Here in the United States, ham is the traditional meat. Asparagus is usually the vegetable, along with deviled eggs as a side dish. (It gives us something to do with all the colored easter eggs.) I usually make potato salad, but my mother always made au gratin potatoes. I'd bake some kind of bread too. Good luck with dinner and I hope you have a Happy Easter!

Answer 3

Ham is always loved, but we are having only 5 of us this year, so lamp chops for us, and 2 won't eat pork.

I know alot of people love that green bean casserole (personally, I don't like it, but will make a small one, as one son can't have a holiday without it lol)
Our sides will be roasted garlic mashed potatoes, brocolli/cauliflower chopped salad, fresh green beans with toasted, slivered almonds, the fresh pea/cheese/ salad that everyone loves, roasted beets with garlic and shallots, homemade challa bread, stuffed eggs, layered greek salad, an assortment of crudite's and 2 wicked desserts.

To die for chocolate cherry cake and cheesecake with a berry compote.

Answer 4

Here's what my family is having:

1. Deviled eggs
2. Prawns with cocktail sauce
3. Baked ham with homemade bbq sauce
4. Baked potato casserole
5. Corn spoonbread
6. Asparagas with prosciutto
7. Fruit ambrosia
8. Hot rolls
9. Hawaiian Wedding Cake and Easter Candy

Although it seems like a lot of food, I like to have variety for my family and guests. We have 2 vegetarians coming, so they need to have enough to satisfy them as well. The Hawaiian Wedding Cake was my mom's recipe and is a light and refreshing dessert to celebrate spring.

Hawaiian Wedding Cake:

1 package yellow cake mix with pudding, made in a 13X9 inch pan.
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 large package Vanilla instant pudding, mixed with half the milk
1 container CoolWhip
1 cup fresh coconut

Mix the pineapple with the pudding and spoon on top of the cake. Sprinkle with coconut and cover with Coolwhip. Refrigerate until serving (at least 1 hour).

Answer 5

We do potluck style at my brother's house, but I ALWAYS make homemade LEMON PIES! One year I decided to make some other dessert that I had seen a good sounding recipe for, and I thought the family was going to flip out! They all complained the whole time "...but you ALWAYS bring lemon pie for Easter!" So now, that's all I am "allowed" to bring! It does taste good, fresh, and light after a big meal of ham, greenbean casserole, salads, deviled eggs, and mashed or scalloped potatoes! My sister usually does broccoli-cheese casserole, too.

Answer 6

We always have ham and cabbage with mashed potatoes and sometimes corn pudding or another veggie, and yeast rolls. I end up making the desserts, so I make a carrot cake or a chocolate cake, sometimes cookies or cheesecake. It all depends on how many people and what they like.
So ask some of the people who will be there, what they would like for dessert. As for side dishes, make veggies, pasta, rice or stuffing. Any combination of things will work as long as everyone eats what you make. Happy Easter!

Answer 7

We always have Ham, Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole, Cheesy potatoes, Chocolate Brownie Trifle, Cut-out cookies, corn, and some kind of beans with stewed tomatoes.

Answer 8

I make both ham and turkey.
A special recipe for make ahead mashed potatos ( can be made the day before and heated) which includes sour cream and cream cheese.Gravy of course.
This year doing asapragus and baby carrots with a butter sauce.
Red and green cabbage coleslaw.

For dessert: a lovely vanilla cake, iced and decorated with tiny choc. Easter eggs and Lemon Meringue Pie. All homemade of course.

Answer 9

Well, My family varies on how they do things. One year, we will have a Ham, and all sorts of sides, like backed corn bread, and cheesy potatoes, and then the next year, we will have a breakfast buffet. I think that you can really just have anything with it, but try potluck sides, where everybody brings something to contribute.

Answer 10

My Sister usually cooks Easter Dinner for us. We have Ham, Homemade mashed potatoes,corn,Hard boiled Easter eggs,sometimes yams, and dessert is usually what ever looked good at the store! :)