I’ve been searching for Easter recipes this week.  I won’t be seeing my family over Easter and I’m taking to the kitchen to console my disappointment.  I will be with honeyman and his family but it’s just not the same as laughing with your own brothers and sisters.  We don’t have many traditions in our family but laughing around the dinner table with my brothers and sisters has always been a cherished memory.

With our busy schedules and full lives, the holidays are the only time we tend to all be around the same table.  Maybe we’ll reschedule Easter this year!

I have a good friend who recently shared one of his photos with me.  It’s of Cromer Church in England.  The picture inspired me to find a traditional English Easter recipe.

In England the most notable Good Friday custom is baking hot cross buns.  Hot Cross buns are round in shape, with a cross indented in the top.  The custom is said to have originated in 1361 at St. Alban’s Abbey, when one of the monks baked them as gifts for the poor.

I’ll be experimenting with a gluten-free variation over the next year but for now, the traditional version will have to do.

Mikey’s Hot Cross Buns

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm 2% milk
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 whole egg
4 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons raisins
2 tablespoons dried currants
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 dash ground allspice
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Icing:

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon 2% milk

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in milk. Stir in butter, egg, sugar and salt. Combine 3/4 cup flour, raisins, currants, cinnamon and allspice; add to the yeast mixture and mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; shape into six inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross on top of each bun. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Beat egg yolk and water; brush over buns. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. Combine icing ingredients; pipe into the scored areas of your buns.

Kitchen Table Talk…

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One of my very good friends, Stephan Moccio, has penned the Olympic Theme Song “I Believe”  He’s written over 200 different variations of the theme to capture the mood and the spirit of the different games.  Another of my friends, Marguerite Laquinte Francis, is involved with the Concord Place Exhibition space for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. To top it off, my cousin is involved with ticket sales for the Games.

I have always loved Vancouver.  It is a place of special memories for me.  The last time I was in Vancouver, we stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Vancouver and I spent an afternoon nursing my bruises at the spa in Fairmont Whistler after a run in with an overzealous ski boarder.

The food at the Fairmont is delicious! We ordered room service for breakfast and the Eggs Benedict were the best I’ve ever had.  In honor of my friends who are involved with the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, here is an eggs benedict recipe for you to enjoy.

Vancouver 2010 Eggs Benedict

2 whole eggs
2 slices bacon
1 whole English Muffin, halved

For the Hollandaise sauce

2/3 cup clarified butter
2 egg yolks
5-6 black peppercorns
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
squeeze of lemon juice
pinch cayenne pepper

To make the hollandaise sauce, melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat, then carefully skim off and discard the milk solids and pour the golden oil into a cup.  Set the clarified butter aside to cool until lukewarm.  Place two tablespoons of vinegar and the peppercorns into a small saucepan. Boil to reduce the vinegar by half.

Put egg yolks and one tablespoon of cold water into a heatproof bowl and fit snugly over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk vigorously until very light and frothy.

Remove the bowl from the heat and continue whisking for a couple more minutes. Slowly trickle in the clarified butter as you continue to whisk. Don’t add the butter too quickly or it will curdle. When all the butter is incorporated, season with salt and add the reduced vinegar, lemon juice and cayenne. Set aside and keep warm. You can set the bowl back over the pan of hot water (but off the heat) to keep warm. Be sure to stir occasionally to stop a skin forming.

Grill the bacon slices and toast the English Muffin.

To poach your eggs, fill a saucepan with 3 inches of cold water. Gently break each egg into a ramekin or small cup. Once water reaches boiling point, remove from heat and allow the water to simmer. Add two tablespoons of vinegar to the water. Slide the eggs into the water with care, holding the cup or plate as near to the water as possible before allowing the egg to slowly slip into the water. Once the eggs are in the water, do not move them around. Let the eggs cook for 2½ – 3½ minutes. Once done, removed with a slotted spoon. It takes a while to master poaching a perfect egg. You can trim any stringy bits before serving, no one will be the wiser! Poached eggs cool quickly and should be served while still warm.

To serve, place the bacon on top of the muffin halves, followed by the poached egg. Season with salt and pepper and then pour over the sauce. This recipe serves two.

Variations: Grill sliced tomato in place of the bacon, for a vegetarian option. Substitute toasted rice bread for the English muffin, for a gluten-free option.

One of my favorite breakfast foods is pancakes.  I don’t tend to eat them much anymore but I still enjoy making them for my nephews on weekends at the cottage.  You can buy pancake mix but I prefer to make my own.  The grandparents are usually around on the weekend.  Making my own batter allows me to control the fat and sodium.  This batch makes about 20 pancakes which can feed a family… or at the very least, two hungry, growing boys.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups unbleached white flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 whole egg
2 1/4 cups 1% buttermilk
2 teaspoons skim milk
1 tablespoon safflower oil

Preheat griddle to 375.  Blend all ingredients in a mixing bowl with a wire whisk.  Dip up batter (I like to use the 1/4 cup measuring cup I used to measure out the buttermilk) into a non-stick electric griddle.  Flip pancakes when top side is bubbly and a few bubbles have broken.