5 Recipes For Easter Dinner

People like to eat different things for Easter dinner, so here are 5 recipes for Easter dinner using different kinds of meats and glazes. You may want to use a different type of glaze on your meats, or add or delete some of the ingredients to suit you own taste for Easter, but the basic time and temperature for cooking the meat will remain approximately the same.  These Easter dinner recipes can be enjoyed at any occasion.

1. Apricot, Orange, and Rosemary Glazed Roast

Ingredients:

•  3 lb. pork roast, trimmed
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¾ tsp. ground pepper
• ¾ cup apricot preserves
• ¼ cup each orange marmalade and dry sherry
• 1-1/2 tsp. minced rosemary leaves
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic minced

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Salt and pepper pork roast. Place in a greased baking pan.
3. Combine apricot preserves, orange marmalade, dry sherry, rosemary leaves, red pepper flakes and garlic in saucepan to make glaze.
4. Bring to boil. Cook 10 minutes.
5. Use 1/3 of mixture to glaze pork roast.
6. Place roast uncovered in oven for 75 to 90 minutes.
7. Remove from oven, tent. Cool 20 minutes. Slice.
8. Reheat glaze. Pour over sliced roast.

2. Mediterranean Lamb Dinner

Ingredients:

• 5 lb. leg of lamb
• 30 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• Ground pepper
• 1-1/2 tbsp. chopped rosemary leaves
• 2 tsp. chopped thyme
• 6-8 red potatoes
• ½ cup beef broth
• Rosemary and thyme sprigs
• 2-1/2 lbs. green beans
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ c. dry red wine
• ½ to 1 cup beef broth

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cut slits all over lamb.
3. Slice five cloves garlic and place one in each slit.
4. Rub lamb with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Rub into lamb.
5. Cut potatoes into chunks.
6. Spray roasting rack with cooking spray. Place lamb on rack. Put sprigs in bottom of pan, place potatoes around lamb. Pour beef broth over potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Roast 100 minutes.
8. Make garlic sauce from whole garlic cloves, wine and ½ c. of broth. Cook in saucepan for 25 minutes. Cool, puree with blender.
9. Add green beans to roast 30 minutes before lamb is done. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
10. When lamb is done, tent with foil. Remove potatoes, beans for side dish.
11. Stir sauce into lamb juices.
12. Slice lamb, top with sauce.

3. Easter Ham with Chipotle-PineappleGlaze

Ingredients:

• 5 to 7 lb. smoked, sliced ham
• 1 cup brown sugar packed
• 1 can crushed pineapple undrained
• 2-3 chipotle chilies in adobo, seeded
• 1-2 tbsp. adobo sauce from can
• ¼ tsp. each nutmeg, ginger
• 2 tbsp. each cornstarch, water
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Place ham in baking dish cut end facing down.
3. Score ham in diamond pattern. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Prepare glaze: combine sugar, pineapple, chilies, adobo sauce, and spices in blender until smooth, pour in saucepan and boil.
5. Dissolve cornstarch in water, whisk into sauce. Cook until thick.
6. Brush ham with glaze. Baste every 15 minutes for one hour.
7. Serve. Use glaze as dipping sauce.

4. Easter Spiced Honey Baked Ham

Ingredients:

•  7 lb. cooked ham
• ½ cup each pear and orange juice
• ¼ cup honey
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• ¼ tsp. each cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
• 1/8 tsp. paprika
• Pinch each ginger, allspice 

Directions:

1. Combine honey, pear juice and orange juice in a bowl. Pour over ham.
2. Cover with foil and heat ham at 325F for 1-1/2 hours basting every 15 minutes.
3. Combine brown sugar,cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a bowl. Cover ham with dry mix when cooked.
4. Use a butane torch to caramelize the sugar mixture on all sides.

5. Simple Roast Turkey

 Ingredients:

• 10 lb. turkey
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 lb. butter
• 1-1/2 tsp. chopped thyme
• 1 lemon
• Lemon zest
• Sea salt
• Ground pepper
• Thyme
• 1 quartered lemon
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 1 head garlic, cut in half

 Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 325F.
2.  Melt butter in small pan.  Add chopped thyme, zest, and lemon juice.
3.  Place turkey breast-side-up.
4.  Salt and pepper cavity. Stuff with lemon, thyme, onion, and garlic.
5.  Brush butter mixture on outside of turkey. Salt and pepper.
6.  Tie drumsticks together.
7.  Pour broth into pan.
8.  Roast for 2-1/2 to 3 hours.
9.  Place on platter, tent. Cool 30 minutes. Carve.