Goldenrod – A Recipe for Hard Cooked Eggs
If you are looking for a recipe using hard-cooked eggs, you might want to make some Goldenrod. It is a simple dish, but very pretty and quite tasty.
You make a white sauce, then add chopped up egg whites. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, pour the hot egg white mixture over toast and then put the egg yolks in a small strainer or sieve and press them through the strainer over the egg whites.
The yolks turn into a powder and the end result looks quite pretty. I like goldenrod served over English muffins, but you can serve it over toasted bread, biscuits or bagels.
This is a very sentimental dish for me. In my family, it was a tradition every year, after Easter. Goldenrod was a way of using up some of the eggs we had decorated. My Busha, (Polish grandmother) made it, as did my mother. I remember them both when I make goldenrod.
Goldenrod
4-6 hard cooked eggs
2 T. flour
2 T. butter
1-1 1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 slices bread, toasted
Peel eggs and separate whites from yolks. Chop egg whites and set aside. In saucepan cook flour and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Be careful not to burn the sauce. Season to taste and add reserved egg whites, heating through. Arrange toast on serving dishes and cover with the sauce. Place reserves egg yolks in a fine sieve and press through over sauce, dusting as evenly as possible. Serves 2-4.
Braised Lamb Shanks
This might be one of my favorite meals. Braised lamb shanks are tender, full of flavor and easy to prepare. They are also reasonably priced. Because the shanks can be tough, they need a longer cook, with liquid, to get really tender. That is what braising is. They can be cooked faster in a pressure cooker, when time is an issue.
Recently a friend and I decided to make them for dinner. We ended up cooking them for about 2½ hours. They were perfectly tender. You can cook them longer, if you like. They really are simple to make. Yes, they take a while to cook, but once in the oven you don’t need to do anything but wait. We ended up using the cooking liquid to make a sauce. I just used an immersion blender to puree the veggies and cooking liquid. It tasted so good.
So here is the recipe for lamb shanks.
Braised Lamb Shanks
3 lamb shanks
2 T. oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups stock- lamb or beef preferred
½ c. sherry or red wine
2 T. curry powder
Salt and pepper
Cayenne pepper to taste
In Dutch oven brown the lamb shanks in oil until browned. Remove from the pan, add the vegetables and brown them for about five minutes. Return shanks to the pot. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add sherry and seasonings. Place lid on pot and place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 2½- 3 hours. Check them after 90 minutes and add a little more stock, if needed. It is normal for some of the stock to cook down. I did not add more stock. Remove pan from the oven. Remove shanks and keep warm. Puree the vegetable mixture to make a gravy. Adjust seasonings. Serves 2-3.
Hot Cross Buns Bread Pudding
The first time I made this dish, it was sort of an accident. It was right after Easter, a few years ago. I was having dinner with friends, and I was in charge of making dessert. I had leftover hot cross buns, so I decided to re-purpose them into bread pudding. It is a great way to re-purpose something into a whole new dish.
The end result was really good. So good, that my friend Amy said it was one of the best desserts I had ever made. I now bake extra hot cross buns, just so I can make bread pudding from them.
You could use home made or store bought buns for this recipe. My recipe for hot cross buns is posted at the bottom of this post.
Hot Cross Buns Bread Pudding
12 c. torn up hot cross buns- I used 8 buns
2 c. half and half or milk
1 c. sugar- or less if you are using frosted buns
5 eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 T. cinnamon
Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
4 t. milk
In large mixing bowl place the torn up buns. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the buns. Stir to moisten evenly. Spoon mixture into a buttered 9×13-inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until bread pudding is set and a little golden on top. While the bread pudding is baking combine powdered sugar with milk to make a frosting thin enough to drizzle. Let bread pudding cool 10 minutes and drizzle with frosting. Serves 8-10.
Hot Cross Buns
2/3 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 packages active dry yeast
About 5 cups bread flour
1 ½ c. milk
½ c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. raisins
Icing
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
In bowl combine sugar, salt, yeast and about 1 ½ c. flour. Heat together milk and butter until very warm. Beat milk mixture into to flour mixture and beat 2 minutes with electric mixer. Beat in 1 egg and 1 cup flour and beat 2 more minutes until batter thickens. Stir in raisins and enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Place dough on floured surface and divide into 15 equal pieces. Cover with towel and lest rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile grease a 9×13 inch pan. Form dough into smooth balls and place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat remaining egg. Cut a cross in each bun and brush with the egg. Bake for 25 minutes or until buns are golden. Remove buns to wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Make frosting, place in decorating bag and pipe onto buns. Makes 15.
Lamb in Greek Lemon/Egg Sauce
I am not sure which I love more in this recipe- the lamb that is cooked to tender perfection- or the Greek lemon egg sauce. Both are very special. I love lamb and have cooked it lots of different ways. This preparation will always be a favorite. This a great dish to serve for Easter dinner.
The recipe uses lamb shoulder, cooked with onions and Romaine lettuce- yes lettuce. The lamb is browned and then cooks gently until tender. The lettuce also cooks down and adds a nice green flavor to the dish. I have used lamb shoulder chops, and cooked them bone in. You could certainly use lamb shanks, if you prefer. Just allow enough time for the shanks to get tender.
The real magic is the lemon egg sauce, used to top the lamb once finished. It is creamy and has just the right amount of tang from the lemon juice.
If you are thinking of serving lamb for Easter, this would be a lovely recipe to use.
You can make this dish with pork or even chicken, but my favorite version is with lamb. I also use the lemon sauce with meat and rice stuffed zucchini. My dear friend Amy, had the dish on a trip to Greece and we made it often.
Fricassee of Lamb with Lemon Egg Sauce
2 1/2-3 lbs. lamb shoulder, or use pork
3 medium onions, chopped
2-3 heads romaine lettuce, washed and sliced thin
1/2 c. olive oil
Egg and Lemon Sauce -recipe follows
Cut the meat into serving pieces. Heat the oil in a pot and sauté the meat. Add salt, pepper, the onions, lettuce and a small amount of water. Cover the pot and let the fricassee simmer for about an hour. Prepare the egg and lemon sauce, pour it over the fricassee and serve.
Lemon and Egg Sauce
1-2 c. stock
2 eggs
juice of 1 lemon
flour, about 1-2 tablespoons, depending on how thick you want the sauce
Bring stock to the simmer. Beat eggs well. Mix the flour with the lemon juice.
Add to the eggs and keep beating. Add the hot broth slowly while you keep beating. Pour the egg and lemon sauce in the pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Makes 1-2 cups. For a thinner sauce eliminate the flour.
Easter Cupcakes
These cupcakes would make a great dessert for Easter- or any time. They are also a fun dessert for kids to make.
I started out by making a double batch of my classic white cupcakes- recipe follows. To add a little color to the cupcakes, I divided the batter into three bowls and tinted each of them a different pastel color.
As I filled the pans, I just added a spoonful of each of the tinted batters in them. They came out really nice.
I made three different cupcakes: bunnies, chicks and nests.
I also made a double batch of white chocolate frosting. You could certainly make a vanilla buttercream, if you prefer.
Details on how to make each of them are listed below.
Classic White (Vanilla) Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they springs back to the touch. Makes 12.
White Chocolate Frosting
6 oz. white chocolate – if using bars, chop before melting
1 stick (4 oz.) cold butter, cut into cubes
1-2 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
Melt chocolate. I just melt mine in a microwave safe dish, but you can use a double boiler. Let chocolate cool down a little. Beat butter into the melted chocolate. Beat until smooth and then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip until frosting is smooth and fluffy. I normally beat for 5 minutes or longer. If too thick, add a few drops of water or milk. For this recipe, I made a double batch of frosting.
Bunnies
extra white chocolate
food coloring- pink or red
chocolate chips
pastel ( pink) M&M’s
Make bunny ears by melting some white chocolate and putting it in a piping bag or bottle. On wax paper, make outline of the ears in white chocolate and allow to cool/harden. Place a drop or two of pink or red food coloring in a microwave safe bowl and add some white chocolate. Melt in microwave, being careful not to burn the chocolate and stir until it turns pink. Pipe the pink chocolate into the middle of the ears. Allow to harden before peeling off of the was paper. Using a star tip, pipe frosting on cupcake. I made three layers – to add height to the cupcake. place ears on cupcake and add chips/candy for eyes and mouth.
Chicks
Frosting tinted yellow and green
mini chocolate chips
fruit roll up
Using star tip, pipe the chick’s body onto the cupcake in yellow frosting. Pipe on head and wings. Pipe green frosting around chick to form a nest. Use mini chips for eyes and cut fruit roll up for beak.
Nests
Frosting tinted green
egg shapes malted milk balls- or you could use jelly beans
Pipe green frosting on cupcakes to make nests. Add three, or more, candies in the middle for eggs.
Piping pink filling in ears
rainbow cupcake
bunnies
Chick cupcake
The nest cupcake
Easter Egg Biscotti
I get so many requests for this recipe, I decided to post it again. This is a treat from my childhood. Rose Dieglio was the mother of my best friend, Debbi. Rose made these every year, and I loved them. Years later, she was kind enough to share her recipe with me. I always make a bunch to hand out to friends and family. It is a tradition I enjoy very much.
The dough is a type of cookie. You roll the dough out in pieces about the size of eggs. Make an indent in the dough and press in a tinted egg. The egg does not have to be cooked- it will cook when the biscotti bakes.
The dough will be a little sticky. Just add some flour to your fingers when shaping the dough, if needed.
The original recipe calls for shortening. I make them with butter, instead. If you use butter in the dough- chill it before baking.
For years I made the biscotti with hard cooked eggs, that I dyed. My mom always asked if I needed to cook the eggs. She wondered if the eggs would cook during the baking process. So I tried it a few years ago. I placed a raw, un-decorated egg on one of the biscotti “nests” and baked it with the rest. What do you know? The egg cooked in the oven when the biscotti baked. The lesson here- always listen to Mom. Saves a whole step in making this recipe. Just be gentle when you press the eggs into the dough. They are raw eggs, after all.
Once baked, the biscotti can be topped with a powdered sugar glaze and sprinkles, if you like. Because they have hard cooked eggs in them, store in fridge after cooking.
Easter Egg Biscotti
1 c. shortening or butter- I use butter*
1 ½ c. sugar
4 eggs
5 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 t. vanilla
1 c. milk
6 c. flour
24-30 eggs, plain or dyed
Powdered sugar glaze
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter or shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs. Add next 4 ingredients and blend until smooth. Stir in flour 2 cups at a time. Dough should be pliable. If dough is too sticky add a little more flour. Take a piece of dough about the size of a large egg and place on a greased baking sheet. Indent middle slightly and then place an egg in the center, pressing down slightly. It should look like a nest. Continue with remaining dough allowing about 2-3 inches in between as they spread when baking. You can fit 6-8 on a large baking sheet. Bake 20 –25 minutes or until browned on the bottom. Cool on wire rack before drizzling with frosting. Makes 24-30. Store in fridge.
* If using butter- chill dough a couple of hours before baking.
Sugar glaze
2 c. powdered sugar
2-3 T. milk or orange juice
1 t. vanilla
Food coloring, if desired
Mix together until smooth and of drizzling consistency.
Cooling down
Hot Cross Buns
These rich rolls are a traditional at Easter. At least they are in my house. The dough is rich and slightly sweet. The frosting on top adds to their sweetness.
Hot cross buns can be served at breakfast, brunch or even as a dinner roll. I have served them with coffee, after dinner. So I guess they can be a dessert, too. If you have leftover hot cross buns, you can use them to make bread pudding. I do!
Because the dough is rich, they are slow to rise. If they aren’t jumping out of the pan after an hour or so, don’t worry. They do rise quite a lot in the oven.
After they cool a bit- pipe on the icing in the crisscross pattern that gives these rolls their name.
Hot Cross Buns
2/3 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 packages active dry yeast
About 5 cups bread flour
1 ½ c. milk
½ c. butter
2 eggs
1 c. raisins
Icing
¾ c. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
In bowl combine sugar, salt, yeast and about 1 ½ c. flour. Heat together milk and butter until very warm. Beat milk mixture into to flour mixture and beat 2 minutes with electric mixer. Beat in 1 egg and 1 cup flour and beat 2 more minutes until batter thickens. Stir in raisins and enough additional flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Place dough on floured surface and divide into 15 equal pieces. Cover with towel and lest rest 15 minutes. Meanwhile grease a 9×13 inch pan. Form dough into smooth balls and place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat remaining egg. Cut a cross in each bun and brush with the egg. Bake for 25 minutes or until buns are golden. Remove buns to wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Make frosting, place in decorating bag and pipe onto buns. Makes 15.
Amy’s Easter Hummus
Hummus is always a favorite at parties around here. I’ve made classic hummus and have made variations with roasted peppers, black olives and garlic scapes.
I always remember the time my dear friend, Amy, wanted her hummus to be really colorful. It was for her Easter dinner. I believe that was the same year she dyed the egg whites for the deviled eggs. Amy really knew how to get the details right.
She and I had talked about how best to make tasty, colorful hummus. She decided to make spinach hummus and beet hummus in addition to her classic hummus. She wanted something that tasted good, but looked like Spring. She ended up with a beautiful array for Easter dinner that year. Tasty, too.
Here are the directions for making them.
Hummus
1 can garbanzo beans, drained, or about 2 cups cooked garbanzos
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 cloves garlic
salt and hot pepper sauce to taste
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Adjust seasonings. Chill. Serve with pita bread, crackers or fresh vegetables. Also nice spread in a pita bread with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. Freezes well.
Green Hummus (Spinach)
Make the original hummus recipe from above but add 2 c. fresh spinach and ½ c. chopped cilantro.
Pink Hummus (Beet)
Make the original hummus recipe from above but add 2-3 small cooked beets.
Note: You might want a little more salt in either of these recipes or a bit more lemon juice.
Miss you, Amy.
Spiced Easter Bread Wreath
This Easter bread wreath, with eggs baked on top, is a fun bread to make for the holiday. It is a tradition in many families.
I hadn’t made one in a long time, and when I went to find my recipe, I couldn’t locate it. I decided to make a new recipe.
I wanted it to have a lot of flavor- something that would be fun served at a breakfast, brunch or with dinner, but not too sweet. I added spices and raisins, but I could see using other dried fruits.
I left it plain on top – but you could easily add a powdered sugar glaze. No, I did not hard cook the eggs first. They cook while the bread is baking. Saves a step, for sure.
I tested the bread out with friends. Almost half was eaten before dinner, so I am confident to say, that this recipe is a winner. The texture of the bread is really nice and the dough is richly spiced.
I added mace, but if you don’t have any mace, add a little more nutmeg or allspice. Mace is a spice I would encourage you to try sometime. So here is the recipe. Hope you like it as much as we did.
Cinnamon Raisin Easter Wreath Bread
4½ -5 c. flour
1 pkt. yeast
½ c. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
½ t. allspice
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. mace
1 c. warm water
½ c. butter, melted
2 eggs
½ c. raisins
5-6 uncooked eggs, dyed if you like
Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, seasonings and salt in large bowl. Heat together water and butter until warm and add to flour mixture. Beat 2-3 minutes. Beat eggs and reserve 1 tablespoon of the eggs for brushing the top of the bread later. Add remaining eggs and another cup of flour to the bowl. Beat 4 minutes. Add the raisins and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, but still soft. Place in oiled bowl turning to oil top. Note: I actually used my stand mixer, and just left the dough in the bowl to knead, and then covered it to rise. I was able to leave the dough a little sticky this way, using less flour. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. While dough is rising, prepare a pan. Grease a large baking sheet- or use a silicone baking mat. Grease a one cup oven-proof custard cup and place it upside down on the middle of the baking sheet. This will keep a “hole” in the middle of your wreath. If you don’t have a custard cup, you can use a metal one-cup measure instead. Punch dough down and divide in three pieces. Roll each piece into a 20-inch long rope. Braid the ropes together. Wrap the braid around the custard cup on the baking sheet and pinch ends together to keep the braid from coming apart. Cover and allow to rise until doubled (50-60 minutes). Just before baking, combine reserved egg with a little water and brush the wreath with the egg wash. Place 5 or 6 eggs on the top of the braid- being careful not to press down too hard. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Cover bread with foil and bake 10-15 minutes longer, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped lightly. Here is the only tricky part. You have to remove the wreath, but not drop the glass custard cup in the middle. You can let the bread cool a few minutes before moving. I use a silicone baking sheet so I slide the whole thing off the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack. I use two large spatulas to lift the wreath up and leave the custard cup behind. If it doesn’t come right out, use a knife to loosen. Lift the wreath up enough to slide the custard cup out. Let cool before serving- store leftovers in fridge, because of the eggs on top. Makes 1.
Goldenrod- A Recipe for Hard Cooked Eggs
If you are looking for a recipe using hard-cooked eggs, you might want to make some Goldenrod. It is a simple dish, but very pretty and quite tasty.
You make a white sauce, then add chopped up egg whites. Season with salt and pepper. When ready to serve, pour the hot egg white mixture over toast and then put the egg yolks in a small strainer or sieve and press them through the strainer over the egg whites.
The yolks turn into a powder and the end result looks quite pretty. I like goldenrod served over English muffins, but you can serve it over toasted bread, biscuits or bagels.
This is a very sentimental dish for me. In my family, it was a tradition every year, after Easter. Goldenrod was a way of using up some of the eggs we had decorated. My Busha, (Polish grandmother) made it, as did my mother. I remember them both when I make goldenrod.
Goldenrod
4-6 hard cooked eggs
2 T. flour
2 T. butter
1-1 1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 slices bread, toasted
Peel eggs and separate whites from yolks. Chop egg whites and set aside. In saucepan cook flour and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk and cook until thickened and bubbly. Be careful not to burn the sauce. Season to taste and add reserved egg whites, heating through. Arrange toast on serving dishes and cover with the sauce. Place reserves egg yolks in a fine sieve and press through over sauce, dusting as evenly as possible. Serves 2-4.
