Lamb Cake

Notes for the lamb mold:

• I just used a cake mix and Wilton buttercream recipe and all worked well.  I haven't made this for quite a while and thought I might need something denser like a pound cake.  My Aldi cake mix was stable enough to stand up and come out of the mold well. (I used the baking spray with flour in it.)
• To hold it together while baking I inverted a Dutch oven with the edge over the middle as a weight.
• One cake mix made this and 3-5 cupcakes.
• Icing recipe (It used almost a whole batch.)

UPDATE -Ignore the baking directions on the box and bake this for 60-70 minutes. You should be able to lift off the top and test doneness with a toothpick.

Onion Skin Egg Dye

12 medium eggs at room temperature
12 onions
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil, or other edible oil (optional)

Save onion skins in an open container (so the moisture can escape) for a couple months.

In a stainless steel saucepan, boil 4 1/2 cups water, onion skins and vinegar. When it boils, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into another stainless saucepan, or into a bowl then back into the original pan if that’s all you have.  Remember to use a stainless steel pan to avoid staining. Arrange the room-temperature eggs in the pan in one layer and carefully pour the cooled dye over them.

Bring liquid to an easy boil over medium heat. Then reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, then start checking for color by gently raising an egg out with a slotted spoon. It may take up to 20 minutes to get the right color. Do not cook for more than 20 minutes. (If, after 20 minutes, the eggs are not a deep enough color, remove pot from heat, cool to room temperature, then place in refrigerator until desired color is reached.)

Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and cool on racks. When cool enough to handle, massage in a little olive oil to each, then polish with a paper towel. Keep in refrigerator until time to eat (or hide.)

The eggs pictured are made with mostly yellow onion skins.

Easter Quiche

I used this formula from Sally's Baking Addiction:

4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper*
up to 1 cup shredded or crumbled cheese (see recipe note)
up to 2 cups add-ins


Our add-ins were bacon (Costco precooked bits), a bag of spinach (steamed and wrung dry in a piece of cheesecloth and chopped), and smoked Gouda.  I made this one without a crust and it was fine.  Even better, in a way.  I'd definitely do this combo again.

For the second one I used about 3/4 cup asparagus, finely chopped red peppers, and mushrooms, all sauteed a little, and with cheddar.  This one needed either a bolder cheese or some additional seasoning, but was still fine.

I mixed both the night before and left the filling in bowls until I needed it.  It worked well.
I used the cream and milk recommended here.  Logically, it seems like just a cup of 1/2 and 1/2 would be just as good, but I feel like the cream gave it an especially good texture.
Also, fwiw, the one with a crust took a little longer than the crustless one.

Bake @ 350 for about 50 minutes.

Creamy Herbed Potatoes

4 To 5 Whole Russet Potatoes
1 stick Butter
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese
3/4 cups Heavy Cream
1 cup Whole Milk (Half-and-Half Works, Too)
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Rosemary
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Parsley
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Chives
1/2 teaspoon Finely Chopped Sage

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Slice potatoes very thinly.
• Add butter to a large skillet over medium low heat. When melted, add diced onion. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• Add cream cheese to the pan and stir to melt. Pour in cream and milk, stirring to combine.
• Season with plenty of salt and pepper, then add chopped herbs.
• Place potatoes in a buttered baking dish. Pour contents of skillet over the top. Top with Parmesan cheese and bake for 45 minutes, or until bubbly. 
• Allow potatoes to sit 15 minutes before serving.

NOTES:

• We used shredded potatoes instead of sliced.  Recommended!  (2+ containers of the Costco dehydrated ones, but a big package of frozen would work too)
• Polnaszek-recommended and delicious!  We had them with ham for Christmas.
• We skipped the parmesan for Jonah, and was fine without

SOURCE - Pioneer Woman

Kolaches

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted (If you use unsalted butter or margarine, add an additional 1/4 teaspoon salt)
2 teaspoons instant yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 tsp orange or lemon zest(or a few drops of lemon extract)
4 cups All-Purpose Flour

PINEAPPLE FILLING 
20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained*
1 cup sugar(This was quite sweet, you could probably easily get away with 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons cornstarch OR Instant ClearJel
2 tablespoons melted butter

*If you’re using cornstarch as the thickener, reserve 3 tablespoons of the pineapple juice, in which you’ll dissolve the cornstarch.

STRAWBERRY FILLING
1.5 lbs. frozen strawberries
1 cup sugar(This was quite sweet, you could probably easily get away with 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons cornstarch OR Instant ClearJel
2 tablespoons melted butter

*If you’re using cornstarch as the thickener, reserve 3 tablespoons of the strawberry juice, in which you’ll dissolve the cornstarch.

STREUSEL TOPPING
2/3 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 cup sugar 
1/3 cup (about 5 2/3 tablespoons) melted butter
(This is more than enough streusel for a double batch of dough)

DOUGH: Warm the sour cream gently, and combine it with the sugar, salt, and butter or margarine in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer. Cool the mixture to lukewarm (if it isn’t already that temperature), and add the yeast (if you’re using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the water first), warm water, eggs, and flour. Mix and knead the dough, using your hands, or a mixer, until it’s soft and smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough overnight. Note: This dough won’t rise much, so don’t worry about having to put it in a huge bowl.

Next day, remove the dough from the fridge, and divide it into about 24 pieces, each 1 3/4 ounces, about the size of a golf ball. Place the pieces on lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about an inch between them. Flatten the balls till they’re about 1/2-inch thick, and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.

PINEAPPLE FILLING: In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the drained pineapple to boiling. If you’re using Instant ClearJel(r), mix it with the sugar, and stir this mixture into the pineapple. Immediately remove the filling from the heat, and stir in the melted butter. Cool to lukewarm before using.

If you’re using cornstarch, mix it with the reserved pineapple juice. Stir the dissolved cornstarch and the sugar into the hot pineapple, and cook over medium heat, stirring, till the mixture thickens and becomes clear. Remove it from the heat, stir in the melted butter, and let it cool to lukewarm before using.

STRAWBERRY FILLING: In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the strawberries to boiling, drain off excess juice(I removed ~1 cup). If you’re using Instant ClearJel(r), mix it with the sugar, and stir this mixture into the strawberries. Immediately remove the filling from the heat, and stir in the melted butter. Cool to lukewarm before using.

If you’re using cornstarch, mix it with the reserved strawberry juice or water. Stir the dissolved cornstarch and the sugar into the hot berries, and cook over medium heat, stirring, till the mixture thickens and becomes clear. Remove it from the heat, stir in the melted butter, and let it cool to lukewarm before using.

STREUSEL TOPPING: In a small bowl, mix together the flour and sugar, then add the butter, stirring till crumbs form.

ASSEMBLY: Using your fingers, make a wide, deep indentation in the center of each flattened dough ball. Don’t be afraid of being decisive here; you want to make a deep enough indentation that it doesn’t just disappear as the buns rise and bake. Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of the filling into each bun; crumble a little of the streusel on top. Cover the kolaches, and allow them to rise for about an hour; they won’t necessarily double in bulk.

Bake the kolaches in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, till they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve warm, or at room temperature.

Notes
*I didn't get a picture, but mine came out looking like your average grocery store danish, not very tall at all, but they have a lovely texture.
*I'm sure you could substitute just about any frozen berry for the strawberries without any complications.
*There are loads of other filling recipes online.
*I only got two out of the 4 pans of assembled kolaches baked before we had to leave for the vigil mass; the remaining pans were left out for ~4 hours and there was not a noticeable difference between the them and the ones that had risen for an hour.

Easter Raisin Bread

(First of all, apologies for the terrible pun.)

Home for Easter for the first time in years (and years and years), I felt the need to make Dad his traditional raisin bread.  I morphed this delicious bread recipe with the filling and method from here and it turned out pretty well!  Not too sweet, excellent texture, and it's not falling apart at the swirls, so the second loaf should be very nice toast.

NOTES:

• I added three cups of raisins to the dough before the flour was all added.  At first, it looked like that may have been too many, but it seems about right in the finished product.
• The dough could be a little sweeter.  Check into someone else's recipe for raisin bread next year to compare.
• Using King Arthur's roll up method with the egg wash and flour added to the filling seems to make the slices more stable.  I haven't gotten to the middle of the loaf yet, so I'll edit if this does not seem to be the case all the way through.  I'll paste in the method below, just in case the recipe disappears from their site. UPDATE: About two slices further in to my perfect looking loaf, there was a huge (HUGE) bubble making every slice more of a D shape. I'll be curious to see if both loaves did that, but I have no idea what would have caused it. :-(
• NB - the filling is for one loaf, so double for this application.
• Happy Easter everyone!  Christ is risen!

filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon2 teaspoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, to brush on dough5) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat it into a 6" x 20" rectangle.6) Brush the dough with the egg/water mixture, and sprinkle it evenly with the filling.Don't skip the step of brushing the dough with the egg/water wash before sprinkling on the filling. The egg is what keeps the bread from "gapping" around the filling.

Mini Quiche

1 box refrigerated pie crust

Filling:
3 eggs
1 cup heavy cream

Bacon bits
Caramelized onions
Fresh spinach, chiffonade
Steamed broccoli, finely chopped
Shredded cheese
Anything else you may want

Unroll pie crusts and cut rounds from them with a 2-1/2 inch round cutter; press rounds into mini muffin pan. Place ~1 tsp. of filling in each crust. Whisk together eggs and cream, pour into crusts to fill. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

H/T

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

2 (1/4 ounce) packages of dry yeast
1/3 c warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 c warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1/2 c sugar
6 tbsp butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/4 tsp salt
5.5-6 cups flour

Filling:
2-1/2 c raisins
1 c water
1/3 c apple juice or cider
1 egg, beaten

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, butter, eggs, salt, and 2 c flour. Beat for 2 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

Knead for 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

In a large saucepan, bring the filling ingredients (NOT the egg) to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes until almost all the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Punch dough down; knead for about a minute on a lightly floured surface. Divide in half, and roll each half into a 12X8 inch rectangle. Brush with egg, spread with half the filling to within 1/2 inch of edges.

Roll up, starting with a short side; pinch to seal. Place seam side down in a greased bread pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Cover loosely with foil if it seems to be browning too quickly. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 2 loaves

Note: Using 1/2 golden raisins would also be nice, if you have them. This bread has a VERY nice texture.

Source for unedited recipe: Taste of Home Baking