Easter Sunday 2007

"At last the time to love and die, The dark appointed day

That one forsaken moment When Your Father turned His face away

Love crucified, arose The One who lived the died for me

Was Satan's nail-pierced casualty Now He's breathing once again

Love crucified, arose And the grave became a place of hope

For the heart that sin and sorrow broke Is beating once again" - Michael Card

This year's good Friday, Easter weekend felt more emotional than other years.

I'll probably narrow it down to a few related chain of events - the long treasured weekend, the simple, yet powerful choral message brought by the choir on Friday's service, and baptism of love ones.

Easter Sunday Dinner

In the evening, G and I cooked dinner together for the first time to celebrate with his family. I was all jitters since Friday evening with the pressure of cooking for 8 and my *gnocchi failure* still fresh on my mind and kitchen stove.

After much discussion and back-and forth, we ditched the safe but boring steamboat idea and proceeded full steam ahead to revised the dinner menu.

Numero Uno - Mentaiko Pasta...

I wanted to make sure I learnt my painful first lesson about starting with simple things.

Grateful thanks to J (the fabulous foodie cousin) and L (the sweet supportive sister), G and I were introduced to the 'confirm' all-time favourite dish which is also easy to make.

Sure enough, our dining companions polished off the fusion pasta in record time.

Mentaiko Pasta with sliced Nori and Ebiko

Course Deux - Platter of trio
We were really excited to use our new plates and of course couldn't help planning one of our courses around the use of the plate. We wanted to incorporate seafood into this course and what better then sashimi which could also save the cooking time for us. I had also found a yummy looking recipe for crab cakes which we thought would make the perfect little mid-course snack. I also thought it would be nice to have some vegetables (to health!) and once again I turned to my Tessa Kirus cookbook for inspiration.

Crab cakes with freshly peeled crab meat, salmon sashimi slices and spinach and carrot pots.

We used a mixture of fresh herbs and crab meat with breadcrumbs, mayonnaise and mustard to hold it all together. G was in charge or shaping the crab cakes and executing his forte - frying!! He did such a lovely job giving them the perfect circle and lovely golden brown.

The carrots and spinach pots were a little tedious and stressful to make. Firstly, I severely under-estimate the ability of spinach to shrink big time after blanching. Secondly, I forgot how paranoid I get when baking - I either burn or undercook. Thirdly, this was my first time attempting to cook vegetables! Thankfully, and truly amazingly, the pots turned out really well. It wasn't too long before our kitchen was filled with the tasty aroma of baking butter and cheese in the oven. The spinach and carrots didn't disintegrate during baking, in fact, they gave the second course a lovely contrasting green and orange. And I must say, for veggie, they tasted great!

Finally - Baked lamb chops and Beef Ribs with Potato mash

We wanted to keep this last course cooking-fuss free. So it was mix, spread, bake! I prepared the special seasoning (made from 8 different herbs and spices) earlier in the afternoon and seasoned the meats about 40 mins before baking. Within 15 -20 min the meats were sizzling in their juices and spices, ready to go. The only complaint from hubby was that the meats were a little too salty. Which worked out well with the buttery mash potato.

Dinner is served and devoured...

Though tired from the cooking, G and I were nevertheless gratified by the empty plates and smiling faces around the dining table. I think we shared a little moment of pride and content, probably experienced by chefs - amateur or professional - around the world when the food they passionately prepare is enjoyed by the ones they love.

Our very first home-cooked hosted dinner!

Cooking Reminder #1 - Perfect estimation comes with practise
Cooking Reminder #2 - Whoever said "too many cooks spoils to broth" obviously only intending to make a small bowl of soup...Help, is ALWAYS good.