Alleluia-In-Place: A Shelter-In-Place Easter Feast

Posted April 8, 2020 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Holidays / 0 Comments

 

 

“We are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song!”
– Pope St. John Paul II, quoting St. Augustine

 

With shelter-in-place measures extended until May in many states (including my own), people all over the country are trying to come up with ways to celebrate Easter from home on short notice with limited resources. At first, making a big deal (or any kind of deal) about Easter this year might feel a little silly. Surely we should just keep our heads down and focus on getting by, right?

But times like this are when celebrations are most important. We need them to “snap us out of it” and remind us that there’s so much more to life than what’s happening right now. And so much more happening right now than what we’re agonizing over. This is especially true of Easter, as it centers on life and hope.

That’s why this year I want to “Alleluia-in-place” by focusing on bringing joyful hope to my family’s Easter celebration, even if that celebration has limitations. We will wear our Sunday best, attend Mass via livestream, hunt for eggs, Facebook video chat with friends and family, and of course FEAST.

Below, I’ve shared my family’s Easter menu (plus a couple extra options) to offer some ideas if you want to make your own special Easter meal without limited ingredients getting in the way. These recipes avoid common shortage items, so they should all be doable if you have grocery pickup or delivery in your area. If you have to make do with what you currently have at home, you can still probably make the deviled eggs, bread rolls, and maybe a couple others (depending on what you have on hand). I’ve also included a link to my cookbook at the end, which offers even more options. Feel free to comment if you’d like advice on substitutions!

Warm up your singing voices, folks. We’ve got an Alleluia to sing! 🙂

 

Alleluia-In-Place: A Shelter-In-Place Easter Feast

 

Drunken Ham — The Three Musketeers

A WHOLE ham is probably a bit much for a family of four, but that doesn’t mean you have to forgo the traditional Easter ham entirely. Ham steaks are still available at many grocers, making this Drunken Ham with dried cranberry and port glaze my entrĂ©e of choice this Easter. Don’t have port? Any full-bodied red wine should do (just add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg to the glaze as it simmers), and of course you can replace the shallots with an equal amount of onion if necessary.

 

Cracked China Deviled Eggs — The Wizard of Oz

Deviled eggs are an absolute MUST at our holiday gatherings (the Mister LOVES them), and this recipe is a really fun way to dress them up!

 

Little Red Riding Hood Rolls — The Brothers Grimm

Every holiday meal needs bread to pass. If your store still has frozen bread dough, you’re in business! You can easily style it as kaiser rolls, soft pretzels, or cinnamon raisin braids. If your brand comes with 3 portions of dough per bag (as some do), you can even make all three kinds!

 

Bilbo’s Birthday Cupcakes — The Fellowship of the Ring

Vanilla cupcakes, lemon buttercream, and homemade blackberry curd filling. YUM. Here are some tips to make this more grocery-limit friendly: 1) For the cupcakes, make your own buttermilk by adding 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk. Stir and let sit 5 minutes before using. 2) Frozen berries work just as well as for for the curd, though it does yield a bit less. 3) Even if you have edible flowers in your garden, they won’t be blooming yet, but you can top these beauties with sprinkles, candy eggs, or even marshmallow Peeps!

 

Miracle Max’s Resurrection Truffles — The Princess Bride

The name makes these too perfect NOT to make for Easter. Luckily, most cookie and candy aisles don’t seem to be suffering the same emptiness these days as the bread aisle. These use Oreos, Werther’s soft caramels, and almond bark (usually found with baking supplies or candy). However, they do use cream cheese, which might be harder to find depending on where you live.

 

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Feel free to comment below for advice on substitutions!

For more inspiration, you can find more literary nibbles (many of them perfect for Easter)

in my cookbook, A Literary Tea Party, available to buy on Amazon

or borrow as a digital copy through some libraries.

 

 

 

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