Easter Feast Bread


There is nothing redeemable about maraschino cherries in my book. Pickled in sugar and food coloring, nothing remains in them to even resemble a fruit that grew on an actual tree. But I love this recipe. My mom clipped from the newspaper one spring decades ago and it quickly became an annual Easter tradition in my family. The chopped maraschino cherries sweeten the bread and add a nice pink color.

Easter Feast Bread

1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
2 cups sifted flour (plus about 1.5 cups additional, plus some for kneading)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast
1 egg
1 tsp lemon rind
8 oz maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup or more powdered sugar

Measure milk, water, and butter into a saucepan and heat briefly until blended (I did it in the microwave). In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups sifted flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.

With a wooden spoon, blend in the milk mixture, beating well. Beat in egg, lemon rind, and chopped cherries. Beat in enough additional flour to create a dough that can be handled easily. Bowl will tend to clean itself as you stir when sufficient flour has been added.

Turn dough out on a floured surface. Flour hands and knead dough, adding flour as needed until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning dough over once to grease the surface. Cover bowl with a clean cloth and place in a warm spot.

Allow dough to rise until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, turn onto floured surface and shape into 3 round loaves. Place these on a lightly greased baking sheet about a half an inch apart to form a 3-leaf clover. Cover and allow to rise until doubled. (I covered with plastic wrap and left it overnight at this point).

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Frost with a glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar.

I bought some beautiful T-bone chops from my friendly pork farmers, and cooked 'em up for the family tonight. I had 4 of them, and decided to brine them in this:

4 cups water
1/4 cup sea salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp chili powder

Here they are after their 6 hour bath, with some contorni prepped for the grill...




Here they are after the grill...










Look nice, huh? Well, I overcooked them a little. The tenderloin side was tender, the other, not so much. At least the brine kept them moist. They were perfectly salty, and not at all sweet.





Besides, Anthony had made this yummy vintage cake, his Aunt Mildred's recipe from 1958. We used our Meyer Lemons, of course.

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 stick butter
2.5 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp baking soda, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

Lemon Sauce

1/4 cup hot water
Juice and rind of 2 lemons
1 cup sugar

Directions:
Cream shortening, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour and salt together, then add alternately with buttermilk, mixing well. Add lemon extract and beat at low speed, then add soda dissolved in hot water. Pour batter into angel food pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

Mix lemon sauce ingredients in small saucepan and bring to a boil. When the cake is done baking, immediately remove from pan. Poke holes all over with a skewer and slowly pour the lemon sauce over the hot cake, letting it slowly soak in.

Sweet, tart, and tender....