Our Easter Dinner

This year, Easter Sunday coincides with the Masters Golf tournament... I'm planning a festive meal, but simple and easy to prepare so I can watch TV at the same time. So this is my menu:

Assorted Deviled Eggs with 3 different toppings:
- Salmon sashimi with avocado, kiwi salad, with wasabi mayo dressing
- Bacon & Cheese
- Sundried tomatoes and crunchy vegetable chips

Roasted shoulder of lamb rubbed with olive oil, garlic and rosemary, salt & pepper. For a 4 lb cut, I roast for 15 mn in 450 degrees preheated oven on each side, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook for another 2 and half hours (total 3 hours). It was tender and tasty.

Roast bell peppers stuffed with cheese - This is so easy to prepare and really tasty. I use a sharp knife to halve the mini bell peppers but not all the way (the tip with the stem is left whole), then I slide a piece of cheese (I have a platter of assorted sliced cheese in the fridge, so I use mozzarella as well as cheddar and Swiss cheese). After heating a little olive oil, I add some minced garlic then the bell peppers. After they are seared on one side, turn them over and sear the other side. Absolutely delicious!

Asparagus with Ravigotte sauce - After cleaning and cutting the bottom of the asparagus, I trim them nicely, and blanch them for about 3 mn in boiling water and drain them and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Just before serving, I melt some butter in the saucepan, and quickly saute the asparagus, and serve them immediately with the Ravigotte sauce. This is basically a vinaigrette with added chopped hard boiled egg, capers, shallots and parsley. It's the perfect side dish for lamb.

For dessert, I use store-bought chocolate tart shells and fill them with lemon whipped cream and top them with fresh berries. The subtly citrus flavored whipped cream is perfect for these fruit tartlets.
To prepare it, whip together 2 cups of whipping cream, 2 tablespoons of sugar (I use Splenda), 3 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and grated zest of one lemon, until fluffy...

Vegetarian Pizzettes

Since the beginning of the year, I have decided to go vegetarian once a week, and it will be on Mondays! This week I got some flat bread from Trader Joe, and made a variety of pizzettes with different combos, mainly with whatever I can find in the fridge or in the pantry: mushrooms with asparagus, zucchinis, bell peppers, onion and chives, sundried tomatoes and pesto, and any combination of the above... Then I spread the pizzettes with 2 types of sauces, tomato sauce and cream sauce with added grilled garlic, then I sprinkle some grated cheese on top (mozzarella, parmesan, gruyere or goat cheese, and a combination of 2 or 3 cheeses).
Then I bake them on a preheated pizza baking stone at 450 degrees for about 20 mn,  and slice them and serve them piping hot for every body to try different variations: it's a wonderful vegetarian meal!