On the Homefront: Yellow and White Easter Table

Two Easter Dalmatians, Happy and Bunny, join a white ceramic
rabbit (from Tuesday Morning last year), two Lindt Gold Bunnies,
and my Pier 1 white bird salt and pepper shakers at one end of
the table.  White tulips in a yellow vase and lemon yellow candies
in a white bowl complete the look.

My Easter table this year was inspired by a table runner and napkins I picked up at HomeGoods last month, as well as some bunny plates I purchased recently from Crate and Barrel.  The linens inspired the yellow and white color scheme as well as the bunny theme which was enhanced by the plates.  I discovered that I had a lot more yellow and white tableware than I thought, so this table came together easily.  Even the menu features a lot of yellow!

White fabric placemat from Tuesday Morning this year; yellow dinner plate (Block Basics by Cerind of Portugal); white Bunny Plate by Elvis Swift from Crate and Barrel; stainless flatware (Tripoli Sand by Cambridge) from HomeGoods a couple of years ago; bunny napkin and table runner by Colordrift from HomeGoods; stainless egg cup; yellow plastic egg filled with M&Ms as a napkin topper; yellow ceramic mug I think from The Cupboard in Fort Collins, CO, years ago; clear water glass.

The yellow platter will be used as a trivet for the ham and egg
casserole dish; the small bowl on the right is filled with
lemon creme almonds; the white sugar bowl, bunny
cream pitcher, and clear butter dish will be filled later.

A big round yellow ceramic platter filled with cloth-wrapped
croissants makes a tasty centerpiece.

My Easter menu is pretty simple to make.  The Ham and Egg Casserole can be assembled the night before, then brought to room temperature the next morning and baked.  Make the Lemon Curd Muffins the day before as well.  The green beans are quick to prepare and can also be done the night before or just before eating.  Steaming green beans in the microwave is a cinch, especially if you use prepackaged microwaveable beans.  Just combine the cooked beans with olive oil, lemon juice, and sliced almonds to taste and they are done!

My fruit salads always start with canned pineapple tidbits in juice plus a can of mandarin oranges with the syrup drained off.  Then I add strawberries and any other fruits that look good (I had some leftover blueberries so I added them).  Slice in some bananas just before serving, if desired (you can add them earlier if you don't mind mushy bananas, but most people prefer them firm).  When I was young, canned pineapple-grapefruit juice was available in stores and was my favorite.  Nowadays you have to mix it up yourself, but to me it is worth the tiny bit of effort required.  Add store-bought croissants and a butter lamb if you can find one, and the menu is complete!

Butter lamb!

Easter Brunch Menu:

Fruit Salad

Ham and Egg Casserole

Green Beans with Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, and Sliced Almonds

Croissants
Butter Lamb

Lemon Curd Muffins*

Coffee or Tea
Pineapple-Grapefruit Juice

*Lemon Curd Muffins

1 1/2 C. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 C. sugar

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 C. plain yogurt

1/2 C. whole milk

5 T. butter, melted (or 1/3 C. vegetable oil)
1 egg

1/2 C. lemon curd (approximate)

Line 12 muffin cups with paper or foil liners.  Sift together the first five ingredients in a large bowl.  Whisk together the next four ingredients in a medium bowl.  Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (do not overmix).  Divide half of the batter among the 12 muffin cups.  Top each with about 1/2 tsp. of lemon curd, then divide the rest of the batter evenly over the tops of the muffins.  (Try not to use up too much batter for the bottom layer, so that you have enough left over to completely cover the lemon curd.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm with additional lemon curd.  Makes 12 muffins.

I rarely get the chance to take pictures of the food I serve, but for once I had a little time to snap some photos:

Ham and egg casserole (this was so good!)

Green beans with olive oil, lemon juice, and sliced almonds

Fruit salad (pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, strawberries,
blueberries, and bananas); the small bowl on the left holds
very tart little candies called Lemonheads.

In addition to the lemon creme almonds and Lemonheads candies, I found a box of packaged Jelly Belly Lemon Cake Bites made by Swiss Colony at our local Kroger supermarket that fit my table theme perfectly:

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter day with beautiful weather like we did!  And, just like last year, I leave you with my favorite Easter Peeps YouTube video: