Easter

An Ap-peel-ing Idea

Nibbles

For those who don’t already know, I have a creativity-focused blog, the 64 Arts, that lets me flex the right side of my brain on a regular basis. Last March, while exploring the art of Cutouts (from paper to peel), I created a cute lemon cup that might make a nice addition to your Easter table this year.

Originally posted on the 64 Arts on March 24, 2010…

~~~oOo~~~

How Ap-Peel-ing

a Little Lemon Bowl

To make the lemon bowl, start by trimming each end of the lemon so you have a flat surface for the bowl to sit on.

You can buy a fancy garnishing tool (I do have them) but it may not always fit your project’s size. I just used a sharp pairing knife and cut a zig-zag all the way around. If I were doing more than just messing around, I’d probably measure and mark off equal increments–instead I just winged it. Inside each little point I cut a little window to dress up the lemon bowl.

The lemon should easily come apart at that point, but I did have to go back over a few places where I hadn’t completely cut through. Next you want to scoop out the lemon pulp and sections as best you can. A grapefruit spoon can be useful for this but the paring knife did really well, too. Make sure all the little windows are clear of pulp, rinse it and pat it dry.

I’ve fridge-tested my samples and they’ve done well in the refrigerator for several days. I even popped one in the freezer for a night just to see how it held up. It did great! They will dry out if they’re in there too long, but 3 or 4 days shouldn’t hurt. The little points did curve in a bit but that seems to be making the overall structure that much stronger.

Now, what to do with it?

Sorbet comes immediately to mind. Fancy dinners sometimes include a palate-cleansing course but you don’t need to go to that trouble. Some Italian ice, granita or even a minty ice cream would look great and taste even better when served in these fun lemon cups.

Still too cold for an icy dessert? Candies or nuts would be fun in them or, with Easter right around the corner, how about displaying your eggs in their own little basket?

Lemon Egg Cup

When I was a little girl and we lived with my grandmother, we would do the customary egg-dying the day before and make sure every family member had an egg with their name on it. We’d leave the eggs in their cartons out on the counter when we went to bed and, in the morning, I’d wake up to them all arranged on a huge silver platter with that cellophane grass all around. It’s still one of my fondest childhood memories.

How cute would it be, then, to have personalized eggs at each place setting for the big family dinner? Placed in little lemon or lime cups that are so much more fun than those paper stands the dying kits come with and definitely eco-friendly. Plus, the pulp doesn’t have to go to waste if you turn it into fresh lemonade to serve with dinner!

Egg-cellent Egg Salad

Nibbles

Even though we’re all well past egg-hunting stage in my family, I still enjoy dying eggs for the occasion. The un-hunted egg is a prime candidate for egg salad sandwiches in the days after the holiday.

First, a tip for easy-peel eggs.

After the eggs have boiled (10 minutes is generally sufficient for a solid, yet tender, yolk) and you’ve drained off the boiling water, shake the eggs around in the pan enough to cause small cracks to appear. Then, as you cover the eggs with cold water to speed the cooling, water will seep in between the shells and the whites, making it easier to peel, later on.

I’ve also read that older eggs peel more easily than fresher ones.

Egg Salad

10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
3 green onions, sliced
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp sweet relish
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp dill
1/4 c mayonnaise

A pastry blender makes short work of a bowl of shelled eggs, just make sure you’ve got a good grip on the handle. Mix in the remaining ingredients before adding the mayonnaise, only adding as much of the latter as it will take to make a smooth mixture. Depending on your eggs you may need less or more.

Other ingredients that would be tasty would be freshly diced bell peppers or celery for crunch, capers in place of the relish or tarragon instead of dill.

We went with fairly simple sandwiches on toasted sourdough bread with salad greens though sprouts would have been tasty as well.

How Ap-Peel-ing

64 Arts

So the mind wanders with these sorts of things (creativity is all about the wandering) and a part of the original description had gotten stuck in my brain. Specifically, the “peel” part. Peel leads to citrus and I started to wonder what I could do with the lemons hanging out on the bar.

a Little Lemon Bowl

To make the lemon bowl, start by trimming each end of the lemon so you have a flat surface for the bowl to sit on.

You can buy a fancy garnishing tool (I do have them) but it may not always fit your project’s size. I just used a sharp pairing knife and cut a zig-zag all the way around. If I were doing more than just messing around, I’d probably measure and mark off equal increments–instead I just winged it. Inside each little point I cut a little window to dress up the lemon bowl.

The lemon should easily come apart at that point, but I did have to go back over a few places where I hadn’t completely cut through. Next you want to scoop out the lemon pulp and sections as best you can. A grapefruit spoon can be useful for this but the paring knife did really well, too. Make sure all the little windows are clear of pulp, rinse it and pat it dry.

I’ve fridge-tested my samples and they’ve done well in the refrigerator for several days. I even popped one in the freezer for a night just to see how it held up. It did great! They will dry out if they’re in there too long, but 3 or 4 days shouldn’t hurt. The little points did curve in a bit but that seems to be making the overall structure that much stronger.

Now, what to do with it?

Sorbet comes immediately to mind. Fancy dinners sometimes include a palate-cleansing course but you don’t need to go to that trouble. Some Italian ice, granita or even a minty ice cream would look great and taste even better when served in these fun lemon cups.

Still too cold for an icy dessert? Candies or nuts would be fun in them or, with Easter right around the corner, how about displaying your eggs in their own little basket?

Lemon Egg Cup

When I was a little girl and we lived with my grandmother, we would do the customary egg-dying the day before and make sure every family member had an egg with their name on it. We’d leave the eggs in their cartons out on the counter when we went to bed and, in the morning, I’d wake up to them all arranged on a huge silver platter with that cellophane grass all around. It’s still one of my fondest childhood memories.

How cute would it be, then, to have personalized eggs at each place setting for the big family dinner? Placed in little lemon or lime cups that are so much more fun than those paper stands the dying kits come with and definitely eco-friendly. Plus, the pulp doesn’t have to go to waste if you turn it into fresh lemonade to serve with dinner!

Random Appetites: For the Love of Peeps!

Nibbles

Ah, yes, those sugared puffs of piped marshmallow fluff. I’ve found you either love ’em or hate ’em, and I happen to love ’em. Unfortunately it’s more of a love-hate thing, since they make me verrry sleepy if I eat more than a couple at a time. Sugar overload makes me sleepy, go figure. But even if you don’t like to EAT the bunnies, chickies and other figures that feature prominently in many holiday candy aisles (but mostly Easter) there is much more to their fluffy little heads.

Have you ever heard of peep jousting? It’s simple: place two peeps–each fitted with a toothpick lance under one, uh, wing–facing each other on a paper or other microwave-safe plate. Pop them into the microwave for just a bit (30 seconds should be enough) and watch who stabs who first.

Here’s a lovely, commentary-rich video of the event http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I18FIrE5xfk but don’t let that stop you from trying it yourself!

Of course, if you’re into less blood sugar-thirsty peepitude, I came across a couple of sweet books on the confection, but not like you’d expect. Check out Peeps: A Candy-Coated Tale or Peeps Ahoy!: A Candy-Coated Adventure on the High Seas. Or, if you’ve hit the local Dollar Store and found lots of peeps for only a few pips, check out Peeps: Recipes and Crafts to Make with Your Favorite Marshmallow Treat to use up your sugary score.