entertaining

april 2001

Easter morning has always been special to my family-the children's rush when they first awaken to see what the Easter Bunny left, followed by church, then quite often a leisurely Easter brunch which combines the best parts of breakfast and lunch. Brunch is followed by an Easter egg hunt with the children running around looking for pastel-colored plastic eggs filled with treats that are hidden behind shrubs and bushes or in flower beds. As the children grew, so did our imagination as to how to better hide the eggs. Should the day produce April showers, the hunt can be moved indoors, making use of furniture and house plants to camouflage the eggs. If a diabetic child is going to be in attendance, check out the companion article on how to make the egg hunt safe for a diabetic child in 'just for kids.' This is the time to use your pastel-colored linens. The night before, get all your servings dishes ready and figure out their placement on the buffet table, along with the proper serving utensils. Also, set the tables where you'll be eating. Since children will make up about half of the gathering, this is not the time for your very expensive crystal and china. Instead, opt for large, sturdy china or pottery dinner plates. Set the tables with silverware, glassware that won't be tipped over easily by small hands, and napkins. Fill the rooms with fresh flowers that mark the arrival of spring-tulips, lilies, roses, and irises. Display your collection of special Easter ornaments like hand-blown eggs, whimsical china bunnies, or a special grouping of antique pressed-glass hens sitting in baskets. For this late-morning feast, I've devised a fast-made menu with tempting contrasts in colors and flavors. Most of the dishes can be totally or partially made the night before. The main dish for the adults is a strata with chicken-cilantro sausage we're finding more and more in our markets from New Mexico. For the children (and adults, too) there are yummy small pizzas. The cheesecake is made with yogurt cheese. For that recipe, go to www.diabetic-recipes.com and do a search for yogurt cheese. Start the yogurt draining early on Friday so it's ready to make the cheesecake by Saturday night. The next day, while the strata bakes, you can finish the salads (some of that can be readied the night before and stored in self-sealing plastic bags), assemble the pizzas, and unmold the cheesecake onto its serving plate. Once the strata comes out of the oven, the pizzas go in and you're ready to put everything on the buffet table. Easter Egg Hunt Brunch   New Mexican Chicken-Cilantro Sausage Strata with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Mini-Pizzas for the Young Guests Cantaloupe, Tomato, Avocado, and Sweet Onion Salad Santa Fe Salad Creamy Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberries Purchased Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffles (see the Diabetic Supply Store) (for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above) FTG