My family loves pineapple stuffing as a sweet side dish with ham. It's very quick to prepare. This is the same as my mother's recipe except we remove the bread crusts. It can be made a day ahead.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18391/pineapple-stuffing/

We love lamb, but grilled in fresh pita with home made tzatziki, lettuce and tomato and homemade red onion balsamic jam. So a summer dish for us!

The last time I made a traditional ham easter dinner it was definitely scalloped potatoes, mac n' cheese, asparagus with hollandaise, deviled eggs, salad, spring crudites and then desserts. For an upcoming easter adjacent dinner I'm making asparagus mimosa and mint-fava-pea pasta on the side. .

I’m making my favorite thing for Easter lunch … reservations

My MIL always hosted Easter dinner (early in the day). She was a terrible cook and later had the meal catered. It was lamb for everyone, *except* the one pescatarian who scored salmon. A lot of noses out of joint that day.

IME, there is lamb, and then there is lamb.

When it is good, it is very very good, and when it is bad, it is horrid.

We had lamb on vacation in Italy. It was probably 3oz total; too small disks probably from lollipop chops. It was $38. It was very very good.

I grew up in the south and we ate lamb fairly often. I no longer eat red meat, but I know it’s available at the grocery store.

Growing up my mom made the most wonderful roast leg o' lamb on a regular basis with deeply dark caramelized onions in the pan. It was divine. I used to like lamb back in the day. Now I can't stand it. I don't know if my tastes have changed or if it's the lamb itself. Too gamey for me now. Same thing with goat cheese. I'm otherwise adventurous with foods and tastes, but not gaminess.

Our traditional Easter fare is a Honey Baked Ham, potato salad with lots of dill, devilled eggs, green beans, corn pudding or (lately) corn on the cob, a green salad and either yeast rolls or biscuits. The past few years I’ve served a lemony wild rice and arugula salad that is absolutely delicious in lieu of the beans or corn. This year we are going to the club for lunch as the menu looks especially appetizing. Also we have 11 people so this is an easier post op meal for me.

Now that DD lives out of state and has to be on the road Sunday afternoon, Easter is always going to be brunch for us. All this reading about ham is making me want to have ham; maybe a small one to go along with my frittata or egg casserole (haven’t decided yet.

One year for Christmas I made a ham and served Ina Garten’s mac and cheese with it. So good!

Bunny, my Mom did a similar lamb leg, loved those onions. She served them in a shallow terra cotta dish and there never seemed to be enough. I have never lenjoyed any meat so did not eat the lamb itself.

I have had the good fortune to dine with Mrs. and Mr. 3Katz and know him to be a lovely man. Otherwise, I'd be highly suspicious of anyone who does not like mac and cheese.

Off to look up Ina's recipe!

My mom made the lamb and she was a wonderful cook, and on good terms with the butcher! I don’t care for lamb now, maybe it’s the cut? the quality? the prep? I would never make it myself now. But boy, I sure did like it back then.

I love asparagus for an Easter side dish. My go-to recipe for asparagus is simply roasting it in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I will sometimes then grate some parmesan over the top. Here's a similar recipe:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/baked_asparagus_with_parmesan/

Alternatively I like to saute shallots and asparagus in olive or avocado oil. Sometimes I'll also add frozen green peas. And sometimes zucchini as well. Very fresh and bright and just right for spring or summer.

If you're doing a lunch or brunch meal, this zucchini ricotta cheesecake is great for Easter.

https://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/zucchini-ricotta-cheesecake-recipe.html

Sue, i served ham at a Christnas brunch along with a breakfast casserole, a cranberry salad, breakfast potatoes and biscuits. The brunch was a hit. As for ham at lunch or dinner, deviled eggs are a must! I also like pineapple casserole as a side. I usually add fresh green beans too.

Tina Marie

Bpath, Go to the best butcher in your area and get lollipops. Cook medium rare. Or, go for a leg of lamb, which I find the mildest in flavor. I would rub it with herbs, garlic and olive oil and grill it.

Look for lamb that is pale pink in color. Like most things, paler color means milder flavor.

I dont love lamb, but there’s a lot of local organic lamb available where I live. The sheep pasture on otherwise deserted islands. Here are some that wintered on the mainland as they headed back recently. The site of sheep in a boat is like a crocus to downeast Mainers- a sure sign of Spring.

@Kendrah - I'm an experienced cook and these are good friends so I have no problem trying some new dishes. In fact, I do want to serve things I have not served to them in the past. Lamb is one of the few foods I really despise so we are in no danger of having that. Good or bad lamb - can't stand the idea of eating a lamb.

A couple of years ago, I was talking to a private chef about where he sourced his lamb. He said he usually ordered it from a purveyor in Atlanta but if he couldn’t get it there, the next best place was Sam’s. I was astounded.

ETA: love the picture of the sheep on a boat. I’ve never seen such!

A lot of people recc Costco's leg of lamb too

I'm intrigued by the pineapple dish but I just don't think I can bring myself to make something like that with a CUP of sugar considering how small the quantity of other ingredients is - just too sweet for me. Tina Marie - what is your pineapple side dish like?

This is what my fave local butcher says about his lamb source on his website: I never knew they were "snowbirds" of a sort.

lamb

Straw’s Farm
Newcastle, ME

Lee Straw shepherds two separate groups of sheep and processes about 200 lambs a year. Each May 100 ewes, which Straw tends for another family, lamb on an island in Penobscot Bay. The “island flock” of North Country Cheviot-type sheep date back over 200 years and have been continually selected on the island. Aside from docking, castrating, shearing and introducing breeding rams, Straw leaves the sheep alone – to eat seaweed and grass and to bed down in a grove of spruce trees.

Easter is my least favorite food holiday. I don’t eat ham, lamb, deviled eggs, or chocolate. For years, I made ham and sides (that were required by my husband’s family) that were so dull and of little interest to me. Luckily, I don’t have to make their Easter meal any more.

My sister-in-law used to make a pineapple casseroley thing. It was neither a side nor a dessert. It was very sweet topped with cheddar cheese.

Next time I got to Maine, I’m having local lamb!

For those who make deviled eggs - what do you put in the mix?

3katz, you dont have to use that much sugar. I am not able to get to my recipe now but will try to remember to do so.

@3katz4me

ETA: oh i see you have a recipe. i actually use brown sugar, maybe 1/4 cup or so. Pineapple is sweet enough without adding alot of sugar. It is great using fresh pineapple if you can get good ones in your area. Depending on your recipe, you can probably cut down pn the cheese also. Grate your own. Use some good crackers to make your topping. Mix the crumbs with butter, not margarine. I add a bit of melted butter to the pineapple mixture too. Sorry, unless baking, I am not a measurer, more a taster lol.

OK, gotcha. Sorry for the assumption.

I add dijon, mayo, and teeny bit of ketchup to deviled eggs. My friend's 5 year old told me to do this! The bit of ketchup is perfect. I sprinkle minced cornichons on top. A plunge in ice water after cooking helps get the shells off.

My Latvian friend serve potato salad on Easter. An olive oil based on with loads of dill.

Since you all are talking about lamb, here is a recipe by Entertaining with Beth, that never disappoints my family. https://entertainingwithbeth.com/slow-roasted-lamb-chops-with-tarragon-mustard-sauce/

This is the best recipe I’ve ever eaten for a little leftover ham. I make it maybe once a year. It is not diet friendly

Ham Cheese Potato Casserole

https://leitesculinaria.com/223178/recipes-ham-cheese-potato-casserole.html

I can't believe it took 40 comments before Pineapple casserole was mentioned. I got that recipie here years ago and now it is a staple for Easter. Ham on a grill??? I know you said you've never done it but I've never heard of it. Any idea at all how that worked? Spiral cut ham any make or model always has been excellent for me. You just warm it up--it's fully cured already. My DIL is from SC so will make Mac and Chz. It came up a couple of years ago--it being a standard where she grew up. I love baked beans but the rest of my crew do not. Cheesy potatoes for sure but I find it interesting someone mentioned potato salad. I've been debating swapping this year. Deviled eggs at my house include any mix of mustard/bacon bits/horseradish/ avocado/ mayo. It all depends on how I feel that morning. A cute side for between the eggs are the mini peppers--just the orange ones, some of the left over devil egg mixture to fill or cream cheese spread topped with a bit of dill weed. Looks like little carrots on the plate. Mine love 7layer green salad--more hard boiled eggs..carrot cake for dessert. Grandma always made jello with raspberries--sometimes I do just for her memory. Pea and cheese salad and shrimp salad also grandma standards I swap in some years.

My mom used to make a sauce for Easter ham that was made from a can of crushed pineapple and I don't remember what else. It sat simmering on the stove top all afternoon while the ham baked. My mom is not a creative cook so it may have just been warm pineapple and nothing else.

We liked it, I haven't had it in years, now I would probably think that it was too sweet. Although, I am hungry for pineapple right now!

I am not a cook so I have no business in this thread but chiming in to say I do make Ina Garten's Smoked Salmon deviled eggs and they are delicious.

Also, those fancy cheese grits sound wonderful, bbstx! And easy enough for me.

Has anyone else read Ina's book? She's fascinating. She seemed kind of cautious on her TV show but she certainly is not!

Deviled eggs. Hard boiled eggs. To the yolks, add mayo, dab of mustard, and chopped sweet pickles.

I do Easter dinner and always have ham. I now do it in the crock pot which leaves the ovens open for casseroles and such. Just put a bunch of dark brown sugar in the bottom of the crock pot and then place the ham face down on the sugar. Cover tightly and let it heat through. If the hambone sticks up above the lid, then put a sheet of foil over top with all the edges inside the pot then use another to seal the top. This way, the condensed moisture will drip back into the pot.

I usually serve it with baked beans, mashed rutabaga and sweet potatoes. I also have a broccoli casserole with worchestershire sauce and munster cheese that I like or cauliflower polonnaise.... mashed potatoes, tossed salad, deviled eggs are options, and I usually serve pineapple chunks with the ham.

Maine’s island sheep is a great tradition.

You may enjoy this link

https://www.gretarybus.com/projects/nash-island

which became this article

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/travel/lens-sheep-island-maine.html

My neighborhood farmer friend gave up on sheep. I miss seeing them, especially at this time of year when they looked so pretty in the spring green fields.

Wonderful story, thanks for the link Local. I think I may have seen it the first time but it's worth a second look!

Ahh - seven layer salad. I haven’t made that in many years but I remember liking it. I might have to add that to my menu for the week. We are all of the vintage that will remember that from days gone by.

“Otherwise, I'd be highly suspicious of anyone who does not like mac and cheese.”

Thank goodness we have also met becaise I do not like mac and cheese either. I have never tasted it, even as a child, because I did not like the way it looks. My kids liked it and I made it for them when asked, but I could never bring myself to eat it. I’ve even made fancy baked mac and cheese with homemade everything for family dinners over the past decade but it’s still a non starter for me personally.

3Katz, I could never, ever eat a lamb!

@rubyclaire, the Gruyere Grits are a standard in my family. They came from some southern Junior League cookbook but which one has been lost to the mists of time. We’ve passed the recipe around so much that every woman within 6 degrees of friendship with us now makes them. Oh, I forgot to add, Gruyere Grits are a great side for steaks, too!

@3katz4me, I’m a devilled egg purist. I mash the yolks with mayo, a dab of mustard, S & P and that’s it. Do you remember I did a devilled egg bar for a Cookbook Club GTG? I did my plain Jane eggs. The toppings were caviar, chopped chives, slivered smoked salmon(?), crumbled bacon, finely diced red bell pepper, and a couple of other things that I can’t remember now.

@deegw, was your mother’s sauce perhaps a riff on Jezebel Sauce where she reduced crushed pineapple instead of using pineapple preserves? My aunt always served Jezebel Sauce with ham.

P.S. deegw, yes, I’ve read Ina’s memoir and enjoyed it!

The gruyere grits temind me of one of my favorite Marcella Hazan recipes, Gnocci alla Romana. She makes a similarly rich polenta , spreads it in a pan to chill, then cuts out into rounds, shingles in a dish, sprinkles w/ butter & parm and bakes.

A favored accompaniment to milk braised pork— a dish I loved to teach.

@lisaam, tell me about your milk braised pork, please. I make Milk Braised Pork Chops (recipe below). I have no idea where the recipe came from. I can confidently tell you, it isn’t a family recipe. I don’t especially care for pork chops. I started making them like this just for variety and because they came out so tender. I’d love to hear how a pro does it!

Since I was a child, we’ve had leg of lamb with roast potatoes and asparagus for Easter dinner. My mother always said ham was the cheapest thing she could cook; nobody loved it, and ’it just kept on giving’! We now have a honey baked spiral cut for brunches, but never for dinner.

another here who does not like mac and cheese. and I was raised in the south. Just yuck. I do, however, like a plain pasta dish with lots of parm. But the yellow stuff? I'll pass.

I keep wondering if ”ham on the grill” is fresh, uncured ham a/k/a a big hunk of pork. To elaborate, it is the hind leg of the pig. To illustrate:

I'm not cooking this year but this salad is a favorite side. I had never eaten raw asparagus before a friend made this. It is always a hit when I serve it:

Recipe

I do like pea salad, too, that I don't think has been mentioned - as long as it's not too mayonnaisey.

I love lamb. I buy an organic leg of lamb, debone it and marinate it in olive oil, garlic and rosemary, the grill it quickly until med rare. We ate lamb chops, lamb steaks and once in a while a lamb roast when I was growing up, so I liked it from an early age.

Similar to your recipe, but the broken milk reduction is served in its ugly state, not bound with a roux. I think i did see in the last few days a chicken version of milk braising— can’t imagine that it would be as good.

Mine never looks golden like that. It is always pretty anemic looking. Love that head of garlic tucked in one end. Is it served too? How long does yours braise? Would you mind sharing the recipe?

This hit my inbox this morning - David Leite’s 9 best lamb recipes. I find his recipes to be reliable.

https://leitesculinaria.com/516958/roundups-easter-lamb-recipes.html