A Cold, Snowy Easter

I know the calendar says its spring, and it is the day after Easter, but Mother nature must not have received that message.  It is still snowing here.  It snowed all day yesterday and is still snowing today, although it does look like it has stopped for now.  We got about 7″ of snow between yesterday and today.  A couple of days ago, we were in the 70’s and we were wearing shorts.  Go figure!
What is looks like right now, April 13, 2020.

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I hope everyone had a good Easter or Passover.  I know these holidays were not celebrated as we normally would celebrate them, and things were completely different than usual, but …..  We had a very quiet Easter, as I am sure most people did.  I did cook a big ham, of which we will have for quite awhile yet to come ( I will be heading to the kitchen to make some split pea soup in just a bit),  some scalloped potatoes, my peppered bacon scones, and a spinach and artichoke bread pudding, but I got distracted doing yet another puzzle (another story for later), and completely forgot about making any other vegetables.  Oh well, it was just Larry and I, and we did have our vegetables in the bread pudding, so I guess we’ll survive.   I purposely DID NOT make any desserts though.  The one thing I was able to cut out for Lent this year was that I did not bake any cakes or cookies or any other desserts at all during the whole time of Lent.  That does not mean I was not eating cookies, it just means I was not making any.  🙂  When you have a terrible sweet tooth, it is very difficult NOT to make cookies, and I didn’t for 6 weeks, although I did come very close many times.

Our Easter dinner.

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Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding

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8 cups day old or stale bread, cubed

20 oz fresh spinach, stems removed

2 cans artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

9 eggs

3 cups heavy whipping cream

3 cups of mixed cheeses – I used a Colby-cheddar mix and mozzarella

salt & pepper to taste

1 TBSP garlic

1 shallot, sliced very thin or minced fine

1 tsp cayenne pepper

 

Spray a 9×13 cooking dish with cooking spray.

 

Mix the bread cubes, cheese and artichoke hearts together and set a side.  Mix the spinach, garlic and shallot together.  Combine the eggs, whipping cream, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper together.

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Saute the spinach, garlic and shallot together with salt & pepper in olive oil for about 3-5 minutes, or until the shallot is translucent and cooked.

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Let the spinach cool for a bit, then add it to the bread and cheese mixture and combine well.  Then add the egg and cream mixture, and again combine well, making sure to completely saturate the mixture with the liquid.

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Transfer the bread pudding into the baking dish and firmly press it into the pan, to make sure it is all completely saturated with the liquid.  Let the bread pudding set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.

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Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Remove the bread pudding and let set at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.  Then bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until you have a light, golden brown crust on top and the eggs are done.

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This savory bread pudding is sure to delight and will go well with just about anything you would like to serve it with, from brunch to dinner.

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Enjoy!  Stay safe ans stay well Everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.

40 thoughts on “A Cold, Snowy Easter”

    1. Thank you. You would think a Southern California girl like me would not like the snow so much either, but I have come to really love the changing of the seasons, including the cold and the snow. In fact, the older I get, the more I love the cold than I do the hot. I just cannot take the heat or humidity at all any more.

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  4. WOW! Hi Jeanne! It’s starting to look a lo like Christmas; there! OK, the whole world is in an unprecedented mode of some kind and you just put the cherry on the top as you would being a Chef!!!
    Man, that is a humdinger of a meal and you don’t want to know what I had for an Easter Meal; let’s just say it was way far removed from what I had mentioned to you about my Grandmothers and Aunts serving up for every important holiday and most weekends in-between. That Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding is an awesome dessert/meal in itself which i would have been glad to just have that instead of a Quiche but not what you call one of those although it was for one! I bet you get plenty of hints about your Holiday Eats Invitation List! Of course this year no one could wonder why they weren’t on it; kind of hard to eat through a respirator or surgical mask! But, I would have been glad to suggest drive through for me. quick-stop and I’d be on my way! Heck that would be worse though than stopping-in chewing and blasting off!
    Well, in all seriousness it looks like you did a fantastic job and that is something to be very happy about to do all that good along with your completing Lent in such a positive fashion. God bless you and yours. And enjoy all those leftovers; I take there are some?

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      1. 🙂 you wouldn’t get any arguments from me on that or anything you cook to be very frank! I check in with you on here and I always get hungry! You have a great gift fine Lady! I’m glad you did up a great traditional Holiday Mean and happy family time here for your Easter! Many more blessings!
        Lawrence

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      3. Hi Jeanne! All things considered it was good for me, too simple or stark but good; but yours was the real deal, very classic and beautiful from what I saw of it! My hat is off to you for making it such a special day in all regards and putting in all that effort! Many more blessings ahead hopefully!

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      9. You really think so? But of course a Great Chef uses the full spectrum of spices and flavor enhancers in the culinary cooking arsenal, and salt is a huge taste or flavor enhancer right? Matter of fact I can hardly think of a food I eat that doesn’t have at least a morsel of salt in it! And, imagine potato chips or french fries with zero salt! May as well eat cardboard! Jeanne you go right on being salty too! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 😉 👍 🙏 🙏

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      11. There you go sister! And, “salt of the earth!” “Some people” are just that too! So I’ll take anytime I can get it! Good stuff!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
        Just thought how there’s the salty seas, and imagine hem with no salt; not good yuck! And, Salty Seas-oning! 😉 👍

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  7. Mother Nature around the world is just warming up l feel Jeanne, she is starting to show the world what for…. – some great looking food there 🙂

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  9. Hey Jeanne, I’d much rather have snow than the band of tornadoes that went thru the South! Our weather alert went off at 3AM and just added to the stress of things, but we were lucky. We saw destruction on the news Monday in GA and AL, 20 people were killed, 8 from GA. What a crazy Easter! I feel so bad for those who lost their homes at a time like this. Makes me realize how fortunate we are. Counting my blessings.

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  10. Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any helpful hints for first-time blog writers? I’d genuinely appreciate it.

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    1. I don’t know what’s going on. I have been getting a lot of things in my spam mail, which I have learned to check everyday. I apologize, but I never saw your previous response. Thank you for enjoying my blog. You can always find me and follow me at ajeanneinthekitchen.com.

      The best hints that I can give you are 1) to to be sincere. Your readers will know if you are not. 2) Write about something you know about. Again, they will know when you do not. And 3) enjoy yourself. Do it for you, and for no other reason. If not, you will be disappointed. There will be times when people say hurtful things. You can’t let the get to you. Just move on. Best of luck to you.

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