Easter is early this year: just 10 days after St. Patrick’s Day, on March 27th. This year we’re passing on our beloved coconut-covered lamb cake in favor of this elegant caker. Who knows: Next year, maybe we’ll make one of each.

 
RECIPE: SPECKLED EGG MALTED MILK CAKE FOR EASTER

Wow guests with this impressive cake inspired by malted milk candy eggs. It was developed by Heather Baird for Betty Crocker.

Prep time is 40 minutes, baking, frosting and assembly time is 2 hours. You’ll also need a new, stiff-bristle paint brush to “fling” the chocolate speckles. (It’s fun!)
 
Ingredients For 10 Servings

For The Cake

 
For The Frosting

 
For The Speckling Chocolate

 
For The Phyllo Nest

Top: An Easter cake delight by Heather Baird for Betty Crocker (photo courtesy Betty Crocker). Bottom: Make the nest with kataifi, shredded phyllo dough (photo courtesy Athens Foods).

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 350°F. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; set aside.

2. WHISK together in large bowl the cake mix and malted milk powder. Add the remaining cake ingredients; beat with electric mixer on low speed until well combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cake pans.

3. BAKE for 22 to 28 minutes or until the layers spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool the cakes in the pans on cooling racks for 5 minutes. Turn the layers out onto cooling racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Level the cakes using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, as needed.

4. MAKE the frosting: In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until incorporated. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and beat 1 minute longer. Add the blue food color, 1 drop at a time, beating until a light blue color is achieved.

5. FILL and and frost the cooled layers. Refrigerate the frosted cake 1 hour or until the frosting is dry to the touch.

6. MIX the baking cocoa and vanilla in small condiment bowl. Load a new (unused) stiff-bristle paint brush with the cocoa mixture. Using your fingers, flick the loaded brush bristles toward cake, creating a splatter pattern. Re-load the brush and cover the entire cake with chocolate speckles. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes.

7. MAKE the phyllo nest: Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter 1 muffin cup in regular-size muffin pan. Tear off 1/3 cup portion of kataifi and place it in the muffin cup in a circular nest shape. Gently brush the phyllo nest with melted butter. Bake for 15 minutes or until the phyllo is golden brown around the edges. Gently remove the nest with a fork; cool on a cooling rack.

8. ATTACH the cooled nest to the cake with a dot of frosting. Place the 3 speckled egg candies inside nest. To serve, bring the cake to room temperature. Store the cake loosely covered with plastic wrap.

Horseradish sauce on: (1) roast pork sandwich (from National Pork Board), (2) poached salmon with dill-horseradish sauce (Sysco), (3) steak salad (Good Eggs); (4) horseradish root, freshly dug (North Fork Horseradish Festival) and (5) horseradish root as it often looks in the market (Markon.com).

In the U.K., horseradish sauce has long been paired with roast beef. But its zinginess enhances other beef preparations from filet mignon to steak, brisket and corned beef; other meat dishes (pork, lamb, smoked chicken) including sandwiches; assertive seafood like mackerel, salmon and smoked fish; even veggies.

To make horseradish sauce, you can use a base of sour cream or heavy cream, or substitute fat-free Greek yogurt. Made with fat-free yogurt, it’s a low-calorie sauce.

You can add other flavor accents, from capers to herbs to Dijon mustard to lemon zest, all with negligible caloric impact.

The sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

 
RECIPE #1: HORSERADISH SAUCE WITH HERBED WHIPPED CREAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. GRATE the horseradish root finely with a microplane into a small bowl. Mix it with a splash of white wine vinegar to prevent browning.

2. WHIP the cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold into the whipped cream with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Mix in the herb as desired.

3. PLACE in the fridge for 2-4 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.

 
RECIPE #2: HORSERADISH SAUCE WITH DIJON SOUR CREAM

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. GRATE the horseradish root finely with a microplane into a small bowl. Mix it with a splash of white wine vinegar to prevent browning.

2. PLACE all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until smooth and creamy.

3. PLACE in the fridge for 2-4 hours to allow the flavors to meld. Before serving, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
 
WHAT IS HORSERADISH?

Believed to be native to southeastern Europe and western Asia, horseradish has been cultivated for some 3,000 years, prized for its culinary uses as well as for homeopathy.

A pungent root, horseradish is a perennial plant in the Brassicaceae family* of cruciferous vegetables, known for their antioxidant, cancer-fighting properties. It is a root vegetable that is used as a spice.

In German, the root is called meerrettich, sea radish, because it grows by the sea. It is believed that the English mispronounced the German word “meer” as “mare,” and began calling it mare radish, which evolved to horseradish. “Radish” comes from the Latin radix, meaning root.

While horseradish and conventional radishes are both members of the Brassicacae family (“Brassica” in English), they are from different geniuses. The horseradish genus and species is Amoracia rustincana, and the radish is Raphanus sativus.

During the Renaissance, horseradish consumption spread northward from Central Europe to England and Scandinavia. While it was used medicinally, it wasn’t until 1640 that the British began to eat horseradish, and then only by the rural people who grew it.

But by the late 1600s, horseradish had become the standard English accompaniment for both beef and oysters. The English, in fact, grew the pungent root at inns and coach stations, to make cordials to revive exhausted travelers.

Early settlers to the American Colonies brought horseradish to cultivate. It was common in the northeast by 1806.

In the U.S., commercial cultivation began in the mid 1850s, when immigrants started horseradish farms in the Midwest. After World War II, horseradish was planted commercially in Northern California and other areas in the country. Today, approximately 6 million gallons of prepared horseradish are produced annually in the U.S., with a much smaller amount of fresh root sales.

While the root gets all the press, horseradish leaves are also edible: raw or cooked, in pestos, salads, sautés and stir fries. They have a sharp, bitter, peppery taste similar to arugula and kale, their Brassica cousins.

Horseradish.org, which supplied some of this information, has dozens of horseradish-related recipes from the expected (dips and sauces) to the intriguing (cream of horseradish soup with peas and bacon).

Two of our favorite recipes are horseradish compound butter for steak, and horseradish mashed potatoes.
 
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*The Brassica family of cruciferous vegetables, called Brassicaceae in the Latin-based taxonomy system, includes bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, horseradish/wasabi, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radishes and turnips, among others.

Idaho potatoes are not a variety of potato; the term refers to any potato grown in Idaho.

Idaho became known for its quality potatoes thanks to a growing season of warm days and cool nights, plenty of mountain-fed irrigation and rich volcanic soil. These factors combine to give Idaho potatoes a unique texture and taste.

While some people think of Idaho potatoes as russets (bottom row), four key varieties are grown in the state:

 
Discover more, including lots of recipes, at IdahoPotato.com.
 
FOOD TRIVIA: WHY ARE POTATOES CALLED SPUDS?

The term evolved to include a sharp, narrow spade used to dig up potatoes and other root crops. In the mid 18th century, the term caught on as slang for the potato itself.
  

[2] Bourbon and mustard glazed corned beef. Here’s the recipe (photo © La Opinion).

You may look forward to Corned Beef & Cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day? How about a Corned Beef & Cabbage Sandwich?

If it sounds strange, remember that coleslaw is simply sliced cabbage with dressing, and that the Reuben is a grilled or toasted sandwich on rye or pumpernickel with corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Russian Dressing.

In this recipe from Dietz & Watson, they cabbage is simply steamed, but nothing’s stopping you from serving the sandwich with a side of slaw. Or a cold beer.

This photo shows the sandwich made on a panini press, but you can make a conventional sandwich as you prefer.

In addition to corned beef hash, this is one of our favorite uses for leftover corned beef.
 
 
RECIPE: CORNED BEEF & CABBAGE SANDWICH

Ingredients Per Sandwich

 
Preparation  

1. BRING 1/4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon oil to a boil in a medium pot over high heat. Add the cabbage and reduce the heat to low. Steam the cabbage for 15 minutes but do not overcook; the cabbage should still remain crisp. Drain and pat with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. LAY two slices of bread on a flat work surface. Spread 1 teaspoon of mustard on each slice. Pile the corned beef, Cheddar, and cabbage on one slice. Add the top slice of bread. Grill on a panini press or serve as is.

Corning refers to curing or pickling the meat in seasoned brine. The word refers to the “corns” or grains of rock salt (today, kosher salt) that is mixed with water to make the brine.

Typically, brisket is used to make corned beef; the dish has many regional variations and seasonings. Smoking a corned beef, and adding extra spices, produces pastrami.

Corned beef was a staple in middle-European Jewish cuisine. Irish immigrants learned about corned beef on New York’s Lower East Side from their Jewish neighbors, and adopted it as a cheaper alternative to Irish bacon. Bacon and cabbage is a popular Irish dish. (Irish bacon is a lean, smoked pork loin similar to Canadian bacon. Here are the different types of bacon.)

Cattle in Ireland were not used for meat but for dairy products. Pork, an inexpensive meat in Ireland, was a dinner table staple.

But in the U.S., pork was much more expensive than the American staple meat, beef; and brisket, which required several hours of cooking to tenderize, was an affordable cut. Irish-Americans substituted corned beef for the bacon, and and Corned Beef & Cabbage was born.
 
 

They’re green enough—and elegant enough—to serve with St. Patrick’s Day cocktails.

The first recipe is a twist on the traditional California roll.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CUCUMBER, SHRIMP & WASABI BITES

Ingredients For 48 Bites

1. CUT the ends off the cucumbers, then cut each cucumber into 1” slices (6 pieces per cucumber). You should end up with about 48 slices. Using a small melon-baller, scoop out the center of each bite to 3/4 of the way down, leaving the bottom intact. Set aside.

2. MASH together the wasabi, cream cheese, soy sauce, and pickled ginger with a fork in a small bowl, until smooth and combined. Then mix in the shrimp to thoroughly combine.

3. TRANSFER the cream cheese mixture to a piping bag (substitute a food storage bag) with a plain round tip. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into each cucumber bite. Sprinkle with chives or tobiko before serving.
 

RECIPE #2: CURRIED GOAT CHEESE, APRICOT & PISTACHIO BITES

For the holidays, you can garnish these bites with finely minced dried cranberries for a red-and-green theme.

Ingredients For 48 Bites

1. CUT the ends off the cucumbers, then cut each cucumber into 1” slices (6 pieces per cucumber). You should end up with about 48 slices. Using a small melon-baller, scoop out the center of each bite to 3/4 of the way down, leaving the bottom intact. Set aside.

2. MASH together the cream cheese, goat cheese, curry powder, and salt with a fork in a small bowl, until smooth and combined. Then mix in the shrimp to thoroughly combine.

3. TRANSFER the cream cheese mixture to a piping bag (substitute a food storage bag) with a plain round tip. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of the cream cheese mixture into each cucumber bite. Sprinkle with pistachios and dried cranberries before serving.