Easter Dinner

With Easter fast approaching I wanted to put together an Easter dinner menu and table setting. Hopefully, this table setting and menu will help inspire those of you entertaining this upcoming Easter sunday.  As you can probably tell from looking at my previous blog posts I have a major sweet tooth and love to feature candy as part of my décor. Lucky for me, Easter baskets and the abundance of delicious candies such as; marshmallow peeps, jelly beans and cadbury eggs are some of the most beloved Easter traditions, which gave me the perfect excuse to prominently display candy on my table. I also used lots pastel colors such as pink, blue and green because Easter represents the beginning of spring. 

Inspiration: I saw these pastel colored buckets at B&J Florist Supply in New York City and knew that they would look great with Easter eggs in them! I wanted the little buckets to showcase the pretty blue, pink and yellow M&Ms.  I wanted tulips for the table, because they are the quintessential spring flower and I loved the beautiful shade of pink. I have always loved that polka dot bowl and for some reason Easter seemed like the perfect excuse to use polka dots.

Décor: What I love about the décor on this table is that a majority of the items such as; the plastic Easter eggs, jelly beans, pastel m&m's and bunny chocolates are all from Stop & Shop. This means that you get the food for your party and décor at one store, which is great for the busy hostess. I added touches of pastel colors to the table by using tiffany blue plastic plates and green, pink & purple tea light candles. 

Where I Bought Each Item: 
Jelly Beans, Pastel M&M's, chocolate bunnies & green easter grass:   Stop & Shop, www.stopandshop.com


Pastel Colored Big & Small Buckets: B&J Florist Supply, NYC (212)564-6086


Tiffany Blue Plastic Plates, Green, Pink & Purple Tea lights: Party City, www.partycity.com


Pink Tulips: Trader Joe's, www.traderjoes.com/index.asp

Menu:

I decided to make traditional Easter dishes such as lamb, potatoes, sweet pea & mint soup (which complimented the lamb nicely) and balsamic glazed carrots. I also decided to make fun easter bunny cupcakes  for dessert. 


Seasoned Rack of Lamb: Trader Joes, Pre-cooked
*Buying Trader Joe's seasoned rack of lamb, steaks, etc is a great tip for the busy hostess or the hostess who does not have much experience cooking and wants to put together a nice meal for their guests. The lamb had been cooked and just needed to heated in the oven for 30 minutes. The lamb looks beautiful, tastes delicious and buying the Trader Joe's pre-cooked lamb cuts a lot of cooking time. 


Sweet Pea & Mint Soup: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sweet-pea-mint-soup-10000001046889/index.html


Balsamic Glazed Carrots: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/balsamic-glazed-baby-carrots-recipe
* I used baby carrots without the tips 


Scalloped Potatoes With Green Onions: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/scalloped-potatoes-green-onions-recipe


Easter Bunny Cupcakes: http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/easter-bunny-cupcakes-recipes
* so easy to make and look very impressive. I recommend using a toothpick to make the dollop of white frosting into a round bunny face. I also recommend using a toothpick to position the chocolate sprinkles. This is a fun activity for kids. The cupcakes can be baked before hand and then you can have the  pastel colored frosting, pink & blue m&ms, pre-cut marshmallows and brown sprinkles all ready for the kids to decorate the cupcakes with. 


Other Dessert Options (not pictured on my table setting): 
Nanny's Full o' Love Glazed Carrot Cake:http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/nannys-love-glazed-carrot-cake-3477
                            


Multicolored Meringues: http://family.go.com/food/recipe-ak-800799-multicolored-meringues-t/


















Cocktail(not pictured on my table setting): 
White Sparkling Sangria,http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sparkling-white-sangria-10000001692757/index.html