Tag, I'm IT! A Weekend Gourmet Easter Menu...

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Happy Easter, everyone! My sweet friend Elisabeth at Food and Thrift Finds has invited me to take part in an Easter menu blog event, and I'm so excited to join in on the fun! She tagged me on her blog and asked me to come up with an Easter menu featuring some of the recipes that have been shared in this blog since it started last August. 

Here are the menu items that I have chosen, along with links to the original post in case you'd like to add them to your Easter menu this Sunday!  First up is the drink and appetizer...so everyone has a little something to drink and munch on while the rest of the meal is cooking. For my beverage, I select light and refreshing Sparkling Blueberry-Pomegranate Sangria. The appetizer is my Greek Ranch Dip, which is great served with pita chips. You can even make the dip a day ahead to save some time!

For my main meal, I would make Sweet and Spicy Glazed Ribs, served with corn on the cob and Bright and Sunny Potato Salad. I'll give you the recipe for these yummy ribs at the end of this post. They are SO GOOD, and you don't even have to fire up the grill to make them! The potato salad is full of veggies and has a nice kick thanks to plenty of yellow mustard in the dressing.

For dessert, I would serve the White Chocolate-Strawberry Easter Cake that I made last weekend. For the recipe and directions for decorating the top of the cake, all you have to scroll down on this page. It's the PERFECT centerpiece for an Easter table, and it tastes just as great as it looks! For my Easter meal on Sunday, I'm making Red Velvet Cake...but the decor will be very similar to this.

That, my friends, is my suggestion for a fantastic Easter feast! We actually are firing up my brother-in-law's grill and making BBQ on Sunday...along with my mother-in-law's famous potato salad and a few other goodies. So? This menu isn't too far off from what we're actually eating! As promised, here's the recipe for the ribs pictured above. These are so good that people beg for the recipe every single time I serve them. They're quite different from the usual BBQ ribs that we eat in Texas, but I LOVE them!!

Sweet and Spicy Glazed Ribs

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. pork spare ribs
• Season salt to taste
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 2 tablespoons instant minced onion
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder 

Directions:

1. Cut spare ribs into serving-size pieces. Place ribs, bone side down, on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.

2. Sprinkle w/season salt. Cover pan with foil and roast ribs at 350 for 1 hour. Drain off any fat that has accumulated.

3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Spoon or brush about half the glaze on ribs. Roast uncovered 30-45 minutes longer or until meat is tender, brushing occasionally with remaining glaze. The ribs will be golden brown and caramelized when they are done. Let sit for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Now I need to tag a few blog friends to join in on the fun! I choose:

• Louanne at Louanne's Kitchen
• Claire at Claire Cooks
• Celeste at Cooking Creation
• Tracy at Tracy's Living Cookbook
• Katrina at In Katrina's Kitchen

Now it's your turn! Have fun, and pass it on...