favorite spring

It's not a party without deviled eggs! Deviled eggs are a classic for all kinds of gatherings, whether it's an Easter brunch or a summer picnic or just because. 

Deviled Eggs

eggs

Dijon mustard

mayonnaise

shallot or onion

Tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper,

Paprika,

"Steaming method was amazing - now maybe I won’t avoid making these"

"I tried the steaming method and it didn’t work for me! Peeling the  shells now takes clumps of the white with it... so bummed!!! I had such high hopes!"

Steam the eggs:  (See how to steam hard boiled eggs.) Fill a saucepan with an inch of water and insert a steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil and place the eggs in the steamer basket. (If you don't have a steamer basket, you can just place the eggs directly in about 3/4 inch of water.)
Cover the pan and let the eggs steam from the boiling water for 17 minutes for 12 large eggs, or 15 minutes for 6 large eggs. Reduce cooking time by a couple minutes if using regular size (not large) eggs. Then shock with cold water and peel.
Have a pressure cooker? You can also make easy to peel hard cooked eggs in a pressure cooker.

Prep the eggs: Peel the eggs. Using a sharp knife, slice each egg in half, lengthwise. Gently remove the yolk halves and place in a small mixing bowl. Arrange the egg white halves on a serving platter.

Make the filling: Using a fork, mash up the yolks and add mustard, mayonnaise, onion, tabasco, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Add more mayonnaise as necessary to get to the creamy consistency you want.

Pipe or spoon mixture into egg white halves: Pipe through a piping bag (star tip) or simply use a spoon to put the egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves. Sprinkle with paprika.

"Made this for a friends and family dinner.   I followed the recipe. the only thing I did differently was that I sprinkled some bacon bits on top for crunch and added flavor.  They were a big hit...thanks!"

"I didn't have Dijon so I used horseradish mustard and it came out so good!"

"I prefer the instant pot 5-5-5 method for “hard boiled” eggs. Perfect peel nearly every time. Good recipe. Easy to add things your family likes... bacon bits, relish, etc."

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/video_src?vid=5817629955001

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, roasted in the oven until crisp, is such an easy way to make your asparagus extra special. Great for Easter, Mother's Day, or any spring meal!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

asparagus, preferably thick spears

prosciutto

olive oil

black pepper

Lemon zest, optional

Parmesan cheese, optional

"I have been making similar for years but adding grated parmesan along the asparagus before rolling and when they are finished, laying them on a plate and zig-zagging with balsamic glaze.  The saltiness of the cheese and prosciutto with the sweetness of the balsamic is truly wonderful with the beautiful fresh asparagus."

"If only thin asparagus was available. I would double or triple them to wrap.  I always try to get nice fat asparagus....meatier &amp; more flavor.  I also like to shave the ends like a pencil less waste. I cut 1\/2 inch off then gently shave down into the tender white.  It also looks nice."

Heat the oven to 400F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Prepare the asparagus: Rinse and pat dry the asparagus. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Set asparagus spears aside. (Reserve the snapped ends for another meal, if you like.)

Wrap the asparagus with prosciutto: Cut prosciutto slices in half down their length. Wrap each spear of asparagus with one strip of sliced prosciutto. Tug the prosciutto a little as you wrap it around the asparagus to give it tension. This helps to ensure that the prosciutto wraps around the asparagus tightly.
Lay the wrapped asparagus spears on the lined sheet pan.

Drizzle the asparagus with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle a pinch of black pepper on top.

Bake the asparagus for 8 to 10 minutes. When done, the asparagus will be bright green and easily pierced with a fork, and the prosciutto will be crisped around the edges.

Serve the asparagus. Transfer the asparagus to a serving platter. Top with lemon zest and freshly grated parmesan cheese, if using. Serve immediately while hot.

"It is easier to wrap prosciutto if you sprinkle asparagus with olive oil BEFORE wrapping, it sticks better. I also recommend white pepper instead of black. One of my favourite dishes for grilling, either in grill pan or on open fire grill grate."

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/video_src?vid=5398978796001

This lemon pound cake is everything a lemon lover desires—a tart, lemon pucker punch with just enough sweetness to soften the blow!

Lemon Pound Cake

(350 g) bread flour

baking soda

salt

sugar

(2 sticks) butter, room temperature

lemons

sour cream

lemon lemon

lemon juice, lemon

water

butter

lemon juice

"This cake came out dry, and too lemony.  The Bread flour needs to be cut back by 1\/2 cub, and adding 2 more eggs makes the cake moist,  and requires less cooking time (60 minutes). Cut back on the lemon juice by a table spoon ful.  Promise to taste alot better."

"Hi, this looks delicious but I don't have a stand mixer. What to do?"

Prep the pan: Butter the bottom of a loaf pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper so it covers the bottom of the pan and goes up the long sides of the pan like a sling. The short sides shouldn’t be covered. Leave enough parchment hanging over each side so that you can easily lift the loaf out of the pan.

Whisk dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

Begin making the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar, butter, and lemon zest on medium to medium high for 8 minutes. Stop occasionally to scrape down the bowl.
Add the sour cream and beat for one more minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. One at a time, add the eggs and egg yolk, scraping down the bowl between additions.
Add the lemon juice and beat for 1 more minute scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through, and once more before adding the flour.

Add the flour to the batter: Set the stand mixer to stir (or the lowest setting) and add the flour mixture. Stir for about 1 minute or until the flour is just incorporated. Shut off the mixer and remove the bowl.
Use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and finish folding the ingredients together. The batter will be thick and velvety.

Bake the pound cake: Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for 1 hour and 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

While the lemon cake bakes, make the lemon soaking syrup: In a small saucepan set over medium high heat, combine sugar, lemon juice, and water. Stir occasionally and bring to a low boil.
The syrup is ready when it looks transparent and is no longer cloudy. This should take about 5 minutes. Let the syrup cool.

Soak the cake with syrup:  Once the cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven. It will have a slight crack down the center. That’s ok. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
With the cake still in the pan, pour half of the lemon syrup over the entire cake. Let it soak in. Then pour the remaining syrup over the cake. Let it continue cooling in the pan for another 15 minutes.
Run a knife along the ends to help release the cake. Use the parchment sling to lift the cake out of the pan, and set it on a baking rack to let it cool completely.

While the cake cools, make the icing: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. Make sure you cover it so you don’t end up with splattered butter everywhere.
Add the powdered sugar. Whisk together while adding the lemon juice one tablespoon at a time.

Frost the cake: Once the cake is completely cool, pour the icing over the lemon pound cake. Gently spread the icing so it completely covers the top. It should be white and thick. Slice and serve.

"This is incredible!  The only thing I wonder is whether it would be best to use a slightly larger loaf pan.  I'll try that next time but I found this to be incredibly moist, just the right amount of tart and sweet, and far too addicting!  I had to freeze some to keep us from eating it all in one day!"

"I followed the recipe exactly, cooked it ten minutes less than the recipe called for, and it still came out really dry.  Another person also said that it came out dry.  Very disappointed since I cooked it to take to a luncheon the next day."

"I followed the recipe step by step and it came out perfect.  I did play a little with the time baking, ended up cutting about 25 mins from time given in recipe. I will be making my second pound cake next week as a birthday gift."

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/video_src?vid=6061613305001

Artichokes are so good for you and so delicious! Here's how to cook and eat them.

How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

or more large globe artichokes

garlic,

bay leaf

lemon

"Try hummus for your dip...match made in heaven!"

"I've been eating artichokes since I was a child 60+yrs. As much as I love them mine seem to take a long time to steam &gt;60 minutes. I wash them and trim them. Any suggestions?"

Cut of the tips of the leaves: If the artichokes have little thorns on the ends of their leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut off the tips. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke. But snipping them off will make the artichokes easier to handle.

Slice off the top of the artichoke: Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. A serrated bread knife works great for this.

Remove small leaves at the base: Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

Cut off excess stem: Cut off excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems can be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them. The inner cores of the stems taste like the heart.
Alternatively you can leave the whole long stem on the artichoke, just cut off the very end of the stem, and peel the tough outside layer of the stem with a vegetable peeler.

Rinse the artichokes: Rinse the artichokes in running cold water. While you rinse them, open up the leaves a little so that the water gets inside more easily. (This is where it helps to have cut off the thorny tips, it makes the artichoke easier to open without getting poked!)

Set up a pot with some water, aromatics, and a steaming basket: In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, the garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket.

Steam the artichokes: Place artichokes on top of the steaming basket. Cover the pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer.
 
Cook for 25 to 35 minutes or longer, until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.
Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 5-15 minutes at high pressure). Cooking time depends on how large the artichokes are. The larger, the longer they take to cook.

How to Cook an Artichoke

Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonnaise. My favorite dip is mayo with a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in.

Pull off the leaves and dip: Pull off the outer leaves, one at a time. Dip the white fleshy end in melted butter, a vinaigrette, or sauce.

Place light end in mouth, dip side down, pull, scraping through your teeth: Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. (Why dip-side down? Your tongue is where most of your taste buds are, so you'll get a fuller flavor if you strip the leaves that way.) Discard remaining petal.
 
Continue until all of the petals are removed.
When you get to the tender inner leaves with the purple tips, you can remove them all at once. Dip and eat just the light colored parts of these leaves.

Scrape out the choke: With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart.

Cut the heart into pieces and eat: Underneath the artichoke choke is the heart. Cut the heart into pieces and dip into melted butter, a vinaigrette, or a sauce to eat.
My favorite artichoke dipping sauce? Some mayonnaise with a little balsamic vinegar stirred in.

How to Eat an Artichoke

"I've been trying to recreate some childhood home favorites from my amazing Italian Mom.  Steamed artichokes with breadcrumbs was one of them!  Thank you for helping me re-aquaint myself with choosing, prepping, stuffing, and steaming.  I augmented with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic.  Cheers!"

"Try mayonnaise and a teaspoon of curry powder.  Let meld 10 minutes.  Wonderful"

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/video_src?vid=5987671551001

How to make How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

Top 4 favorite spring recipes from across the web

The most viewed favorite spring recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Deviled Eggs

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

Lemon Pound Cake

How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

Top 4 favorite spring recipes from across the web

The most viewed favorite spring recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Deviled Eggs

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

Lemon Pound Cake

How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

The most viewed favorite spring recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine