Fraîche Table: Easter Dinner

Easter holds a special place in my heart, which made me seriously excited to put together this month’s Fraiche Table Post!  The flowers, the spring-inspired menu, and all the pastel colours have me weak in the knees!  I’m sharing my complete Easter dinner inspiration with you here so that you can have all the joy minus the stress when entertaining so that you can enjoy what matters most (ahem, chocolate …  right!?)

Easter was a BIG DEAL when we were growing up.  My cousins, my brother and I still talk about the epic Easter egg hunts our parents would put together for us that included a witty scavenger hunt filled with rhyming clues that would lead us ALL over the yard scratching our heads (they were tough!) and eventually to the loot (which was pretty impressive for the record, one of the benefits of growing up in the 80’s with fewer food ‘rules’).

Fast forward to today, and we have our own homes … and our own KIDS to spoil (with buckets of love of course)!  Someone tell me, how did that happen so fast?  I still feel like I should be back-combing my bangs and sliding on my gel shoes.  But I digress.

Easter dinner was always quite predictable and old-fashioned in our family: the typical ham, mashed potatoes, corn, carrots etc… you get the picture.  And while I have zero complaints about traditional meals, I wanted to do something different in the way of an Easter menu this year to give inspiration for entertaining with all of those amazing spring ingredients in a fresh new way.

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From buckets of spring flowers to pastel plates and the most adorable (and simple, I promise) bunny napkins, we’ve included it all here along with a printable grocery list, wine pairings, a work-back schedule and a few outfit ideas if you’re looking for last minute inspiration.  A bit of planning goes a long way in the entertaining department, and if you’re new to entertaining, you’ll find that the more you do it the easier it gets.

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The Flowers

My favourite part about spring has to be the flowers.  And the fact that my toes start to thaw lol. I have been lucky enough to get to know the lovely ladies at Byland’s in Kelowna who supplied these gorgeous flowers, and I seriously couldn’t stop staring at them (same with these gold scissors from The Cross!).

I thought it would be helpful for me to provide you with a flower guide so that you could figure out which ones are YOUR favourites and spoil yourself and your guests this Easter.  I used a bunch of different vintage milk glass vases (from thrift stores) along with a sweet milk glass pitcher from The Cross for my centre pieces, and loved how they were perfectly un-matched.

Starting from left to right:

1. pink hyacinth
2. ranunculus
3. white freesia
4. garden rose (this is a Juliette rose)
5. ranunculus (again… obsessed!)
6. anemone
7. pink freesia
8. parrot tulip
9. grape hyacinth

 

 

The Table

I feel that the secret to setting a great table lays in the art of layering.  Different colours, tones and textures are key to creating an interesting, but un-cluttered, table setting.  Here are a few of the pieces that I like to include:

• placemats
• plates for appetizer, salad, and main
• white napkins
• gold cutlery
• multi-coloured egg cups
• wine glasses

 

The Menu

The meal begins with asparagus in a blanket as a light appetizer, with a spring salad and citrus dressing following. The main dish as a light spring dinner is a seafood pasta and the meal is finished with a citrus ricotta bundt cake.

 

Easter Menu

 

Appetizer: Asparagus in a Blanket

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc

 

Salad: Spring Salad with Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

Wine Pairing: Sandhill Rose

 

Entree: Seafood Linguine

Wine Pairing: Sandhill Chardonnay or Pinot Gris

 

Dessert: Sicilian Citrus Ricotta Bundt Cake

The Hostess Schedule

Two Days Before:

• Buy flowers
• Purchase wine
• Grocery shopping (download list here)
• Iron linens
• Make bunny napkins
• Pick outfit!

One Day Before:

• Make salad dressing and refrigerate
• Thaw seafood (if using frozen)
• Set table

The Day Of:

• Morning:
  • Chill wine (whites and rose)
  • Bake Cake
• Afternoon (one – two hours before guests arrive):
  • Assemble Asparagus in a Blanket (don’t bake yet)
  • Prepare salad (don’t add the dressing)
  • Prep ingredients for seafood linguine (have them all ready to be cooked)
• 30 minutes before guests arrive
  • Bake Asparagus in a Blanket
  • Light candles
  • Fill pot of salted water for pasta and bring to a boil, set seafood out on the counter to bring to room temperature, place all prepped pasta ingredients by cooking station
• Guests Arrive:
  • Serve Asparagus in a Blanket
  • Serve Salad with dressing
  • Cook and serve pasta
  • Serve bundt cake with tea or coffee