An Effortless Easter Table

My Easter Table

I wanted to have a nice Easter lunch this year but with the minimum of fuss, so I did something that I usually don't do.  Instead of making it all from scratch, I ordered a ham from Honey Baked Ham and for dessert, a 7-Layer Delight Cake from the famous bakery Caroline's Cakes [as seen on TV - Oprah and The Food Network].

All I had to do was make some sides, set the table and pour the wine.

German Potato Salad

My Mom made her wonderful German potato salad, which is made with vinegar, oil, onion and bacon, but no mayonnaise. 

I made some oven roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts, simply sliced and diced, tossed with a seasoning blend and drizzled in olive oil.  

I also tried some Sweet Potatoes Soufflé  from Honey Baked Ham, but I don't recommend this dish.  Unfortunately, I didn't read the ingredients before I purchased it - something which I normally always do but I was in a rush that day.  Big mistake.  It was overly sweet and loaded with hydrogenated oil - something that should be avoided at all costs.  We all had a taste of it but none of us cared for it and it ended up in the trash. 

As for the ham itself - it was absolutely delicious.  Served at room temperature, it was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of sweet sugary crunch.  I think that this may become a new Easter tradition for us!

Brie Cheese with a Caramel Pecan Topping

I picked up some Brie cheese from Wegmans, and topped it with their Caramel Pecan Topping.  Serve this with Carr's Whole Wheat Crackers and it's superb.

Easter Table Chick

I dressed the table with pink roses in Donna Karan Lenox Porcelain Touch Vases and added 

Donna Karan Lenox Porcelain Touch Collection votive candles, gifts of chocolate Easter Eggs, sugared almonds in a tri-bowl dish, and decorative little yellow feather chicks "hatching" out of their eggs. 

Caroline's Cakes famous 7-Layer Delight Cake

For dessert, the pièce de résistance was the 7-Layer Delight Cake, which is 7 layers of moist yellow cake layered with fudge and chocolate icing and iced with their Southern Fudge Icing.  This bakery has been on my radar for years, and I don't know why it took me so long to order a cake from them.  The cake arrives frozen.  Simply thaw out the cake around three hours before consumption so that is at room temperature.  I added the few little Cadbury's Mini Eggs on top of the cake.

Ok, so it wasn't exactly effortless, but it definitely was with the minimum of effort compared to some of the Easter lunches that I have prepared in the past.  And clean-up was a breeze!

Happy Easter!

- The Sassi Wench