Recipes for the holiday table

Families throughout the area will come together as we celebrate both Passover and Easter this weekend. These spring rituals of renewal and rebirth are a time to share in age-old traditions and create new ones with family and friends.
Holiday meals are an occasion to show off your culinary skills and strengthen your family heritage. Try supplementing those tried-and-true recipes passed down from generation to generation with recipes that offer a new twist on holiday traditions.

Cranberry Walnut Quinoa Salad
Quinoa is all the rage these days. It’s actually not a grain but the seed of a leafy plant related to spinach. It is an excellent source of protein as well as a good source of zinc, copper, and magnesium and contains folic acid and vitamin E. Since it doesn’t contain gluten, it can be substituted for almost any other grain.

1 cup quinoa
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup green beans, blanched slightly
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Combine quinoa with 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and continue to cook until all the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Let quinoa cool slightly and you will see the grains start to separate and become fluffy like rice or couscous. In a medium bowl, combine cooked quinoa, dried cranberries, green beans, walnuts and scallions until well mixed. In a small bowl, whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic until well blended. Pour over the quinoa mixture.  Toss until well blended. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Flourless Chocolate Cake
1 cup margarine or butter
10 ounces good-quality semisweet
or bittersweet chocolate
6 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar Mint sprigs and assorted berries
for garnish

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan, then line bottom of pan with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and margarine and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt with a whisk until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add 1/3 of chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated; repeat with remaining 2/3 of chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes, until just set but still soft in the center. Let cool completely. Sift confectioner's sugar over the top of the cake, and garnish with mint and berries.

Peanut Butter Bunnycakes
The kids will enjoy lending a hand in making these springtime treats.

Peanut Butter Egg Bunnies (recipe follows)
Tinted Coconut (recipe follows)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups milk
Vanilla frosting

Prepare Peanut Butter Egg Bunnies and Tinted Coconut. Heat oven to 350° F. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper or foil bake cups. Beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to butter mixture, blending well. Spoon batter into prepared cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack. Frost with vanilla frosting. Sprinkle Tinted Coconut over frosting and garnish with Peanut Butter Egg Bunnies. Makes about 27 cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Egg Bunnies:
Unwrap Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg. Using sharp knife, cut away about 1/4 inch of the top curved egg section creating a level edge. (This will be the top of the bunny.) Do the same thing for the bottom of egg if planning to attach to hard surface such as a cookie. Using icing and decorative candy pieces add facial features to egg bunny. Allow features to harden slightly before continuing.
To make bunny ears, cut large marshmallows crosswise into 4 to 5 sections. Take each section and using wet knife cut through center to within 1/4 inch of edge; separate and shape to look like bunny ears. Press one side of ears into pink sugar and if other side is sticky, press that side into untinted sugar. Attach ears to top of bunny with frosting. Allow frosting to harden slightly before finishing bunny.
Attach miniature marshmallow to backside of bunny for tail and to help bunny stand up on cupcake or cookie base. Press bunny into cupcake frosting or glue with frosting to cookie base.

Tinted Coconut:
Combine 1/2 teaspoon water and few drops of food color in small bowl or small jar with cover or re-sealable plastic food storage bag. Add 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes. Toss with fork or shake closed jar or plastic bag until coconut is evenly coated; store in airtight container.