Bloody Marys, Deviled Eggs and a little BBQ

Easter in my family usually consists of Bloody Mary's, ham and sausage, about 10 different egg dishes, cheesy potatoes, caramel rolls, and some fruit. This year, rather than making all the traditional dishes I've had for Easter every year of my life, we scaled it down and made the basics along with something new. The menu was: Wasabi spiked bloody mary's, deviled eggs, tandoori chicken, spice rubbed chicken, swordfish, and hamburgers.

I'm guessing the tandoori chicken and swordfish needs an explanation first... Instead of spending the whole day cooking, Brad and I invited some friends over and told them to BYOB (bring your own beverage) and BYOM (bring your own meat). The food selection was a diverse collection of chicken, fish and beef. On top of the crazy amount of chicken and fish, our friend Justyna also brought a Polish Easter Pastry (I think that's what she called it...) for dessert.

It was definitely not the Easter menu I'm used to, but it was appropriately festive regardless. The weather was perfectly sunny and warm, so we brought our portable grills down to the river, laid out a blanket and enjoyed Easter outside.

My Grandma Cahill makes deviled eggs every year for Easter, so I had to include those on the menu. I didn't have her recipe handy, so I developed my own. Instead of using a bunch of mayonnaise, I substituted a little plain yogurt to lighten the flavor and texture. They were delicious and very easy.

The next, and possibly the most important part of the Easter menu: Bloody Marys. My Uncle Steve makes the best Bloody Mary's in the world. However, I had to make my own this year. Sigh. Rather than using horseradish, I used freshly grated wasabi and a touch of hot sauce to spice them up. Toss in a Japanese pickle and a little soy sauce and you've got a Japanese influenced Bloody Mary! My Irish Catholic family might faint at the thought, but it was good- I swear! One thing I found out while making these is that fresh wasabi is milder than the wasabi paste or powder I usually use. Because of this, you need a little more. I would probably just go for the wasabi paste next time to give it more of a kick.

Although I missed my family terribly, Easter was wonderful in many ways. Good food, good friends, beautiful weather...can't get much better than that.

Deviled Eggs:

1 dozen eggs, hardboiled
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
Worchershire sauce
1/4 cup chopped green onions
salt
white pepper

After hard boiling the eggs and removing the shells, cut them in half and remove the yolk. In the bowl of a food processor, combing the yolks, mustards, mayo, yogurt, worchershire sauce, salt and pepper and pulse until smooth. Stir in the green onions.

Using a teaspoon, fill each egg half with the mixture. Garnish with a few green onions and chili powder.

Wasabi Spiked Bloody Mary
Makes 1

Salt (for the rim of the glass)
ice
6 oz. tomato juice
2 oz. vodka or gin
1 teaspoon fresh grated wasabi or 1/4 teaspoon wasabi powder/paste
dash of soy sauce
hot sauce
lime wedge
pickle or other vegetable for stirring

Rim the glass with salt using juice from the lime wedge and add the ice. In a separate glass or mixer, combine the tomato juice, vodka or gin, wasabi, hot sauce and soy sauce. Stir the ingredients to combine. Pour over the ice and garnish with the lime wedge and pickle.