Unless you live in a climate that is still suffering from arctic blasts, begin your celebration of spring by planning to cook at least part of your Easter menu outdoors. And if the weather is dependably warm enough where you live, then plan to eat your meal al fresco too.
Begin by sprucing up your outdoors eating area. Clean off the tables and chairs and sweep away the grime and mud left behind by winter storms. It's time to create a clean slate worthy of a springtime infusion of color.
It's only natural to select pastels as the color palette for your table. Add tulips to the decor, the most colorfully diverse of the springtime bulbs, and you'll have a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.
Setting the Stage
- Drape your table with a crisp, yellow, linen tablecloth.
- Set with bright white dinnerware.
- Take pink linen napkins, fold in half, and then roll from one short end to the other forming a tight cylinder.
- Cut three-foot lengths of lavender or light blue paper twist. Open each end of paper twist, but leave eight inches in center still twisted. Tie each rolled napkin with paper twist lengths to form bow. Fan bow loops and ends decoratively.
- Decorate table, floor, deck and railings with as many tulips in pastel colors as you can afford. Leave some growing in pots and put others that have been cut into as many decorative springtime vases as you have available.
- If serving outdoors, be sure your meal is scheduled during daylight hours.
Activities
Organize an Easter egg hunt before dinner for any visiting children.
The Menu
The following menu includes ingredients that are either springtime favorites after a long winter of root vegetables and stews, or food symbolically associated with Easter.
Easter Dinner Al Fresco
Artichokes with Lemon-Garlic Butter
Wine Suggestion: Cabernet
