Easter recipes; Raisin Sauce, Cloud 9, Portuguese Sweet Bread

Last night I was reminiscing about Easters past. For me reminiscing usually involves food- no big surprise. I love Easter, it holds so much promise...and the food is so delicious! Ham with brown sugar & raisin sauce. Tender asparagus. Orange Rolls and Sweet Bread. Strawberries in so may varieties of foods. Angel food cake. Cloud nine. Whipped cream. Mmmmm. Several of my Easter recipes come from Jim's family, as well as my own. Eight or nine years ago Jim's Uncle, whom I had never met, as He had lived in the Middle East for may years, was in the U.S. for a few months. Jim's dad was most anxious to go for a visit, and as he and Jim spoke, they decided we'd go for a visit over Easter break. We rented a motor home and drove to Lake Havasu, AZ. (Home to the London Bridge of the Nursery Rhyme). A day or so before we left, My father-in-law gently told me. "I told John you could make an Easter dinner just like mom's. He's really excited!" Well thanks for the notice, at least I had my recipes. I threw a few things into the limited space we had in the RV, and made a shopping list on the way. Interestingly John's wife was from the Middle East also (the only one of his several wives I've ever met), and I found out after the fact that she was not happy at all that a ham was about to be baked in her oven! Everything she'd ever heard about ham was that it was unclean and stinky, etc. She had a very happy surprise awaiting her. The night before dinner, I started the Portuguese Sweet Bread, at least one ingredient I knew I wouldn't have to get was the whiskey. Being a teetotaler myself, I knew John would be able to help me out, and so he did. I got an amazing education in choosing liquor, and I must say, it improved the bread to use something of quality.
The next morning we attended Easter services with John at the Episcopal church, followed by coffee hour and an Easter Egg hunt for the children. I'd put the Ham in before we left and as we cam in Nada asked what the amazing smell was. John said it was the ham, and with a look of pure embarrassment she ran from the room.. It was then that I learned that John and Nada had a big fight the night before about the nasty smelly ham being cooked in her house...OOPS! We added some salads, Mashed potatoes, and asparagus to the menu for a delightful dinner. One of Jim's grandma's specialties was Cloud Nine, which is essentially a meringue topped with berries and whipped cream. It is delicious, so of course we made that for dessert. I have to admit it was fun to see how much this traditional dinner brought back floods of memories for the two brothers. There's just something about food...

Raisin Sauce:
1 cup water
3/4 cup raisins
4-5 whole cloves
Bring to a boil then simmer on low for 10 minutes

Add
3/4 packed brown sugar
2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup cold water
1/4 tsp salt
few grains of pepper

Continue boiling (may need to increase heat) until slightly thickened
Remove from heat and add
1 Tablespoon butter (NOT margarine or something else- BUTTER!)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice (ReaLemon concentrate is fine)
1/4 tsp worchestershire sauce

Serve warm over ham


Cloud 9
6 egg whites beaten very stiff
2 c granulated sugar (I like extra fine)
1 tsp vanilla (clear if possible)
1 tsp vinegar

Add sugar slowly to beaten egg whites. Add vanilla and vinegar. Mix well but carefully. Pour into cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and either spread flat, or for individual serving sizes, drop by large spoonfuls onto parchment paper, I like to make a "nest" shape to hold the berries and cream better. Bake @ 275* for 1 hour, don’t over brown. Turn off oven. Cool in oven with door ajar. Serve with whipped cream and sliced strawberries or other favorite fruit.


Portuguese Sweet Bread:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c crisco shortening (original)
1 yeast cake or 1- 1 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 cups scalded milk
2 Tbsp good whiskey
5 eggs
2 Tbsp salt
2 scant cups sugar
10 cups flour

Have butter and Crisco at room temperature. Scald milk (to do this, put milk in a sauce pan on med-high heat. Let it heat until small bubbles form around the edges and steam is rising off the top-just before boiling. It should not boil, but if if does, remove from heat immediately and add a couple of tablespoons of cold milk- this doesn't work for all recipes, but it does for this one). Set aside milk until lukewarm. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. I like to add a pinch or two of sugar for the yeast to feed on, this really helps the yeast stay active. Mix together butter, Crisco, milk, yeast, whiskey, and eggs. Add salt and sugar. Begin adding flour 2 cups at a time. this could take more or less flour depending on any number of things. This makes a dense, slightly sticky, but pliable dough. Cover. Let rise overnight. If 8 hours or less, let rise on counter. If more let rise on counter first couple of hours then transfer to fridge. In the morning, punch down. Separate into fourths. Knead on floured surface and shape into round loaves. Place two each on very lightly sprayed jelly roll pans. Let rise 2-4 hours or until double in size. I like to cover with a light cotton dishtowel. Bake 1 hour at 300*. Don't overbrown or it gets dry. This is great with jelly, toasted, or as french toast (MMMmmmm!)