March 16, 2009

Easter Tradition

Hi Friends~ ~ ~
I have been wanting to share this with you for some time and with Easter coming up fast I just thought it would make for interesting conversation.

What is a traditional Easter Dinner for your family?

I would really love to hear about your Easter traditions. Please share in the comments section below.
Here in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country we serve a Ham. My Mothers parents were both Pennsylvania Dutch. Pennsylvania Dutch was spoken in their home. I do not speak or understand it but it is similar to German, with a twist.

Ok, on to the food. The Pa. Dutch eat a lot of meat and starch. I remember my GrandMother making holiday dinners and there were always many starches. Potato Filling ( some places it's called dressing) mashed potatoes, noodles with browned butter, candied sweet potatoes and bread. Then there were the sweets & sours. Pickled beets, pickled cucumbers, a few different types and chow chow. Then there were the vegetables. . .then desserts. It's amazing that the tables didn't collapse under the weight of all this food. There were a few tables because there were many of us at holiday dinner.
It was a fun time for us kids. There were many cousins and we all spent the day having fun. Mom had 8 brothers and sisters and each family had at least 2-4 children. Cousins galore!

At Easter I remember we always had Ham. Now, because ham is so popular in these parts there are many different brands available in the grocery stores in this area. I have tried them all and have a problem with each one for one reason or another. Many are just too salty and lot's of them are just bland with no smoky flavor. A ham is a smoked leg of pig so it should taste smoky. Many companies do not smoke their meats anymore they are injected with smoky flavor, Yuck.

Well I have found the most Wonderful German Butcher and I want to introduce you to them. He and his wife stand market at a Farmers Market in this area and he smokes his own Hams and they are Amazing! In fact he Double Smokes them. They are not those fancy spiral cut hams. You have to do the carving yourself but the bone makes Awesome bean soup later in the week. I'll post my Ham & Bean Soup recipe later next week. They are not salty but smoky and tender and almost sweet. If you are in the market for something different this Easter he will ship hams. I should probably say THEY will ship hams. His wife Melissa is the shop owner and the Mister smokes the hams himself.

Here is a picture of Melissa and her son at the market stand proudly showing off one of their hams. Her husband is in the background.

Their phone number is 610-929-2697 ask for Melissa.

They also have many other German Specialities. Very nice smoked sausages and a wonderful hot & spicy sausage like the kind used in New Orleans.
Can you tell I am a fan of these folks. They run a small family business and turn out excellent products and they are great people. I love to support folks like this and if you are in the mood for fine ham give them a call.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~

4 comments:

JoAnn said...

Our Wisconsin Easter dinner is usually ham and cheesy potatoes. Brussel sprouts are a must also.
We have a great meat market in our town also and it's great to get fresh meat products from them. Love the photos of your butchers!

Helen said...

Hi there! Our Easter dinners usually depend on who is attending. Baked candied ham is a favorite, lemon/garlic roasted potatoes, sauteed green beans with onion, whipped sweet potatoes (if my grandchildren are coming) and something gooey and sinful for dessert.

Anonymous said...

I can't remember ever having anything but ham as the meat for Easter. In fact, our menu is the same as was my mother's every year of my life.

Baked ham, potato salad, cole slaw, aspagras, candied sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and homemade yeast rolls. Dessert has always been coconut cake. I sometimes cut it to look like a bunny and other times I dye some of the coconut green and make a nest filled with jelly beans on top of a layer cake.

If there are young ones in the family (as now) we always have a Easter Egg hunt. Mom always dyed hard boiled eggs and hide them. Now I use the plastic ones and put coins in them. I still do baskets for the kids using small toys instead of a lot of candy.

Shay said...

We always had lamb but ham is the tradition in my husband's family.

I am very lucky that the SIL who lives three blocks away is a cross between Martha Stewart and the Energizer bunny. She always hosts the holiday dinners at her house and I just show up with whatever dish she's assigned to me!