An Unconventional But Delicious Easter Feast

So a few posts back I mentioned that I was going to drink the Chignard Fleurie Beaujolais for my Easter dinner, which at the time I assumed was going to be ham…that is what the Mother In Law always makes, it’s tradition and we’re not messing with it, the one thing I did not think about was the fact that the In Laws, they were going to be on a slow boat to China for the holiday. Well, a cruise in China anyway, so they were not going to be hosting Easter dinner this year, “not to worry” I thought, I know my way around a kitchen, I’ll make something. This too got me thinking….um, with the kid away at college and my baby sister married and going to her Mother In Laws for dinner….that was going to be a lot of ham for just the hubby and I, on top of all that, turned out I was scheduled to work Easter Sunday….grrrr

Being that the hubby and I are not the “church going” type we just decided to kind of blow off the “holiday” and just hope that our neighbors would plan an Easter egg hunt for our, “cutest thing ever” neighbor….they didn’t, or if they did it was while I was at work…where almost no one else was, man I gotta convince Randy to close a couple hours early on holidays! As he says, “There is always something to do around here” but it pretty much sucks sitting in an empty wine store, (which after like 3:00 it was) thinking about being home with the family or gathering with friends for a holiday meal…regardless of if it’s a religious one or not.

My sister was super sweet and brought the puppies by to surprise me, it did and she even dressed Gravy, (the French Bulldog) in bunny ears…”doh!” so cute, yes she hated her “hat” but it brought some much needed entertainment to my otherwise, boring day, so Gravy…she took one for the team, good puppy. Played with the puppies until closing, “ahem about 3 hours later than it should have been…ahem” and then headed home to the hubby that was in his, post watching the Masters coma.

“So, what you want for dinner?” he inquired not long after I walked in the door, guess the delivered, (because he was not moving away from the television) pizza was not sticking to his ribs. I thought a minute about trying to toss together a smaller traditional meal, but seeing as he was already hungry I doubted he would be down with waiting for like scalloped potatoes and junk. I sent my head spinning, trying to think of something “Easter-ish” that would not take too long and would not be too taxing for me…it had been a long week. “Let me think…Easter, ham, eggs, potatoes….how about breakfast sandwiches with a side of hash browns?” I asked, “Sounds fine to me” he answered, grabbed the keys and he headed for the store.


Now I had been thinking, thinly sliced ham, maybe some cheese and eggs, what I got was; bacon, sesame buns, sausage patties, cheddar cheese and eggs…guess they were out of those pre-shredded hash browns and I hate those frozen ones that you have to deep fry…oh, and I have yet to master making my own, I’m sure it is not too difficult, but mine turn pink and it pisses me off…so I don’t make them, so we would be potato-less, not a problem as there was more than enough food.

I turned the oven on to toast the buns and melt the cheese, then got working on the meats. Got the bacon frying and squashed the sausage patties into thinner disks, for quicker cooking and so they would fit on the bun better. “Um, those are kind of small, can you put two patties on each of my sandwiches?” the hubby asked…each of my sandwiches? He was starving…and I squished another couple patties while waiting for the bacon to crisp up. “Now what would make this porky, eggy sandwich even more over-the-top? I thought…”Extra slices of cheese and mayonnaise of course!” Yes….yes I did. I whipped up a batch of Sambal, (Thai chili paste with garlic) mayo and let that marinate, or meld together while I cooked the sausage and started frying the eggs.

The buns were crisped up so I removed the top bun to cool, you know so I could slather it with spicy mayo without the mayo getting all clear, (gack!) and placed two slices of cheese on each of the bottom buns and turned off the oven as to not overcook the buns, no one likes a too crunchy bun, not to mention too crispy might make it difficult for the gooey egg yolk to sink into the bread….I don’t know about you, but if my yolk is looking for a place to go, I want it on my bread not squirted onto the plate…oh, sure wiping is doable, but is doesn’t soak in quite enough for my liking.

So the assembly went something like this, bottom bun, with the melty cheese is placed on the plate, topped with a sausage patty for me, 2 for the hubby, fried egg placed atop the patty, a few bacon slices on top of the egg, a schmear of spicy mayo on the top bun and …..press.

Oh

My

God

One of the best “Easter” meals we have ever had….was it gluttonous? Why sure but it’s not like we had Easter candy or anything! Now the Chignard probably would have been spectacular with this sandwich but as I had not thought we were having an Easter meal….I didn’t buy one! Not to worry I had grabbed a couple of bottles of the 2008 L’Hortus Pic Saint Loup Rose, ($13.99) just to have on hand, and put my hands on it I did!

So far this is my favorite of the 2008 Roses that have hit our shores, extremely bright, bursting with tart red fruit with a bit of watermelon rind, the palate is plump and mouth filling but the sharp acidity and refreshing minerals keep it perfectly in balance. The wine was a perfect partner to the gooey egg and pork filled sandwich and a wine that I will have at least two bottles of at all times….well, for as long as it lasts!