Our European Kitchen

I haven't spent Easter with my own family in about six years, and it's been two years since we spent the day with Paul's. But even though it was just the two of us in our tiny kitchen, Paul and I did our best to make it seem like that wasn't the case. For lunch we went to Greece, and for supper we prepared a French feast.

Paul was really yesterday's star chef, but I spent a good a bit of the day by the stove -- and the microwave -- as well. I'm a huge fan of couscous, so for lunch I came up with a Greek-inspired dish with spinach, yogurt, feta cheese and olives. It's a one-dish meal that took less than 20 minutes. Mom would be proud.


I'm not a huge fan of ham, so for a couple of weeks Paul and I had been planning a meal that was as un-Easterish as possible. He made a delicious coq au vin, cooking the chicken in a dutch oven filled with wine, pearl onions, carrots, mushroms and other bits of deliciousness.

Instead of mashed potatoes, Paul smashed together cooked turnips and parsnips. It was suprisingly sweet and yummy topped with the leftover wine in which the chicken had been stirring.

So what did I concoct? Paul misses his mom's popovers but agreed to let me attempt them in a muffin tin. They turned out even better than expected. I let Paul choose the dessert I'd be baking, so long as his choice was French and fruity. A blueberry tart fit the bill. Paul raved over it, but in fact it was a little burnt.


Needless to say, we have lots of leftovers and will shortly be eating Easter Dinner Part 2. Or should I say, Part Deux?