Avery Won't Passover Easter Potatoes

Passover - to celebrate the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt.

Easter - to celebrate the life and death of Jesus Christ.

Spring - to celebrate the birth of chocolate bunnies!

Because Passover and Easter occur during the same week, let's pause for a moment and think about these holidays.

Candy doesn't quite set the mood, right?

Don't get me wrong. I love candy. Love it. I love creme eggs and chocolate bunnies and jelly bellys and chocolate gelt. But we can get lost in the sweet, the colorful, the fun and forget about the bittersweet. The reason for Passover and Easter. The faith, the passion, the turning point. The love, forgiveness, and hope.

For those of you who celebrate a religious holiday this week, may you find all that you seek.

For those of you who don't celebrate, may you also find what you seek.

And for those of you cooking dinner for your family and friends...

Here's my treat.

And it's not candy!

What tastes good with either brisket, lamb, or ham? Potatoes!

This week I decided that I really wanted to tweak those potatoes. Make them something special. Offer a side dish worth showing off, that is fresh tasting in honor of spring.

I bought a pound of small potatoes of various colors. Purple, gold, red with white centers. Pretty. And then I improvised with my favorites flavors adding, of course, cheese!

Avery Won't Passover Easter Potatoes

Ingredients:

¼ cup chicken broth

¼ cup oil

¼ cup milk

¼ cup white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

3 long springs of rosemary, cut into snips

4 tablespoons leeks, sliced (rinsed well!)

2 tablespoons shallots, diced

1 pound colorful small potatoes, rinsed and halved

1/2 cup shredded parmesan [Parmigiano Reggiano Mitica at Whole Foods]

Directions:

Pour liquids and spices into a 2-3 quart baking pan. Layer the potatoes on top.

Cover with foil. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees.

Remove from oven, remove foil.

Stir and top with ½ cup shredded parmesan

Return to oven. Broil for 5 minutes.

Adorn with sprig of rosemary.

These potatoes are melt in your mouth great and heat up well the next day.

* These also do well baked in individual ramekins.

In other news:

It’s the last of March and we’re still celebrating cupcakes! Our own Jenn McKinlay’s Sprinkle with Murder is now out in bookstores near you! If you’d like to win cupcakes from Crumbs Bake Shop, send us an e-mail atMysteryLoversKitchen@gmail.com or leave a comment with your idea of the wackiest cupcake ingredients you can think of. This contest ends SOON!

Also:

If you're interested, visit my website by clicking this link: Avery Aames. The Long Quiche Goodbye, the first in A Cheese Shop Mystery series, will be coming out soon. It's available for pre-order. Check out my newsletter for upcoming contests. And check out the SNEAK PREVIEW of chapter one!