Easter Carbonara + Side Dishes

So excited to share a few of my favorite Easter recipes with you guys!!! I feel like Easter food is all about the carbs, cheese, ham and mustard. There's so many fun ways to incorporate all of those things into a holiday brunch or dinner spread!! I grew up eating cheesy potato casserole at every large family function - there were always trays and trays of it since our cousin clan totaled 22 small humans who LOVED their cheesy carbs!!! My Grandma would always make the most simple but delicious deviled eggs too and I just HAD to include that recipe alongside the others.

EASTER HAM CARBONARA

I'm the biggest advocate for making pasta a priority at every holiday celebration. This is the most seamless and easy way to bring pasta to Easter brunch or dinner!! It's very similar tasting to real carbonara but has a fun festive twist to it!! I promise everyone will be going back for seconds.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 1 lb farfalle or other pasta shape
• 1 heavy cup of cubed ham
• 1/2 cup of diced pancetta or guanciale

(for the no-cook carbonara sauce)

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of pecorino romano cheese
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• a few cracks of black pepper

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to packaging instructions.
2. Cook the ham and pancetta in a large pot and then scoop most of it out and set aside.
3. Mix your no-cook carbonara sauce ingredients.
4. Add the piping hot pasta to the same pot you cooked the pork in (the heat should be on super low here, don't want to cook the eggs in the sauce too much!)
5. Once the pasta is in, ladle in a good scoop of the salty pasta water and pour all of the carbonara sauce on top of the pasta. Mix quickly and delicately in order to coat the pasta in the sauce and warm it slightly so that the cheese melts and everything gets silky.
6. Top with the ham and pancetta, more pecorino romano and fresh cracked pepper before serving!

CHeesy Potato Casserole

I'm pretty sure every single family has a variation of this recipe for holiday and family gatherings. I love that you can use frozen potatoes, it makes the whole thing so much easier (no thawing required!) Just make sure you get the potatoes that are cut up into tiny cubes, the texture is better than if you were to buy larger cubed or diced potatoes.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 2 lbs southern style diced potatoes (small cubes - I use frozen)
• 1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
• 10 oz cream cheese
• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, more for topping
• 1/2 cup melted butter
•  1 tbsp dijon mustard

WHAT TO DO:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. 
3. Transfer to a 9x13" baking dish, sprinkle with more cheese and cook for 1 hour (covered if you want the cheese to be melty, uncovered if you want the cheese to bubble and crisp on top.)
4. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Grandma Jeanne's Deviled Eggs

These are not fancy deviled eggs!! Grandma Jeanne kept it very simple when it came to her deviled eggs and we loved her for that!! I honestly don't like fancy versions of deviled eggs and feel like they are truly meant to be a simple side dish amongst other complex flavors in the main dishes of holiday spreads!! 

WHAT YOU NEED:

• 12 eggs (pasture raised are best imo)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• pinch of salt
• paprika

WHAT TO DO:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully place the eggs into the water and cook them for 10 minutes.
2. Place the eggs in an ice bath for 10 minutes or stick them in the fridge for an hour to completely cool them before peeling them.
3. Once cooled, peel the eggs carefully. Slice them in half, longways and remove the yolks.
4. Mix the yolks, mayo and mustard and salt. (I sometimes like to throw them in a mini food processor to get the filling extra smooth and creamy!!)
5. Transfer the deviled egg filling to a vehicle for filling the eggs. You can use a piping bag (or just a plain old ziplock bag and cut a corner off, that's what I did here.) Fill each egg white with a good amount of filling and top with paprika to finish!