Special Touches for the Easter Table

Regardless of whether or not your Easter feast will be for brunch or dinner, you can make it a special occasion with some really unique, and eye catching ideas.

Kid’s Easter Table Setting:

Enjoy your dinner out of those darling plastic eggs.

If your kids are anything like mine, I am sure you can relate when I say they don’t eat fancy dinners really well. So leave the fancy food for the adults and place foods kids will eat, individualized in plastic eggs. Some ideas of what to put into your eggs are:

– Graham Cracker Bunnies (Annie’s Bunny Graham organic crackers)
– Petite carrots
– Flower Sandwiches – flower cutter found at Wal-mart
– Duck pretzels – find a tutorial here
(http://www.stoplookingetcookin.com/2012/03/ladybug-duck-and-bunny-pretzels/)
– grapes
– mini cucumbers
– grape tomatoes
– Egg Rice Krispy
– cheese – cut into flowers
– crackers
– Chocolate covered strawberry made to look like a carrot – white chocolate dyed orange.
Don’t be afraid to double up on your child’s favorites!

Another favorite is wrapping your utensils up with an orange napkin to make them look like a carrot!

Jelly Bean Topiary is a great addition to your table. The tutorial I found online suggests putting toothpicks in each jelly bean to make it edible, but because of time and not wanting to serve my guests jelly beans that I have handled with my fingers, I chose to hot glue them! Check out the tutorial I found here:
http://www.gumdropsandtruffles.com/?p=422

Be sure to download the Printable Egg Placemat. CLICK HERE

While the adults are busy chatting, and the kids are done with their fabulous dinner, be sure to send them on a fun Springtime Scavenger hunt to keep them busy!

CLICK HERE to download Scavenger Hunt Printout

Sophisticated Easter Table Setting:

My garden is on my mind, and what better way to get excited than to create a theme all surrounded by the garden.

Use “garden/plant markers” as food markers.

With a little chalkboard paint, your guests won’t have to question what food you’ll be serving.

– paint sticks from your local hardware store
– large popsicle sticks

Place settings

– Cloth folded napkins to look like bunnies. Here is a great tutorial on how to fold one for your Easter table!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7N-Rsv408
– Below a glass plate, cut the center out of a fresh artichoke and press all the leaves toward the table. This will create a very fresh placemat that you can see through your plate!

Serving Dishes

– Terracotta pots – put your serving bowls in the pots, so it looks like you’re serving your entrée or side dish right out of the pot!

Broccoli Pasta Salad
Southern Living 
SEPTEMBER 2011

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 (16-oz.) package farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1 pound fresh broccoli
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup diced red onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Preparation

. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

. 2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

. 3. Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.

. 4. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and pecans into salad just before serving.

Name plates

Make your nameplates out of edible items.
Nest made out of alfalfa sprouts
Fresh egg with interior blown out
Name written with crayon before dying, or with a paint pen after dying.
Put a piece of paper with a great quote, or thing you love about that person in each egg. When the meal is over, crack the egg.

Colorful Deviled eggs
You can find a great tutorial here:
http://www.paaseastereggs.com/recipes-color-eggs.asp