Enderton shares Easter dinner ideas

Angie Enderton volunteered as guest cook for this issue of “Madison Living.” She and husband Chris have one son, Kai, and one daughter, Moana. A U.S. military veteran, Angie is a former president of West Madison Elementary School PTA and often volunteers at school.

Aloha, y’all! My name Is Angie, and I am so excited to share a few recipes with you. A little background on me: I am first-generation Chinese and grew up in Hawaii. How awesome is that, right?

I grew up knowing Easter as dying eggs, filling plastic eggs with candy and then hunting for them. I did not know why Easter was Easter until I grew up. I didn’t experience the real meaning of celebrating the holiday, nor did I have an Easter meal, until my early 20s. Here I share with you all something different and non-traditional for an Easter meal. I hope you’ll enjoy this and would love to hear how you like it.

Wine-Braised Short Ribs

5-6 lbs. bone-in short ribs

1 lb. bag baby carrots

2 onions, halved and then quartered

4-6 stalks celery, chopped into bite size pieces

10 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 bay leaves

2-3 rosemary sprigs

2-3 thyme sprigs

1 tsp. whole peppercorn

3 bottles of dry red wine

1 cup flour

House seasoning (1/2 cup onion powder, 1/2 cup garlic salt, 3 tbsp. black pepper, 3 tbsp. dried parsley)

3 tbsp. vegetable/canola oil

1 tbsp. salt

Blend 1 cup flour with 1 tsp. house seasoning. Sprinkle each short rib with house seasoning on all sides. Coat each short rib in the seasoned flour and tap off excess flour.

In a large pot, add the 3 tbsp. oil, and on med/high heat, brown short ribs on all sides. Do this in batches and place on a plate. Once complete, add the minced garlic and onions to the pot and stir for a minute or two. Add the carrots and celery. Stir to combine the garlic and onions.

Take the browned short ribs and nestle them into the veggies. Add in the juice that’s on the plate – every bit counts as yummy goodness. Add all the wine, sprigs of rosemary and thyme, bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Once boiled, turn heat to low and let simmer and slow cook for three to four hours Enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes

6 large or 2.5 lbs. red potatoes

2 cups milk

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. house seasoning

3 cups of shredded cheese on hand (I had 1 cup of Italian five cheese, 1½ cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan)

4 cloves of garlic

1 thyme sprig (leaves only)

1 rosemary sprig (leaves only)

1/4 tsp. parsley

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel potatoes and slice thinly. If you have a mandolin, use it. Grease a baking dish, either glass or ceramic, then add the peeled potatoes in a mixing bowl with the olive oil and sprinkle a teaspoon of the house seasoning. Toss and make sure each slice is coated.

Layer the baking dish with the sliced potatoes. Top it with 1 cup of cheese. Add the second layer. Set aside.

On a chopping board, pile the garlic cloves, leaves of rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper. Let your frustration out and finely chop and mince this all together. What you get is a garlicy, herby aroma of goodness!

In a sauce pot, melt butter. Add the flour and cook it for a few minutes until it’s nicely incorporated. Slowly add the milk to the pot and cook until it’s smooth. Do not overcook or it will get thick and gummy.

Once that is all combined, add the garlic herb mixture. Let that cook for a few minutes so the flavors will come out, then take the pot off the heat and add the remaining cheeses. Mix until it’s all melted.

Top your potatoes with the cheese mixture, cover with foil and place it in the oven for about 40-45 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes until you see a little golden brown.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1-2 lbs. of Brussel sprouts (quartered or halved, depending on size)

Olive oil

Salt and black pepper

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

A pinch or two of salt

Honey

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil (dull side up).

Toss Brussel sprouts with olive oil, salt and black pepper in a big bowl. Spread them out evenly onto the baking sheet so it is one layer of Brussel sprouts. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.

While Brussel sprouts are roasting, add balsamic vinegar and sugar to a small pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, stir it and turn down the heat just so it can simmer but not be boiling. Let this cook down until it has reduced by half. You want it to be syrupy. Take it off the heat and let it cool.

Check the Brussel sprouts, which should have nice brown edges. Remove from oven and plate.

When serving, drizzle the glaze and top it with drizzles of honey.