Editor’s note: Cooking Together Generations is a series of cookbooks and online videos that show cooking together over generations is a bond of food, family and friends. Look for it to post Sundays at 10 a.m.

Easter Sides, Appetizers, and Eggs

Looking for some ideas to compliment your Easter dinner. Let us show you some quick and easy recipes that will be sure to please. Also don’t miss Tom’s easy method for hard boiling eggs along with a great way to decorate those eggs.

Glazed Carrots

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs.   Butter, unsalted
• ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar,  packed
• 2 Tbs. White Wine, dry
• ¼  tsp. Salt
• 3 Tbs. Water
• 2 lb. Carrots, small w/stems
• 1 tsp. Fennel Seeds, crushed

Directions

• Melt Butter in a skillet over medium-high heat; add Sugar, Wine, Salt and Water.
• Add carrots and stir until coated. 
• Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, 20 min.
• Uncover and increase heat to medium high. 
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are slightly caramelized, about 5 min. 
• Stir in fennel seeds and serve.

The Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs:                                                                                    

Rule # 1:  Older Eggs are easier to peel than fresh eggs. If you are planning on making hard boiled eggs for Easter, buy your eggs at least one week ahead (2 weeks is better)

Hard Boiled Eggs: standard method                                                                                

• Place eggs on bottom of saucepan.                                                                                    
• Fill a saucepan about a quarter of the way with cold water.                                                                     
• Place the eggs in a single layer at the bottom of the saucepan.                                                       
• Add more water so that the eggs are covered by at least an inch or two of water. The more eggs that are crowding the pan the more water you should have over the eggs. 6 eggs should be covered by at least an inch, 7 to 12 eggs, 2 inches.
• Heat the pot on high heat and bring the water to a full rolling boil
• Adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the water may help keep egg whites from running out if an egg does crack while cooking. Also some people find adding 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the water helps prevent cracking as well as making the eggs easier to peel.  
• Boil eggs for 12 minutes.  Remove to Ice Water

Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs 

If you have fresh eggs, you might want to try steaming the eggs for 15 minutes.

• Pour an inch of water into a pot with tsp. of vinegar and insert a steamer basket. Bring to a boil.
• Place the eggs in the steamer basket, cover and steam for 15 minutes. The steam penetrates the shell a bit making the eggs easier to peel. (You can also steam eggs in a pressure cooker!) 

How to Boil Eggs in the Microwave

• You’ll want to use a microwave safe bowl and place the eggs in the bottom.  Then, fill with hot water (if you can find hot water) about 1/2 inch over the eggs.
• Next, add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt per egg, so if you have 6 eggs, that would be 3 teaspoons of salt. DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP! This helps prevent egg explosions.
• MicroWave 6 minutes
• If you want hard boiled eggs with firm yolks, allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for 2-3 minutes.  Place in ice water.

Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs:

• Place the eggs on your wire rack inside the  basket on top of the wire rack. If your Air Fryer did not come with a basket place them on the bottom.
• Set at 250 degrees, and the timer at 16 minutes.                                                     
• Remove and place in an ice water bath

Oven Baked Hard Boiled Eggs:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Put 1 egg in each of 12 muffin cups.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes
• Plunge baked eggs in a large bowl filled with ice water until cooled completely, about 10 minutes.

Hard to Peel

If you’ve boiled a batch of eggs that you are now finding difficult to peel, try cracking the shells all around without peeling them and soaking the eggs in water for a while. The water often seems to seep in enough under the shell to make the egg easier to peel. 

I find it easiest to peel the eggs under a bit of running water. 

How do you store boiled eggs?

• Storing in the fridge to use later? Dry the eggs, keep them unpeeled and put them in a zipper baggie with a paper towel and seal it up.
• Still have the paper egg carton? Just put them back in it, and mark on the carton that these are boiled eggs and the date.

Roasted Beet Hummus 

Ingredients

• 1 can Beets, sliced, drained
• 2 cans  Chickpeas, drained with liquid reserved

• 1/3 cup  Chickpea Liquid (or more, as needed)
• 2 Tbs. Sesame Oil
• 1/4 cup Olive oil
• 2 Lemons, juiced
• 1 clove Garlic
• Salt

Garnish

• Basil Pesto

• Parsley
• Olive Oil

Directions

• Add the Beets, Chickpeas, Chickpea Liquid, Sesame Oil, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Garlic, Salt to blender.  
• Blend for one minute or until smooth and creamy.
• Transfer the Beet hummus to a serving bowl and garnish with Pesto, Parsley and a drizzle of Olive Oil.

Note: You could also use two fresh Beets. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the stems off the beets, leaving approximately 2 inches attached. Wash the beets, lightly coat in olive oil (or avocado oil), place in a covered cast-iron pot or other baking dish and roast in the oven for 50-60 minutes.

Remove the beets from the oven and slice the tail and stem off the beets.