Fill your Easter basket with everything you need to celebrate the holiday

Spring is in the air and Easter is the perfect occasion to showcase your elegant linens, fine china and wonderful cooking skills. Not sure what to serve? Choose from our delicious recipes for that perfect dinner, whether it's lamb, turkey, or even ham. We even have helpful hints on preparing and carving a turkey, carving a ham, and for lamb, a roasting table, special glazes, and tips on how to carve.

To brighten up your entrée, create a delightful Bunny Garnish. Drain a can of pear halves and turn the pear halves upside down. Insert two almond slivers for ears, raisins for nose and eyes, coconut strips for whiskers and mini-marshmallows for tails.  Place each one on a lettuce leaf, facing outward around main entrée.  (Optional - you can tint pears with food coloring [pastel pink, green, and blue] if desired.)

For a quick holiday centerpiece, intersperse eggs with daisies in a wicker basket or pick up a holiday bouquet from our floral department. Look for festive braided breads, cakes and cookies in our bakery. And remember, if you want a break from the kitchen, our deli will be glad to cook the entire feast for you.

For fun ideas to delight the kids, check out Easter Cookie Tree, Bunny Cake, Rabbit-Ear Napkins, and Mini Baskets for kids.

Create Perfect Easter Eggs

• Place room-temperature eggs in an enamel or stainless steel pan.  Cover with cool water.  Heat to simmer and cook for 10-12 minutes.  Do not boil rapidly, or shells will crack.
   
• Cool cooked eggs in cold water.  If an egg does crack while boiling, add a few drops of vinegar and lemon juice to the water, and the egg will stay intact while it simmers.
   
• Save empty egg cartons to hold just-dyed eggs.
   
• Cover working space and use dyes as directed.  For soft pastel shades, leave eggs in a short time.
   
• For brilliant colors, double amount of dye and leave in longer.
   
• Be creative-use colorful crayons to write names and make designs before dipping into dye.  Use watercolors or acrylic paints to paint scenes on eggs.  Wrap and crisscross rubber bands around eggs and then dip into dye.  Or try sponging different colors onto eggs.
   

Easter Cookie Tree

Find a sturdy branch and spray-paint it white.  Set in a medium flowerpot filled with small rocks or pebbles to anchor it.  Cover the outside of the pot with foil or wrapping paper. Use Easter grass to cover the rocks. Hang Easter cookies on the tree, decorate with a garland of strung gumdrops and add plenty of pastel ribbons.  Also, look for small Easter ornaments at Winn-Dixie - perfect for decorating your special tree.

Bunny Cake

Everybunny loves a cake. Prepare your favorite boxed cake mix according to the directions on the package or use your own favorite homemade mix. Bake the cake in two 8- or 9-inch pans. Once cooled, cut one of the cakes following our easy pattern to the right and place the cut pieces with the uncut cake, as shown. Let the kids decorate the bunny with frosting and candies, such as gumdrops for the eyes, licorice for the whiskers, and so on. To give the look of bunny fur, sprinkle flaked coconut on top of the icing.

Rabbit-Ear Napkins

Thrill the little ones at your Easter table with napkins just for them. Check out our instructions on the Rabbit Ears Napkin Fold.  If you do the folding, let the kids have fun drawing the bunny faces.

Mini Baskets for Kids

Write the childrens' names on individual cards and attach to a small basket, or write the names on the baskets in permanent marker.  Fill the small baskets with grass, candy, small toy cars, etc.  These serve as unique place cards and will keep little ones busy as well. These also make great favors to send home with the kids.