Easter Dinner

This is not just any Easter dinner. This is M.B.'s Easter dinner.

We're talking mouth-watering flavors and a setup that would have Hostess with the Mostest saying "wowee, M.B."

We're talking cooking how it should be—with lots of real butter and a large serving of love. That's because, for M.B., cooking isn't a chore. It's an act of love. And anyone who's invited to spend holidays dining with the Sparks gets to reap the rewards.

When I moved to L-town, one thing I knew for certain was that anytime we dined at Q and M.B.'s, we'd be in for good company and a spread that was breathtakingly delicious (read: impossible not to overindulge).

This Easter dinner delivered on both (of course).

The menu went something like this:

Ham with a mustard aioli for dipping


Mashed sweet potatoes (perhaps the sweetest I've ever tasted)
Corn (with lots of real butter, of course)
Broccoli
Creamed peas and new potatoes
Some sort of tasty baked pineapple dish
Giant Great Harvest Bread rolls

A beautiful custard with kiwi and raspberries


And, of course, desserts (all homemade, but you probably guessed that by now, right?).

How was I ever supposed to decide between little chocolate cups filled with mousse, giant cream puffs drizzled in chocolate sauce


and a lemon tart topped with raspberries? I couldn't. So I tried them all.


If M.B. had a cooking blog, I have no doubt people would read it by the thousands, gazing in awe at her mouthwatering creations.

In fact, if Mom and I hadn't been sworn to secrecy, I'd share the recipe M.B. generously passed along for her cranberry bread pudding drizzled in vanilla sauce. Absolutely. To. Die. For.

But it's top secret. Sorry!

(Oh, and sorry there aren't more photos, but somebody got too excited about the spread and took a bunch of shots that went straight to the trash. Hmm. Wonder who that was?)