Happy Easter

So, I have a bit of a confession to make. While I always hope that my blog posts will inspire others to cook and be creative, this post is headed towards being a bit of a downer. So, I hope the recipe inspires you, and I hope what I'm about to share makes you think about those you love and how you inspire them...maybe even if you don't realize it.

Tomorrow is Easter, and I'm a bit sad. Not sad because it's Easter, but for a couple different reasons. The first being that for the first time in my life (all 40 years) I will not be having a holiday dinner with my family. There are certain dishes we have every year for Easter that I won't be getting. We always have ham. The potatoes and vegetables changed from year to year, but the 2 things I love the most about Easter are...are you ready for this?...deviled eggs and our traditional apricot dessert. I know, I know...deviled eggs? I honestly think that eating deviled eggs at Easter was the only time I eat deviled eggs all year long. I just don't trust any old deviled eggs, only my moms. I did take the time to make the apricot dessert for myself. There are somethings I won't give up, even if I am 900 miles away from my family. I've included the recipe, so I hope you all try it.

Now for the second reason I'm a little sad. This weekend marks ten years since my grandma passed away. I mention this because in a sense, she is the reason I do this blog. I got this love of cooking from spending time with her in the kitchen. As a little boy, I would spend many of my summer days with her. She was always baking something, she had a pretty healthy sweet tooth. But the thing she taught me, which I didn't realize until years later, is that family and food and being with the ones you love, either preparing a meal or eating it, can be a precious gift. The memories we create around holiday meals aren't the only ones that last, it's everyday. A simple lunch could hold a memory that lasts a lifetime. I have a lot of her things, measuring spoons, dishes, recipe boxes and they remind me of her, but even if I didn't have those things, just being in the kitchen keeps me connected to her. I miss her a lot. There are those times in life when I would give anything to be that little boy again just having a cookie with my grandma.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter. Here's the recipe for the apricot dessert. The one good thing about this Easter and making the dessert for myself...I don't have to wait until tomorrow to eat it!!!

Apricot Dessert

1/2 of an Angel Food Cake

1- 46oz. can apricot nectar

7 level tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 pint whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with angel food cake pieces, broken into bit size. In a medium saucepan, combine nectar, cornstarch and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened. Pour the thickened mixture over the angel food cake. Refrigerate until firm. In a large bowl, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Spread over chilled cake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.