Grandma's Easter Patula

This year was the third year in a row that MDS and I have hosted Easter. We were lucky to have great weather so we could enjoy the outdoors, especially because the whole family came and it would have been very crowded if we were all inside. The nieces and nephews had a great time running around and playing games. It was nice to see everyone.

There are a number of traditional Easter dishes that we always have: ham, eggs newport, and hot cross buns. This year, I tried one from my Grandma's collection--Easter Patula, which is a traditional Italian savory pie. No one is sure of the source of the name, "patula." My online search reveals only a few plants that have the word patula in the formal name, including the French marigold. It appears that "patula" means "spreading" in Latin.

Mom said that Grandma used to make this dish just once a year on Easter. It is often served cold, but I served it fresh from the oven. It is delicious either way. Grandma's recipe makes an extra-large pie using a 9X13 pan, which shouldn't be surprising after a quick look at the ingredients. This dish is so good, it should be made more than once a year and could be a good pot luck dish.

Easter Patula 

Filling

• 2 1/2 pounds ricotta
• 6 hard boiled eggs, cut up
• 3 raw eggs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 1 1/2 pound Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup parsley, cut up
• salt and pepper

Dough

• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• sprinkle of black pepper
• 3 eggs (reserve one egg white)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Brown the sausage. Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl. Meanwhile, mix together the dough ingredients. Knead for one to two minutes until smooth. Then, using just a little more than half the dough, roll out the bottom dough large enough to fit the bottom and the sides of the 9x13 pan. Carefully place the dough in the pan. Add the filling. Then roll out the top layer to fully cover the top and slightly overlap. After placing the top layer of dough over the filling, then cut off excess dough and crimp the edges together. Cut a few slits in the top layer. Bake at 400 for one hour. Allow to cool. Enjoy!

Egg Salad

Every year near Easter, we would dye Easter eggs. Mom still dyes eggs every year with her grandkids. What to do with all those hard-boiled eggs? Of course, you could make Eggs Newport or Ham and Egg Combo. Or, you could make egg salad.

Mom's egg salad is a simple recipe: eggs, mayo, and a bit of salt and pepper. You can use as many eggs as you have on hand and then just adjust the mayo, salt and pepper to taste. Some recipes call for other ingredients, such as green onion, avocado, paprika, yellow mustard, garlic, dill, parsley, among other options. Feel free to make egg salad with any extras. But, in my memory, Mom's egg salad was simple and delicious. We would often eat the egg salad on Ritz crackers or on sandwich bread. I particularly like the egg salad when it is served cold, and it is a great make-ahead work day lunch.

Egg Salad 

• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/4 cup mayo
• salt and pepper, to taste

Dice the hard-boiled eggs. Mix in the mayo, salt and pepper until well blended. Refrigerate. Serve on crackers or in sandwiches. Enjoy!

Grandma Holmes's Chicken Casserole

Aunt Paula has a booklet of Grandma Holmes's recipes. It appears to me that many of the recipes may have come from friends or newspapers. And, most telling of Grandma's sweet tooth, many of the recipes are for cakes or pies. But, due to my annual 40-day renunciation of sweets, I had to skip past all the delicious-looking cakes and pies, for now. So, I decided to give this simple casserole a try. The addition of sage makes this casserole reminiscent of of Mom's stuffing.

This casserole, like many casseroles, used some staples that you might have in your kitchen. I used leftover rotisserie chicken for the chicken in this casserole, but any type of chicken would do. The recipe calls for pouring hot mushroom or celery soup over the casserole after baking. I assume Grandma just used a can of condensed soup. But, I skipped that step and found the casserole was tasty without the soup topping. It was very easy to make, but with a baking time of one hour, it might be a bit difficult to make on a weeknight. This casserole could make an easy pot luck dish.

Chicken Casserole

• 1-3 1/2 pounds chicken, cooked
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp. sage
• salt, to taste
• 3 1/3 cups chicken broth (or milk)
• 2 cups bread crumbs
• Mushroom or celery soup

In a bowl, mix together the chicken, rice, beaten eggs, sage, and salt. Add in broth (or, as Grandma's recipes say, add in milk to equal 3 1/2 cups of liquid.)

Pour into a pan. I used a 9X9 pan, but a 13X9 could also work. Top with bread crumbs. Bake at 325 for one hour. 

If desired, pour hot mushroom or celery soup over the casserole before serving. Enjoy!