Spatula Diaries: 5 easy tips for hosting Easter like a pro

Of all the holidays, Easter can drive you the craziest, with its overshared, pressure-filled cutesy desserts, flawless table settings and painstakingly curated baskets. Every year it gets worse, as a new flurry of manicured cupcakes and glistening legs of lamb reveal themselves on Pinterest and Instagram.

I’m over it.

I mean, I love a nice table and a great meal, but I don’t have time to dye shredded coconut, or shop for robin’s-egg blue napkins. Easter should be about the basics: celebrating Louisiana’s gorgeous spring, spending time with friends and family and putting on a festive lunch without driving yourself nuts.

Here are a few tips.

1. Work from a neutral palette.

Start with a white tablecloth or white or neutral placemats, and white plates. Add splashes of color with small arrangements of fresh flowers and cut herbs. Arrange dyed eggs in small baskets, or intersperse them on a gathered burlap runner. Use pastel napkins. Have children create colorful placecards.

2. Vary the main course.

Spiral-sliced hams dominate the Easter lunch landscape, but have fun with something different, like smoked pork butt, pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, lamb in any form or roast turkey. All those sides you’ve been planning, from Spinach Madeleine to stuffed eggs, will still work well.

3. Lean on make-ahead dishes.

Easter really is one big fancy picnic, even if you eat indoors. It is springtime, after all! That means classic dishes like deviled eggs, cold salads and festive casseroles are fair game. Make as much as you can ahead of time. Many of you will dive into lunch after church, and this makes life simpler.

4. Serve room temperature sides.

Rice salads, roasted asparagus and grilled squash, eggplant and peppers are all fantastic served at room temperature, which frees up your oven and your to-do list.

5. Decorate desserts naturally.

If you have time to manipulate marshmallow peeps and sculpt candy carrots, have at it, but you can make elegant cupcakes with edible flowers and fresh fruit. Find edible flowers at the Red Stick Farmers Market, or use yellow dandelion or clover, or pick up nasturtium from your nearest nursery.

Happy Easter!

Maggie Heyn Richardson is a regular 225 contributor. Reach her at hungryforlouisiana.com.