The Easter Bunny is a tricky one. First, a bunny. That hides eggs. Then there’s the dyeing. The hunting. The gathering. All for a hard-boiled egg nobody’s going to eat because it’s been sitting in your yard all morning.
Artizone and Dallas’ food artisans make the dining portion of your Easter holiday much easier:
- Go to www.artizone.com.
- Click on “shop by aisle,” then “Happy Easter.”
- Order by April 3.
- Answer the door when your Easter feast arrives.
Your most stressful meal decision will be how much ham you want to order, factoring in any teenaged guests and your leftover plans.
Easter is the second biggest ham holiday behind Christmas, says Gary Hirsch, owner of Hirsch’s Specialty Meats in Plano. Hirsch’s bone-in honey-glazed hams from Logan Farms in Houston are $7.88 per pound (or $9.95 per pound for boneless) through Artizone, which has special sizes available for delivery in the days just before Easter.
Hirsch explains the difference in his honey-glazed hams and the infamous HoneyBaked: His have 30 percent less salt, they are 90 percent lean, and they don’t have the hocks on them. He also cautions against those cheaper products.
“You’ll see hams advertised for under $1 a pound, but that’s 30 to 40 percent pumped up with water,” he says. “So you’re buying water.”
If ham isn’t your family’s Easter favorite, Hirsch also carries lamb chops, T-bone steaks, prime rib, beef tenderloin roast, sausage, whole chickens and a variety of other meats.
Next, let’s talk about sides. Festive Kitchen offers au gratin “smmmASHED” potatoes, brown sugar bacon green beans, carrot soufflé or cheesy grits. Or maybe spinach madeline or veggie mac (a vegan take on mac and cheese) from Nature’s Plate will hit the spot.
Now, dessert. Forget that hollow chocolate Easter bunny your kids are devouring, because there is cheesecake.
Are your friends and family in agreement on their favorite type of cheesecake? Enjoy the peace and order a 10-inch from Cheesecake Love. Is your gathering full of people with as many different opinions as there are colors in the Easter basket? Embrace the diversity and order smaller, cupcake-sized versions.
Some Cheesecake Love favorites: Creamy Cookie (Oreo) Crunch, original, lemon-lime, Sweet Nuttin Caramel, triple chocolate and white chocolate raspberry. Nature’s Plate also offers a vegan chocolate cheesecake via Artizone.
“Anytime everybody gets together for any reason, it’s a good cheesecake time,” says Cheesecake Love owner JoAnn Sitton, who may be biased but has a point.
Not feeling a cheesecake? Order your favorite Emporium Pie. All the bakery’s best hits as well as a few spring extras are represented on Artizone, such as Drunken Nut, Smooth Operator, Dr. Love and Blue Steel.
Let the Easter Bunny and Artizone do all the work this year. You just enjoy that extra slice of cheesecake.
Hirsch's offers Logan Farms ham, sure to steal the Easter dinner show.
