My go-to for cooking inspiration lately has been from my favorite addiction, Sunset Magazine. I love when this magazine arrives in our mailbox, cause it will be read from cover to cover. For the past month, I have been at a loss for creativity in the kitchen, so I have found myself frequently turning to recipes of this fabulous mag. For our scrumptious Easter dinner, we had 10 people in our tiny apartment, both sides of our families, so I wanted to cook something yummy. Never having made a meal this big, I searched the internet and all my cooking mags, but ended up coming back to this month’s issue of Sunset. I couldn’t get their Brunch with Friends recipes out of my head.

On the menu was Baked Ham with lemon-spice glaze, which was a smashing success. Zip from the lemons and some zap from fresh ginger gave this ham a fun snap in the mouth. Alongside the first ham I ever cooked was a bright and colorful Sunshine Citrus Salad, made up of naval oranges and pink grapefruit. Can you say delicious? To get our greens in, we made a Spinach with Parmesan Cheese Salad tossed in a lemony vinaigrette and a side dish of grilled Asparagus. And for even more color, I made some carrots glazed in buttery honey & ginger, inspired by the wonderful Barefoot Contessa. And I can’t forget all the yummy drinks we had, Limonade & Rasberry Lemonade from Trader Joes and Campari and Orange Sodas. And just a side note, everything is organic and gluten free….oh yeah!

You might ask yourself if I always cook like this? My husband and I love entertaining, so if you give me an excuse, I love pulling out all the stops and honoring my guests with foodie goodness. But I especially wanted to honor our parents with a good meal. Every year, whether it’s Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas, both sets of parents prepare fabulous meals and really go all out. So this year, John and I insisted we have everyone at our house. My mom was a little worried I couldn’t pull it off, so she brought a fabulous platter of cheeses & sausages to start the evening off right. But to her surprise, we gave our families an amazing meal and broke bread together, honoring God in our worship to Him on this Easter Day.