Here Comes Peter Cottontail:

During my childhood, like most American families, we had holiday food traditions. While my Mother is an excellent cook (great, wonderful, really excellent), I grew up in the 50s/60s and our food represented the times. Easter always included: deviled eggs (made after the Easter Egg hunt!), lots o' ham, potato salad, baked beans, and ambrosia salad (you know -- canned pineapple, canned oranges, coconut, whipped cream and colored marshmallows!)

Now, don't get me wrong, I love ham -- Honeybaked ham especially -- but when it was my turn to do the choosing for my foodie family, our traditional Easter dishes changed. I try to make healthier, fresher, locally grown choices. Our menu now includes grilled lamb chops with cherry-mint sauce, sweet pea risotto, and grilled tomatoes and asparagus... dessert may include something sinful, but usually its just left over candy from the Easter Bunny!

The following recipe for cherry-mint sauce is A-MAY-ZING and amazingly easy... wish I could remember where I got it. Anyway, I promise, it will surely become your family's favorite side for lamb too.

Cherry Mint Sauce:
2 cups dried cherries
4 cups Cabernet
2 cups mint stems
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/8 cup cornstarch
Place cherries, wine, and mint stems in a large skillet and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by 2/3 and then remove stems. Whisk in chopped mint and sugar. In a small bowl, mix together water and cornstarch to form a slurry, and then add to the cherry sauce. Cook the sauce until it coats the back of a wooden spoon.