Ham & Eggs: After a tasty Easter dinner, you have to do something with all those eggs

Other than at Christmas, ham gets cooked more often around Easter than any other time of year.

Easter dinner is one of the "big" formal dinners for families, right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Tradition usually dictates what meals are served, but the dinner can be a great time to introduce new recipes to your family.

Many families forego the ham and prepare lamb for Easter dinner. Turkey is also a popular selection for the main course.

Easter is also a time for sweets, and there are plenty of recipes out there for families to enjoy, from raspberry sherbet to chocolate eggs.

With all those Easter eggs leftover, egg salads and recipes involving eggs are popular following the holiday. Eggs are high in fat, so if you are health-conscious, use them sparingly in recipes.

Many of the Easter recipes -- whether it be for candy or a succulent ham -- are easy to make, and can be prepared ahead of time.

Easter rescipes

Easter ham

1 7-8 pound fully cooked smoked ham shank

1 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 tablespoon prepared

mustard

Whole cloves

Combine syrup, vinegar and mustard. Place ham, fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the mixture over ham and bake, uncovered, in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with additional sauce. Remove ham from oven and score fat into diamond shapes.

Insert a clove into each diamond. Bake ham an additional 30 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of meat registers 140 degrees. Let ham rest 15 minutes before carving. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Easter egg salad

1 3-oz. package of gelatin (any flavor)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup finely chopped

celery and carrots

12 egg shells

Lettuce

Mayonnaise

Mix gelatin in bowl according to package instructions. Add the lemon juice and vegetables; stir. Using raw eggs, break the shells very carefully, so that just the tip of the shell is broken when the egg is removed. Dry the shells, then pour the fruit salad into the opening. Cover the hole with cellophane or adhesive tape, and set into custard or muffin cups. Chill until the gelatin is firm (overnight if possible).

Then break away the egg shell, place on lettuce, and top with mayonnaise.

Easter egg sandwiches

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped

celery

1/4 cup chopped green

pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons finely chopped green onion

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients and spread on bread; makes 6 sandwiches.

Chocolate Easter eggs

1 cup soft butter

2 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons vanilla

1 can condensed milk

10 cups icing sugar

1 teaspoon yellow food

coloring

1 pound semi-sweet

chocolate

Beat butter, salt and vanilla until fluffy. Add milk, beat in sugar. Blend until stiff. Dust with brown sugar. Knead until smooth. Set aside more then 2/3 of mixture. To the remaining mixture add yellow food coloring. Blend in well.

Divide yellow and white into 16 or 24 pieces. Shape yellow into ball, mold white around yellow to form an egg shape. Dry at room temperature on paper towels for 24 hours.

Melt chocolate in double boiler or in microwave until smooth. Dip eggs in chocolate (paraffin wax may be added and melted with chocolate to prevent chocolate from melting in your hands).

Once dipped, cool at room temperature. Refrigerate after cool. When sliced these eggs will have a white cream filling with a yellow filling that appears to be the yolk.

They look nice sitting in an Easter basket.

Raspberry sherbet

1 bag (12 ounces) frozen dry-pack raspberries, thawed

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

2/3 cup sugar

Combine raspberries, buttermilk and sugar in blender. Whirl until smooth. Strain through sieve to remove seeds.

Freeze in ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. To freeze by hand, place puree in 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Freeze. Scrape into food processor. Whirl, scraping down side of work bowl as needed, until smooth. Serve immediately.

Garnish with a sprig of mint and a few fresh raspberries if desired.