Lent is over...and there is much rejoicing! Oh, and recipes, too!

I always get a kick out of irony. Sometimes it even kicks me back.

Last Sunday started way too early, as Hubby and I decided to hit the 8:00 Easter Mass so as to minimize exposure to fussy children who were hopped up on the Easter candy they'd been downing all morning. We returned home mid-morning, and after making the components for and assembling the Black Bottom Banana-Cream Pie, which needed to chill, I started on brunch, which was to consist of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and grapefruit. Hubby pulled out the bacon, which he usually cooks because when I try to do it and pancakes simultaneously, the bacon tends to get burned, and gave it the nose test. He passed it along to me, and...bacon fail! I guess that's what happens when you keep it around too long and ignore it.

So Hubby rooted around some more in the drawer and came up with the veggie bacon -- fake-on? -- that we'd used for a recipe during Lent. It did in a pinch and gave us the chance to finish it, but that meant my Lenten sacrifice was prolonged, at least for another couple of hours. He ran to the Dekalb Farmers' Market and got five slices of Applewood Smoked Bacon for the Syrah-Braised Lamb with Olives, Cherries, and Endives we had for Easter dinner. A bite of that bacon is what I used to joyfully return to my omnivorous practice.

Now that you have the recipes for the main dish and dessert, here is the side dish:

Cecilia's Roased Potatoes with Green Garlic
Serves 4

1 dozen small red-skinned potatoes (about 1.75 lbs)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 bunch Green Garlic, greens sliced off, and bulbs chopped
1 Tablespoon Rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Toss with the rest of the ingredients and bake in a baking dish for 40 minutes or until brown, stirring occasionally.

Yeah, it's simple, but quite tasty.

And wine... Before dinner, we pulled out a bottle of our most recent wine club shipment from Sapolil Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. We happened to stumble into the winery when we were out there in 2007 and were so impressed with the reds, mostly Syrahs, that we joined their fledgling club. The "Papa Loves Mambo" is a blend of 70% Syrah, 20% Sangiovese, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, so it's fruity, smooth, and structured all at the same time. With dinner, we had the 2006 Syrah from Sapolil, which was a bit spicy but went well with the lamb.