Easter Goods & Theme Cooking & Do Mormons Celebrate Easter?

Hello, friends. I fear I am the lone author of this blog of late. Sadness.

I went to visit my friend Sarah H. for the Easter holiday, and we made a lot of food.

#1: A fruit pizza. A tasty fruit pizza.

Then on Easter Day:
I had my version of communion.


Here's our spread. For three people. Don't judge. Starting from 12:00 going clockwise, we have broccoli, homemade croissants, bacon, quiches from the French quiche lady, spoon bread, funeral potatoes, and cheese for the broccoli. In the middle is some fruit. I'm not telling what's in the little white dish.

The ham & cheese quiche was tasty, but the Roquefort was a little on the pungent side. The spoon bread was deeeeeeelightful.

The "funeral potatoes" were included because of my theme cooking needs. I am currently reading By the Hand of Mormon, a book about the Book of Mormon and how it has been viewed by critics and believers since Joseph Smith introduced it to the world. To be honest, I'm a bit stuck in it. The first part was interesting -- learning about Joseph Smith's background, the earliest followers, how it was printed, how it was "translated," etc. It was also interesting to read about how Mormon apologists have tried to use archeological data to support the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Where I am now, though, it's just, "This critic said this and then this other critic said this other thing..." Dull.

Anyway, I knew I'd have have some issues theme cooking with this book. Mormonism is an American religion, born in upstate New York, which is not, as far as I know, renowned for its culinary artistry. The ethnic background of Smith is pretty boring--kind of WASPy and not food-inspiring.

I first thought about using only ingredients that would be saved for food storage. Fun fact: it is a religious expectation that Mormons will keep a full year of food stocked for an emergency. This was originally due to end-of-times beliefs, but my understanding is that it is now just considered prudent. You can calculate your own storage needs here. I couldn't come up with anything especially interesting from those ingredients.

So, I did myself an internet search for traditional Mormon foods. The food that kept popping up was "Funeral Potatoes." They are starchy, cheesy, and processed. Good, ole American goodness. As Melissa (a non-Mormon, far as I know, but she's been known to keep a secret or two) introduced me to a very similar recipe, I think this is just a midwestern potluck type meal. But it works. Some people thought that we over-cheesed ours. I don't understand that concept, so I cannot agree.