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Finally! Spring! The time of year we all come out of our physical and mental hibernation. Spring marks a time of rebirth, and what better way to start a new season of hope and sunshine than by gathering your loved ones around the table. There’s plenty to celebrate this time of year: Mother’s Day, graduations, baptisms, and long-overdue family reunions. And I can tell you from personal experience, nothing brings a family closer than good food!

Spring Family Gathering Menu
Many steps of these recipes can be done ahead of time, with the recipes then requiring time in the oven or a few finishing touches right before serving. You may need to double the recipe on a few of them depending on the number in your crowd.

 

• West Indies Salad: A simple and unusual starter. Watch as your guests and family flock to the bowl of savory deliciousness, thereby forced to start interacting—the perfect icebreaker!

• Tenderloin of Beef: Nothing feeds a crowd more elegantly than a tenderloin. Yes, it’s pricey but when you think about how many people one tenderloin feeds it comes out to be rather reasonable. Having the grill going also gives guests another fun gathering place to spread out and enjoy the outdoors. Count on plenty of opinions chiming in as to when you should take it off the grill! Err on the side of rare if you have to. You don’t want to overcook this beautiful piece of meat.

• Potato Horseradish Gratin: You’ll want to eat this up with a spoon—save some for your guests.

• Sweet and Savory Spinach Salad: I chose this for the strawberries and citrus that are in season around Easter, but if you use this menu during the summer, take advantage of the beautiful tomatoes and make my Sweet Tomato Pie from LuLu’s Kitchen instead of or in addition to the salad.

• Classic Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream: A universal favorite. The strawberries are so pretty and smell so divine this time of year. Prepare plenty. The cake is delicious, but it’s the strawberries and whipped cream piled high (more than a dollop!) that make this dessert a star.

 

 

West Indies Salad from LuLu’s Kitchen – Serves 4 to 6

1 pound fresh jumbo lump blue crabmeat

Salt to taste (about ½ teaspoon)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)

½ medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, sliced into paper-thin half moons

⅓ cup vegetable oil

⅓ cup white vinegar

⅓ cup ice water (with 4 to 5 ice cubes)

1. Place half of the crabmeat gently on the bottom of a glass bowl or plastic container, gently picking out any shells. Sprinkle with just a smidgen of the salt and pepper.
2. Cover the crab with a layer of onion.
3. Repeat steps with remaining crab, salt, pepper, and onion.
4. Pour oil and vinegar over the layers.
5. Place ice cubes in a liquid measuring cup. Fill with water until volume reaches ⅓ cup and pour over crab.
6. Cover and marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.
7. When ready to serve, shake bowl gently, or if using a leak-proof plastic container, turn upside down and back upright to gently mix salad.
8. Serve in a shallow bowl with juice and serve saltine crackers on the side.

 

Grilled Tenderloin of Beef from LuLu’s Kitchen – Serves 8

1 (10-pound) beef tenderloin, trimmed of outer layer of fat and silver skin

Coarsely ground black pepper

One Heart Marinade (recipe follows)

White Horseradish Sauce for serving (recipe follows)

1. Rub beef generously with pepper.
2. Place beef in a shallow dish and cover with the marinade. Let it sit for 1 hour, then turn it and marinate another hour. Once beef is finished marinating, save marinade for basting.
3. Heat the grill to 350 degrees.
4. Place tenderloin on grill directly over heat for 7 minutes to sear, basting once with marinade.
5. Turn the tenderloin and grill for 24 minutes, basting once.
6. Turn off the heat under the thinner end of the tenderloin. Reduce heat to low under thicker end of tenderloin and continue to cook until you reach desired degree of doneness: 145 degrees for rare and 160 degrees for medium rare—don’t go beyond that for this quality piece of meat.
7. Let meat rest for 10 minutes prior to slicing; this allows the juices to flow throughout the tenderloin before being pierced.
8. Cut into ¼- to ½-inch rounds and arrange on a platter with a bowl of White Horseradish Sauce in the center.

One Heart Marinade:

1 cup teriyaki sauce

4 tablespoons crushed garlic

½ cup mirin or sake (or use white wine, red wine, or vermouth)

2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 to 6 dashes hot sauce (or to your taste)

 

Whisk all ingredients together.

 

White Horseradish Sauce:

2 cups sour cream

½ cup prepared horseradish

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 to 3 dashes hot sauce (or to your taste)

1 teaspoon freshly chopped rosemary, optional

 

Combine all ingredients, mix thoroughly, and refrigerate.

 

Potato Horseradish Gratin from LuLu’s Kitchen – Serves 8 to 10

6 medium potatoes, peeled and finely chopped (about 6 cups)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ teaspoon black pepper

⅔ cup heavy cream, chilled

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place potatoes in a heavy stockpot and cover with water. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly tender; drain. Place potatoes in a greased casserole dish.
3. In a heavy skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add bell pepper, green onion, and ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Sauté until just barely soft. Set aside.
4. In a heavy saucepan, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Just as it begins to sizzle, gradually whisk in flour. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 2 minutes (you do not want it to brown).
5. Gradually add milk, continuing to whisk or stir until sauce begins to thicken.
6. Add sautéed vegetables and stir.
7. Add cheese, garlic, and pepper, continuing to stir until cheese is melted. Pour mixture over potatoes.
8. Bake for 30 minutes or until warmed through.
9. Remove from the oven and preheat the broiler.
10. While potatoes are cooling, beat cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks.
11. Add horseradish and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to cream and mix well. Spread over potatoes.
12. Place under broiler for a few minutes or until browned; watch carefully to prevent burning. Serve immediately.

 

Sweet and Savory Spinach Salad from LuLu’s Kitchen – Serves 4 to 6

2 bags fresh spinach

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup pecan halves

2 teaspoons sugar

½ red onion, very thinly sliced

2 oranges or 1 grapefruit, peeled and sectioned

1 cup sliced strawberries

⅓ cup pitted and sliced oil-cured olives

¼ cup crumbled Stilton cheese

⅓ cup Balsamic Bleu Dressing (recipe follows)

1. Thoroughly wash and pat dry spinach; trim off stems. Place in a large salad bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel and refrigerate.
2. In a heavy skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add pecans and toss to coat. Add sugar and stir continuously until pecans are browned and glazed. Remove pecans from the skillet and transfer to paper towels. As the pecans cool, the sugar will harden like candy.
3. Immediately before serving, toss the spinach with the dressing.
4. Top with onion slices, citrus fruit, strawberries, olives, and Stilton cheese. Sprinkle with candied pecans.

Balsamic Bleu Dressing:

½ cup olive oil

½ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate.

Classic Southern Pound Cake with Strawberries from Gumbo Love – Serves 12 to 16

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup whole milk

2½ teaspoons vanilla extract (or use almond or any other flavored extract)

Fresh whipped cream (recipe follows) for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan (a tube pan is preferred, but if you use a Bundt pan instead, you’ll need to make sure to leave 1 inch of space at the top of the pan, so you may end up with a small amount of leftover batter).
2. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the sugar over the sliced strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve the cake.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the remaining 3 cups sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs one at time, beating well after each addition.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, starting and finishing with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix to incorporate.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Serve each piece with a spoonful of the chilled strawberries and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.

Fresh Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or flavored liquer

3 tablespoons sugar   

1. Place a medium metal bowl in the freezer to chill.
2. When ready to prepare the whipped cream, place the cream and vanilla in the chilled bowl. With an electric mixer, whip the cream on medium speed, gradually adding the sugar. The cream will begin to thicken.
3. Whip the cream until it begins to form stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwhip or the cream will separate.

Classic Pound Cake recipe excerpted from the book GUMBO LOVE by Lucy Buffett. Copyright ©2017 by Lucy Buffett. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Life & Style. All rights reserved.

Pre-order Gumbo Love for more delicious family recipes from Lucy, and if you haven’t already been using LuLu’s Kitchen, check out what you’ve been missing!