Tradition, with Variations

I inherited the Easter menu from my mother.  I like it and have not seen reason to change it in the last fifty-odd years.  It's easy, little to no work, serves many, and it tastes good.  What more could one ask?  The dinner crowd was small this year:  Deb and Craig, and Cousin Mark and his lady, Dawn.  Time passes in a blink; not until we started counting did we realize it's been twelve years since Mark was here last.  It was Dawn's first visit.  I don't usually serve appetizers, but the dates stuffed with fresh goat cheese, wrapped with bacon, and broiled were such a hit at Christmas that I got the assembly line going on those little tidbits.  The combination of sweet, salty, and creamy is a real winner.  Another tweak to the menu was that instead of dyed hard-boiled Easter eggs, I brought out a jar of the spicy pickled Silkie eggs.  I can tell I'm going to have to make more of those.  In the past, Easter was one meal for which I would forgo salad, but Kellan and William had brought me a bag of mixed baby spring greens and pea shoots, sprinkled with bright yellow and orange flower petals and it was just too pretty not to share.  I tried a new recipe for dressing that was similar to a Caesar with Parmesan cheese that turned out really well.  I guess it's okay to try something new once in a while.  Something that never changes is my contentment when family is gathered at the table, or the pangs that strike when the last car drives down the hill.  "Love you!"