Looking back to Easter 2018

I wrote this in 2018, when our Easter was unexpectedly different, things we had taken for granted were no longer possible:

For the first time in too many years we have been at home for Easter; why does this make me sad? It makes me sad because for the last however long, every Easter my cousins and families and our family have gone away together to a big house – mostly a different one every time, and had a great Easter week together. This year for various reasons we haven’t been able to, so we’ve each been at home.

Our little family decided to make a special effort to have a nice meal together, just the four of us, not the twenty-four plus of us! When we go on the Family holiday each family takes it in turns to cook on one night – the first night we always have sausages, the last night we have left overs and roast ham and jacket potatoes. Sunday roast dinner is always cooked by cousin Ruth who makes a magnificent meal, several different joints, as many vegetables as you can think of, Yorkshire puddings, onion sauce, apple sauce, gravy… Fabulous!

Anyway… today I cooked a leg of lamb and a chicken (daughter doesn’t like lamb) I was a pale imitation of Ruth and we only had sweet potatoes, roast potatoes, peas and carrots as vegetables… and no Yorkshire puddings. I did however make onion sauce, although as it happens only me and my son like it – me more than him. I have to say I was very pleased with my onion sauce, and it complimented the beautiful lamb perfectly although my husband said the same about his mint sauce!

Here is how I made my onion sauce:

• 2 oz butter (not margarine) – add more if necessary
• 1 smallish onion, finely sliced (if you prefer chop it, I like slices)
• 1 oz plain flour
• 1 pint milk (although you may need less according to how you like your sauce)
• salt
• black pepper
• sherry

1. melt the butter and add the onions, salt and pepper
2. cook on as low a heat as possible so the onions don’t colour but become meltingly soft – if necessary add a little more butter
3. add a small amount of water to bring out the juices but really only a very small amount
4. add flour and stir well so there are no lumps and it cooks through (otherwise you get a strange texture)
5. gradually add the milk until you get it the consistency you like, keep stirring to avoid lumps
6. add sherry to taste and allow to cook so the alcohol evaporates and you just have the flavour
7. if you have to keep it warm while other things finish cooking, put a butter paper on the surface to stop a skin forming.