Easter & Passover Menu Planning with Stew Leonard’s
Plus In-Store Treats Designed for Somebunny Special!
Norwalk, Conn. – March 19, 2025 - Stew Leonard’s chefs are making it easy for shoppers to create fresh holiday menus this spring, whether their family gathering calls for a juicy Easter ham or a tender brisket for Passover. In the week leading up to Easter and Passover, demand for Stew Leonard’s ham and brisket will quintuple, selling more than 60,000 pounds of ham and 25,000 pounds of beef brisket, while lamb sales will triple, topping out at 55,000 pounds of lamb.
Notes Stew Leonard Jr., president and CEO of Stew Leonard’s, “My family always celebrates with a ham that’s been smoked locally right in New Haven, Connecticut. This year, we’ll order the Easter Ham Dinner for 8 from our catering team – for around $22 per person, what could be easier? Our chefs will also offer our Dinner for 4 options for smaller celebrations, as well as Turkey and Brisket Dinner for 8 meals for Passover.”
Stew’s culinary teams and catering experts are on hand to help alleviate the stress of holiday menu planning. Both Easter and Passover menus will benefit from a bevy of fresh spring vegetables to choose from in Stew’s produce department–including fresh asparagus and hand-picked, tender green beans from Florida – while Bethy’s Bakery will be overflowing with Easter breads, holiday-themed cakes, cookies, and more.
Stew Leonard’s Catering
Whether customers need an entire meal cooked from start to finish or just want a hand with appetizers, salads, or sides, Stew Leonard’s award-winning chefs prepare each dish with only the freshest and best ingredients available. Customers may start placing their Easter and Passover catering orders starting Wednesday, March 26, 2025, via stewscatering.com.
Customers who celebrate Easter may choose from the traditional Dinner for 8 options – including ham and leg of lamb – while the traditional Passover Dinner for 8 meals feature turkey and brisket. Surf & Turf, Filet, and Grilled Salmon round out the other Dinner for 8 offerings. Dinner for 8 meals are available as a Dinner for 4, and all dinners include a selection of mouth-watering side dishes, desserts, and more.
Stew Leonard’s Chocolate Bunny Milk
It’s back! Hop-hop-hoppin’ down the bunny trail just in time for Easter 2025 is Stew Leonard’s Chocolate Bunny Milk! Stew Leonard’s signature farm fresh milk is mixed with creamy milk chocolate to create a sweet, irresistible chocolate milk that tastes just like a classic chocolate Easter bunny.
A half-gallon glass jug of Stew’s Chocolate Bunny Milk will be available for $7.99 starting March 27 at all eight Stew Leonard’s locations. This year’s collectible glass jug is accented in white and a rich chocolate brown and features a pink-eared bunny.
In-Store Events
Each location of Stew Leonard’s will host their annual Easter Egg Hunt Egg-Stravaganza on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, from 4 – 5:30 p.m.! Tickets are free and children aged 8 and under will be given a bag to collect Easter eggs filled with candy and other prizes from the costumed characters throughout the store. After the Egg-Stravaganza is complete, parents are invited to take photos of their children with the Easter Bunny.
Tickets for all in-store events are available via Stew’s Leonard’s online events calendar.
Home Cookin’
For customers who prepare their holiday meals at home, the Leonard family and Stew Leonard’s chefs shared their family’s own recipes for the upcoming holidays:
Mrs. Leonard’s Naked Ham with Maple Pecan Bacon Glaze
Stew Leonard’s Naked ham is sourced from local farms in Pennsylvania and is antibiotic and hormone free. Mrs. Leonard loves to serve her Easter ham with a sweet glaze that includes maple syrup and brown sugar, making this dish a delightful combination of sweet and salty. Don’t forget to pick up Stew’s Country Hearth Bread for leftover sandwiches on Monday!
Ingredients:
7lb. Stew Leonard’s Naked Spiral Cut Ham
1 oz. ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
3 oz. yellow mustard
3 oz. honey
1 cup maple syrup
1.5 oz. pecans, chopped
1 cup cooked bacon crumbles
Pinch cayenne pepper (can be excluded)
½ cup hot water
Preparation:
Add sugar to water and dissolve. Toast pecans lightly in a sauté pan or on a sheet tray in 350 degree oven. Add cooked bacon and pecans to sugar mixture and coat everything evenly. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until incorporated equally.
Cook a 7lb. Stew Leonard’s Naked Ham at 325 degrees F for 25-35 min. Remove from oven and cover in bacon pecan glaze. Place the ham back in the oven for 35-45 min or until the ham pulls cleanly from the bone.
Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
A Leonard family favorite! Watch Stew prepare this tender, juicy, and easy lamb recipe on Stew Leonard’s YouTube channel.
Ingredients:
One 5 lb. Stew’s Fresh American Boneless Leg of Lamb, butterflied
3 Tbsp. Stew Leonard’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon grated Lemon zest
Juice of 1 Lemon, about 3 Tbsp.
2 Tbsp. minced fresh Oregano
1 Tbsp. minced fresh Mint
1 Tbsp. minced fresh Rosemary
2 teaspoons Stew’s Freshly Chopped Garlic
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preparation:
Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat (375°F – 400°F).
Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
Spread the mixture liberally all over the lamb.
Arrange the lamb on the grill grate, fat side down. Grill for 30 – 40 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 135°F for medium-rare. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
To serve, slice thinly across the grain.
Stew Leonard’s Roasted Brisket of Beef with Sweet & Sour Pan Gravy
A tender, juicy and mouth-watering dish that’s cooked low and slow.
Ingredients:
1 brisket of beef, approximately 5-7 pounds
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup tomato ketchup
1 cup tomato puree
1 ½ teaspoon sour salt
8 oz. granulated sugar
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
½ teaspoon whole dried thyme
1 pound cabbage, finely chopped
½ pound onions, finely chopped
¼ pound carrots, finely chopped,
¼ pound celery, finely chopped
2 cups beef stock
Preparation:
In a large pan, sear both sides of the brisket (about 3 minutes per side) in a ¼ inch of olive oil on medium-high heat. Place the cabbage, onions, carrots and celery in the bottom of a large roasting pan; place the brisket on top. Mix the remaining ingredients until blended. Pour the mixture over the brisket and cover all with aluminum foil. Bake until fork tender (about 2 hours). Remove the brisket and allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Cut against the grain of the meat and ladle generously with sweet & sour pan gravy.
Stew Jr’s Roasted Asparagus
The crisp texture and woodsy flavor of roasted asparagus make this a go-to, easy side dish from Stew Leonard Jr. Yields 4 servings.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. Asparagus
2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oils
1 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°. Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if desired, peel the stalks. In a shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with sides, toss the asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the asparagus in a single layer. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender and browned, shaking once during roasting. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and toss. Adjust seasonings to taste.
About Stew Leonard's
Stew Leonard's, a family-owned and operated fresh food store founded in 1969, has seven stores in Norwalk, Danbury, and Newington, Conn.; in East Meadow, Farmingdale and Yonkers, N.Y.; and in Cliton & Paramus, NJ. Stew's earned its nickname, the "Disneyland of Dairy Stores" because of its country-fair atmosphere, with costumed characters and animated entertainment throughout the store that keep children entertained while parents shop. Stew Leonard's legion of loyal shoppers is largely due to the stores' passionate approach to customer service: "Rule #1 -- The Customer is Always Right"; Rule #2 - If the Customer is Ever Wrong, Re-Read Rule #1." This principle is so essential to the foundation of the company that it is etched in a three-ton granite rock at each store's entrance. The company's culture is built around an acronym for S.T.E.W.: Satisfy the customer; Teamwork gets it done; Excellence makes it better; WOW makes it fun. For more information, visit Stew Leonard's website at www.stewleonards.com.
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