There is a well-known Italian proverb that states “Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi,” which loosely translates to spend Christmas with your family and spend Easter with whoever you like, which in my opinion means friends. Personally, I spend all my holidays with friends, but Easter is the biggest gathering that I host at our house here in Hudson. It is still not big…
I started this tradition during the spring of 2021, when we all had just been jabbed. My mental health was incredibly dire, but somehow I got it together to pull off Easter outside and we were gifted an over 70° day. It was the first time anything felt celebratory in well over a year. I served slow-cooked lamb shoulder with big beans and there was a very good salad. Kelly made a beautiful lemon poppy seed cake along with other sweets and even the cherry blossoms bloomed in cooperation. It took me many more months to get my footing fully back, but Easter marked the beginning of a long road home.
This Sunday the same group will gather with a different menu. I’m making a lamb dish from Abruzzo, which was put on my radar by
. You simply braise lamb shoulder in some white wine and broth and then finish it with a mixture of egg and pecorino cheese, which emulsifies into a carbonara-like sauce. It could not be more up my alley. Dan will be preparing duck fat roasted potatoes to serve alongside. Helen is making a pea and mint soup to sip, Tara is making pierogies to start and will bring her very famous Tiramisu AKA Timmymisu (recipe below). The day won’t be 70,° but I don’t need it to be. It feels like (for this brief moment at least) everything is as it should be and for that I am grateful.
🎨 My dearest Helen Dealtry has been holed up at her studio the last few weeks working on a stunning new collection of anemone paintings. They officially will be available for purchase this Friday. Sign up for her newsletter to hear and see about collections ahead of launch. See the glorious sneak peek of what’s to come above. If that doesn’t scream spring, I don’t know what does!
🍷 I sipped on a delicious, chilled Spanish red and white field blend this weekend called Roig Boig. It comes from Catalonian winemaker Toni Carbo and his vineyard La Salada. It’s bright, dry and has great minerality. It would pair well with pretty much anything your serving this weekend.
📺 We just finished season two of Tokyo Vice starring Ansel Elgort. The show is inspired by the book of the same name and true events (!) written by Jake Adelstein. Adelstein is an American crime journalist working for Japan’s largest newspaper and he covers “the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza.” It’s addictive, nail biting and very fun.
This is a long (not hard) recipe, so I’ve opted to just include a PDF!
Next week you’re in for a real treat. Novelist and friend
has a new book coming out on Tuesday called The Sicilian Inheritance. It is not a cookbook, but instead a murder mystery rooted in her own family’s history. I’ve read it and it is SO GOOD. She has generously sent me some Sicilian recipes that she makes at home, which I’m excited to share with you all.Have a good rest of your week and Buona Pasqua.
With love,
Colu x
We Eastered hard all weekend, and I thought I wouldn’t need to eat again for some time, but now you have me craving tiramisu! In a trifle dish, no less.
Timmymisu puhlease!!