Easter

Family food
Mother’s birthday before she goes off on a dig (she’s an archaeologist)
Friends for big Sunday lunch
Projected menu for 5 days of non-stop, house-party eating and drinking (spread out, not all on one day). I may not do the lot but here’s the plan :

* Crème de menthe and chocolate tart
* Stracciatella (Italian ‘egg drop’ soup) with cognac and chives
* Strozzapretti (in Italian: ‘priest stranglers’ – it is Easter after all) with duck ragu
* Mud crab and gruyere soufflés
* Home made Falafel: something for the vegetarians – will throw it to them over the fence.
* Cardamom hot cross buns
* Fazzoletti (It: ‘handkerchiefs’ of ricotta, fruit, rum and lemon zest in puff pastry)
* Sirloin with café de Paris butter and frites
* Lots of thin bacon, grilled, waffles and maple syrup – yes I have been too long in Canada
* Sour cream and chive blini with whatever – haven’t decided yet – maybe Tets’s cured Petuna ocean trout.
* Tarte au Citron

… and others I’ll probably think of on the fly.

And to keep the cook sane after a kitchen marathon?…. Ahhhh …. Long Island Iced Tea. I got maggoted on these in New Orleans on my birthday year before last, in a jazz club, at 2 am. So it’s on with Big Al Carson live at the Funky Pirate singing Sweet Home Chicago and get mixin’:

1 part vodka
1 part tequila
1 part white rum (Bacardi)
1 part gin
1 part cointreau
Big squeeze of lemon juice
Cola (if you can, use the New Zealand brand Phoenix organic cola – it’s gorgeous and they have nice business and production ethics) but only enough to turn the drink the colour of strong tea

Mix over ice. Drink. Fall over. Priceless.

For everything else there’s disaster card.

Will blog the food details when I recover! Have a Happy Easter, all, and may the Easter bunny bless you with many single origin 75% cocoa mass goodies.