Yellow, Yellow Burst of Sunshine Tablesetting

Here's a bright idea for your Easter table, or a Spring event. This bold, burst of yellow will welcome everyone with a big, happy grin.  The colors here are simple.  Yellow, white and pop of cobalt blue.  It's a commitment to a color theme that makes this jump with joy.  So start with what brings you joy.  Since I found white tulips and yellow daffodils, I made that the theme of the my table.  Using white dishes and a bright yellow and white table cloth, that set the stage for a monochromatic setting that still sprang forth with a huge punch of color. 

Lay out the tablecloth, and see how you feel. If you want that extra hit of color, now's the time to add the next layer.  It could be a runner or placements or a fabric overlay.  Whatever floats your boat.  Since there is blue in my dining room, I decided to introduce that accent color by using placemats.  This also helps delineate each guest's place.  With so many place settings I didn't want to fully cover my beautiful tablecloth, so I flipped the placements 90 degrees, letting them hang over the table.  This takes up less table space, gives you a landing pad for the plates, while covering the tablecloth where people are bringing food towards their mouths.   A little trick to avoid spills on your beautiful linens!

Next, place the flowers to help define the space a bit more, then set the charges and dishes onto the placemats. 

A effortless stacking of the salad plates make up the next layer. Followed by a simply folded napkin with the utensils on the top.  I mixed up the water glasses, since I don't have enough of one kind for a big dinner party. In fact, I quite a fan of the mix and match look.  So I took that not match-y theme a step further and decided to alternate the napkin set up as well.  Every other setting had the napkin under the salad plate.  Lastly, add some small votives around the table. No need for candle sticks in this set up as there is plenty height with the flowers.

One place setting with napkin on top, the other goes under the salad plate.  If you notice, I have two types of salad plates.  I used the under method on the ones with the gold rim and leaf design.  Why not show a pretty plate?

If you don't have these colors, use the idea of monochromatic layering to create your own bold, burst of spring. And welcome both spring and your guests to the table.  Below were some of last year's Easter food offerings from appetizers to dessert.

Pizza Rustica

Fennel with olive oil, sea salt, and crushed pepper

Roasted Leg of Lamb with onions.

 A Feast of roasted vegetables.

Piled high fruit filled Pavola was the fresh dessert to accompany the traditional Pizza Grano. (I used Ina Garten's Pavola recipe.)

Citrus Salad Bowl - Served One by One

With Easter fast approaching, you might need some ideas for dinner.  I thought now might be a good time to share a little wisdom, and fun trick I learned from hosting last year's Easter dinner.  It was a small gathering with both our immediate families and we decided to keep it really simple with a select few offerings.   When it came to the salad, I got it stuck in my thick skull to serve it individually plated instead of one big bowl.  This idea sprouted from a clear vision I had on how the salad should look. Little did I realize that the individual plating and serving before the main meal would work out even better than I could have imagined.  

Traditionally, I make a big salad and place it out with the main course.  Without fail, everyone says, "Wow, that looks amazing but I'll have salad later.' Then they dive into all the other offerings, getting too full, and thus leaving lots of yummy salad left over.  This brilliant, new plan allowed me to serve the salad before the main course came out. An added bonus was timing, as the hunger meter was beginning to tick, with our guests starting to want more after appetizers.  Perfecto mundo!  cue the individual plates and witness the entire salad course disappear.  Now, I'm no magician, but this was a nifty trick in having no left over salad and plus I got them to eat greens!!!  I wholly recommend plating your salad and forcing your guests to enjoy your nutrient rich offering.

The salad I served was a variation on one that I've made many times.  This time I scaled back on some ingredients and focused on the Boston lettuce with citrus fruits to keep it clean and fresh, like a burst of Spring.  I think this is a light, colorful salad to serve for Easter or brunch during this time of year.  It is one of those salads that can actually be prepped a day in advance, making the day of your event much easier.  Each of the items below can be cut and stored in containers, then just assembled 15 minutes before serving.

Your starting line up of glorious greens and oranges colors of nutritious, deliciousness.

Ingredients

(makes approx. 10)

Salad                                                                                                     
3 heads of Boston lettuce, leaves carefully separated
3-4 red grapefruits, segmented
4 oranges, segmented
3 avocados, cubed
4 Persian cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, sliced
1 c fennel, shaved
1 c celery, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Scallion, thinly sliced

Dressing * 

1/4 c chives, chopped
Fennel fronds, chopped
1/3 c Juice of grapefruit & orange
1/2 c Olive oil
Salt, pepper

* This mixture using only the citrus juices is quite mild. If you want more punch, add a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Instructions

Cut the cores from the lettuce so the leaves can be separated and kept whole.  Wash and set aside to let dry.  (If prepped the day before, make sure they are dry, then store them with a slightly damp paper towel and place them in a container or plastic bag in the fridge.)

Segment the citrus fruits, collecting all their juices and reserving for the dressing. Shave, slice and dice up the remaining ingredients and combine them in a bowl.

Chopped and ready to go. The most important part of an assembly line, having everything prepped.

To prepare the individual plates, place 2-3 full lettuce leaves in a bowl like shape on the plates.  Then add several pieces of grapefruit and orange to each plate.  

Lettuce bowl

Assembly line awaiting their topping and a rain of citrus juices

In a separate bowl, combine the citrus juices, oil, salt, pepper and some of the fennel fronds. Whisk together. Since this will be individually plated and not all tossed in a bowl, I recommend combining all elements minus the lettuce and the citrus and lightly dress these items, reserving some of the dressing to drizzle and finish off each plate.

Top with the sliced mixture and drizzle the remaining dressing over each salad topping with some of the fronds.  Serve immediately. 

Drizzle some dressing over top as the final touch.

Have I mentioned just how pleased I was serving the salad this way?  Instead of praying our guests leave room for salad at the end, it was a slam dunk that they ate up every last bite.  Truly savoring this super fresh, vitamin packed salad first.  And because it is light, they had room for the rest of the meal, too. A ploy I may just employ a bit more often. I hope you do, too.

Side note:

This salad tastes equally delish if served in one large bowl.  You can decorate this any way you like. You can toss all the ingredients together for a green and orange rainbow of color.  Or you can present it similar to the individual plates, placing all the lettuce on the bottom and focusing all the other ingredients in the middle. Any way you toss it, you and your guests will get a fresh bite of salad that will brighten more than your senses.

Print Ready Recipe

Pizza Rustica - An Italian Easter Tradition

"Tradition!  Tradition! "  As Zero Mostel so famously belted out in Fiddler on the Roof, it is what grounds us to our own history.  I love family traditions. They fill me with memories and smiles, good times and laughter of being together as a family.   And for me, a big part of that was being in the kitchen with any one of the 3 incredible women who inspired my love of cooking and baking.  My Italian grandmothers and mother: Powerhouses in the Kitchen. As a little girl I would watch them and help whenever and wherever I could.  I studied, learned and committed most of what they did to memory. Thankfully, some recipes, like this one, Pizza Rustica were written down, so I can keep the tradition going.  Today's recipe is brought to you by these two amazing woman, my grandmothers.  

Trofimena Carmela Annunziata
aka - Mildred Majewski, mom's mom
Photo Credit: Paul Majewski

Carmela Marie Giovanna
aka - Mildred Perri, dad's mom

The 3 Powerhouses of the Kitchen - Literally making Pizza Rustica.  That's my gorgeous Mom. I can't believe I found this photo!!!  A treasure.

For the past few years, I have been making Pizza Rustica for Easter.  What is that, you ask? Well, pizza, in Italian, simply means pie.  Rustica means rustic. Duh! So this is a rustic pie packed with cheeses and meats served typically at Easter to break Lent.  For those who might not know, Lent is that period of time prior to Easter when Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat (which I do daily anyway, so no sacrifice for me, hehe). Thus, this 'more torte than' pie celebrates the return to eating meat. It was a definite tradition in our home growing up and one I'm trying to keep afloat. 

It is rich. It is dense. It is a delicious and decadent pie. One that my parents, in particular my dad, absolutely love.  Nothing brings me more joy than making traditional recipes for them and seeing their happiness.  I relive the moments of my childhood. This recipe is not difficult to make, just a little time consuming.  You may see versions where the filling combines all the ingredients together. That is the easy way out.  But my grandmas patiently and lovingly created layers. So that’s what I do.  Plus, I think it looks beautiful that way.  (Funny thing is my mom and I were in heated debate about this methodology.  She swears her mom used the layering method, of which I have no doubt.  But claims my dad's mom mixed it all together.  I remember them both layering it, so that's that. Take the time to layer it and do it the pretty way.) 

I like to think of this as a three part recipe.  1- Make the dough.  2- Make the filling. 3- Then layer the meats and cheeses.    Here we go.

Ingredients

Dough
2 lb. Flour (approx. 6 cups)
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 c. milk
1 c. oil
5 eggs
dash of salt & pepper

Combine all the above ingredients in a big bowl. I add the eggs last. Once all the dough comes together, knead on a board until dough is smooth.  Divide dough into two sections (2/3 and 1/3).  Roll out the 2/3 portion and place the dough into a 9" x 3.25" liter spring pan. (Because the pie is so dense and heavy, I suggest using a spring pan so you can remove it.  If you don't have one or don't mind serving it from the baking pan, then just us the largest pan you have. My grandmothers like making this in a deep pan, but you can make it in a long rectangle. You will just have less layers.)

Combining into a ball.

Kneading until smooth

Roll it out to size.  If the dough breaks, just patch it.

Now onto the filling.

Filling
½ - ¾  lb. Prosciutto, sliced thin
½  lb. Genoa salami (sliced thin)
½  lb. Soppressata (sliced thin)
1 whole Basket cheese (farm fresh cow's milk cheese made & left in the basket)
3 lbs. Ricotta cheese (whole milk)
6 eggs
fresh parsley, chopped (optional, another debate. sometimes it was added, sometimes not)
Salt

Cheesy deliciousness

In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, basket cheese and parsley with the eggs and season with salt.  

You have to crack some eggs in this recipe

Get all the meats items ready for assembly.  Begin the layering by first adding a layer of the cheese mixture, spreading evenly to cover the bottom. You want about 1/2" of the cheese mixture. Then add a layer of the prosciutto, followed by another layer of the cheese mixture. Next layer the salami, repeat the cheese layer. Then a layer of soppressata, and repeat the process until you fill up the pan.

First layer of goodness going down.

Layering up and up, overlap the meat so there is a good amount.

I use an offset spatula to spread the mixture around.  It makes it a lot easier.

Roll out the remainder of the dough a little larger than the top of the pan.  Place over the top of the pan. Trim the excess but leave enough to seal. Then using two fingers, pinch to crimp and seal the top.

Since the dough is quite pliable, it's much easier if you roll it onto the rolling pin and they roll it onto the top.

Trim the excess

Using two index fingers, pinch the dough together to create a seal AND a pretty border.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.  Let rest and cool before lifting it up through the springform pan.

This monster of a "pie" feeds an army, so we usually serve it as an appetizer with very few, or light apps to accompany it.  Like olives, or fennel with olive oil and course salt.

Our line up of apps one year.  Roasted red peppers, burrata with fresh tomatoes/basil, fennel with coarse salt/pepper/oil and the of course, the towering Pizza Rustica.

Layers of rich deliciousness.

Serve up a slice. Yes, an Italian Easter Family Tradition... but delicious anytime.

Recipe Print Friendly Version

Food photos in this post credited to: www.asithappens.me

Never Too Many Tulips

Nothing says spring like tulips.  A burst of bright, cheeriness is what springs forth. They come in an abundance of colors and different sizes, too. They are a welcomed arrangement in my house anytime, but even more ideal for Spring, and especially bright for an Easter table.

If you are not hosting a special dinner, then just go for a simple arrangement of all one color in a wide mouthed vase to add a burst of life to your home.  

However, if you are hosting and want to glam out your table, Go big and bountiful with your tulips and add some daffodils.  You actually don't need a ton of flowers, just several vases to help trick the eye into thinking you spent more!

Tulips, daffodils and baby's breath

For this arrangement, I knew I wanted the tulips in the main center vase with the daffodils lined up an either side. This meant I needed one wide mouthed vase and 6 small ones. I found these tall heart vases on the cheap at the Christmas Tree Shop.  You can use whatever vases you have handy, even simple glass jars will do the trick.

I first began by arranging the daffodils in the smaller vases.  Note that when you cut these down a bit you will have the outer stems left.  Keep those on the longer side and add them in to give height and another element of greenery.

Once you get all your smaller vases done, line them up to ensure that they all look the similar. The idea here is simplicity in sameness.

Then move onto the larger vase.  I started by placing frogs at the bottom of the vase, arranging rocks around.  I know I am the author of The Grumpy and Careless Frog books, but not that kind of frog. A floral frog is a pronged piece that helps to keep stems in place.  Since I own a few, this is what I use.  If you don't, you can put tape across the mouth of your vase in a checker board pattern.  This will help hold the flowers upright. This link will show you how using regular clear tape.

Floral frogs set amongst decorative stones.

Push the stems into the frog prongs.

Keep the extra daffodil stems for the main arrangement as well.  Don't throw these out just because they don't have a flower attached to them.  They have their own beauty and offer a great contribution to this arrangement.

Leftover stems reserved so you place these in among the daffodils and the tulip arrangement.

Once you have all the tulips in, fill in with the baby's breath to create fullness.  Try to fill all the open spaces so the entire mouth of the vase is completely filled with flowers. Use longer ones for the middle section, and cut some shorter for around the edge of the vase. This creates dimension. 

Then using the leftover green stems, strategically place them throughout the arrangement.  

The combination of these 3 elements using 2 colors keeps the arrangement simple and focused while still feeling bold, bright and abundant.  Happily place these on your prettiest table linens and watch your guests smile.

Prohibition - Restaurant & Speakeasy

Miami is like a second home to us.  As many of you know, JuanCarlos and I met there, got engaged there, honeymooned there and have an apartment there.   So, naturally we like to visit there. Of late, instead of cooking at home as much we have been testing out Miami's restaurant scene, which is really upping its game. 

On our last visit to the sunny city while my parents were visiting at the same time, one of our intentions was to show them a few new restaurants to try.  I immediately thought of Prohibition, a vibe-y hot spot in the Midtown district of Miami.  Don't let the name fool you.  The only thing prohibited here is to not have a good time.  I thought they might enjoy it too.   It's a throw back to the Speakeasy lounges of the Prohibition days, hence the name and offering all the energy of that era. It's interior decor is moody yet inviting.  It's a mix of Hollywood glam and Miami chic.  The crowd is a cool combo of both young and old alike, where everyone feels right at home.  

This was not my first visit. The first two times I frequented this cool hangout was for drinks and snacks at the bar. Both times I thoroughly enjoyed the food, drink and atmosphere.  This time we were there to check out the joint for a sit down, relaxed dinner.   We were hoping for a good meal and good vibe.  And it didn't disappoint.

The menu seems to follow a new style of offerings.  Small and large plates for sharing.  What I do love about this concept is that with so many interesting items on the menu you don't have to just choose just one entree and hope you chose wisely. You can choose several, share them and enjoy the tastes of all.  

We started off with the fresh Sea Bass Ceviche and Shrimp Cocktail.  The ceviche was fresh indeed, beautiful balance of Sriracha sauce and citrus, served with a generous portion of plantain chips.  The shrimp cocktail was classic and good.

Sea Bass Ceviche with the right amount of heat and citrus. And a generous amount of crunchy plantains.

Shrimp Cocktail, fresh and yummy.

Then came the homemade Spicy Meatballs with parmesan crostini.  The meatballs, made of beef and veal, were tender and flavorful.  The sauce had a sweet note provided by the caramelized onions followed by a spicy hit. Both team Perri and Casas enjoyed them, however given the traditional Italian roots of the former, felt that the sauce was a bit too spicy, yet ate them up just the same.

On to the larger plates.  We ordered two from this category to share.  Out came two stunning dishes. 

Lamb Chops, which my mom loves, were tasty and tender.  A smooth red wine reduction pooled around a heaping helping of chunky mashed potatoes scented with a bouquet of rosemary.  Just the bones were left.

Lamb Chops were finger licking good.

Pan Roasted Salmon was cooked perfectly and set atop a bed of warm potato and crab salad. The salmon had a gorgeous crust of spice rub. The salad was flavor power-packed with a well balanced combo of potatoes, crab, grape tomatoes, scallions and herbs.  I really enjoyed this unique salad mix. 

As we settled in and were enjoying all our selections, we chatted it up with the manager Amin, who is Iranian.  JuanCarlos immediately perked up to tell him how much he loves making Iranian rice dishes. To which Amin then informed us that the chef is also Iranian and one of his specialities is the Cilantro Rice dish.  He graciously offered us a plate to try.  As we each took forkfuls of the fluffy herb scented rice, we tried to figure out all the flavors but were told that the chef is secretive about the ingredients.  That said, I am pretty sure there was dill, and of course, as the name aptly states, cilantro.

Although we were all stuffed and completely content, Amin said we couldn't leave without a dessert.   Bring on the Tres Leches Cake that was lovingly soaked in 3 milks. Some versions of this cake can be very sweet due to the condensed milk addition but this one was not.  It was just the right amount of sweet topped with bananas and toasted marshmallow for an extra special touch.  Even though we thought we couldn't eat another bite after our magnificent meal, we polished off the entire thing.  

Tres Leches Cake... before.

Tres Leches Cake... after.

As our meal came to a close, we sat back to enjoy the some soulful sax tunes while sipping on Port 20, a fortified wine of tawny, nutty flavors. I noticed the table next to us had a large group that seemed to be equally enjoying themselves. I asked the woman what she thought of her meal.  As expected, her group thoroughly savored all their choices.  And although she doesn't normally eat octopus she ordered it.  Much to her pleasant surprise, she absolutely loved it.   Now that says a lot.

The days of prohibition may be a thing of the past, but visiting Prohibition Restaurant & Speakeasy should be high on your list to enjoy the great, food, drink and cool atmosphere of this happening addition to the Miami restaurant scene.

For more info on all that Prohibition has to offer visit them at:

3404 N Miami Ave
Midtown Miami  33127
(305) 438-9199
info@prohibitionmiami.com