Easter was always a special day in our lives when my sons were young and we were a family of five.  The boys were dressed alike, of course I had a new hat with matching dress or visa versa and we all went to church and shared Easter Egg hunts and Pot Luck brunches at one of our houses.  It was a wonderful of great friends, good food and happy children chasing around the yards in a frenzy looking for the best egg or surprise, as we hid trucks and etc.

As the years passed and the boys grew and we moved away from that community, Easter has become quieter.  I no longer have that great group of friends to say to “Come on over and bring the kids”, so it looks differently these days.  My youngest son came to dinner, so I had a lovely morning cooking.

Paul Hollywood’s Chocolate Almond Cake is wonderful with a cherry infusion and chocolate ganache frosting.  After a taste we sent it next door to my neighbor having a bigger get together.  Dinner was simple with a butterflied, rolled and stuffed leg of lamb.  Using Giada De Laurentils recipe, it was a tad dry, so would add a stock bath in the pan next time.  The Arugula Salad sitting on Ricotta was tasty, but I would use a lot less dressing than she called for in her recipe.  The Artichoke Risotto was perfection.