Spinach with Pickled Ramps

John wasn’t super hot on the pickled ramps, but I thought they helped cut through the richness of the fish we served this with.

Pickled Ramps

Ramps are quite the trendy food (and have been for years). I’ve only bought them once or twice at the market (I enjoy them, but don’t really get excited about them). This was my first time pickling them. I used a Martha Stewart brine that was ultimately a little on the sweet side for me but it does help balance out their pungent flavor.

Branzino with Morels

I splurged on morels at the farmer’s market Saturday. Originally I was thinking adapting something like this recipe and using them. But then John and I decided to go low carb until we shed a few pounds, so pea puree seemed a little starchy. What I ended up doing instead was very simple but really good. Pictured with spinach with pickled ramps (recipe to follow).

Cuban Fried Pork Chunks

John and I had an amazing fried pork dish in Key West at a Cuban restaurant (I think it was masitas de puerco), and he wanted me to try to recreate it at home. I had a lot of fun with the recipe. I didn’t think mine came out as juicy as what we had, but I suspect part of it had to do with my using too lean of a cut of meat. We still really enjoyed this meal. The leftover pork is great in tacos. I’m having some for lunch today as a quinoa bowl, with red wine vinegar, spinach, leftover peppers and a spoonful of black beans.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

Ridiculously easy appetizer.

Spring Salad with Butter Lettuce, Radishes, Snow Peas and Feta

Since there are only a handful of ingredients in this salad, make sure they’re high-quality. This was how I showcased the beautiful lettuce and feta I got from the farmer’s market.

Recipe Variation: Spatchcocked Roast Chicken with Compound Butter and Potatoes

In case there were some non-rabbit eaters in the group, I also roasted a chicken for Easter supper. I did a variation on my old compound butter roast chicken, incorporating some newer techniques I’ve picked up over the years.

Ina’s Rosemary Chipotle Nuts

These were quite addictive. They do stick to the pan as they cool, though, so you might want to immediately transfer them to a silicon baking sheet when you take them out of the oven. You can change up the types of nuts you use, depending on what you like or have on hand.

Rabbit Pasta

This was excellent! Highly recommend this recipe – you could probably adapt it with chicken thighs, but rabbit makes it a little extra special (and is pretty affordable, too). We got a little macabre this year and made rabbit for Easter dinner, alongside roast chicken and some other goodies.

Easy Lunches: Chicken, White Rice, Soy Sauce, Nuts, Scallions

Exactly what it sounds like. When John was single, he used to eat rice with soy sauce, peanuts and scallions for dinner sometimes. We have a bunch of leftover rice in the fridge, so I had the same combination, with a pan-seared chicken thigh on top. Satisfying and simple.