Good morning! You’re likely reading this newsletter on what has recently become one of my favorite weekends of the year—which is interesting, because Easter was once my least-favorite holiday. But last year, I fell in love with a Jewish man, and after a few months of dating, we met each other’s families on this weekend. He brought me to Passover Seder on Saturday, and I brought him to Italian-American Easter on Sunday. It’s a cute little chapter in our history, and, as cheese balls as it is to say, I'm super excited for us to have kids that we get to shuttle back and forth between holidays on this weekend with us.
This year is a little different than last, though. I’m writing this newsletter on Saturday, and later tonight Ben and I are hosting Seder for both sets of our parents. So we’re cooking all day. (He’s currently slicing celery and dill for our matzo ball soup.) That means that my family recipes are getting made today, which doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for introspection, filming, and writing.
So in lieu of a normal newsletter, here’s a roundup of some of my favorite bites recently. I’ll be back soon with some more delicious things: Think pot roast, French silk pie, and spaghetti carbonara. Buona Pasqua! Chag Pesach! I hope you’ve had a tasty weekend.
This bucatini alla Nerano that I love to make around this time of year when zucchini is plentiful. I love it with a lot of parmesan and basil.
A Popeye’s classic chicken sandwich that I ate in 5 minutes during the closet sale that my friends Hannah and Aemilia hosted (that we’ll likely be repeating this summer!).
The entire omakase menu from Sushi Lin in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, but mostly the fatty tuna topped with uni and caviar. Perfection.
Basically everything I ate during my birthday meal at Casino, including their cosmopolitan, which was excellent.
A pantry pasta I made last week for lunch: Boil ditalini until just al dente. While it’s cooking, beat an egg and add a lot of parmesan. Drain the pasta, reserving a little pasta water, and return it to the hot pan with a knob of butter. Add in the egg and parmesan mixture and stir vigorously, adding a splash of water when needed, until you get a creamy sauce. Top with lots of cracked pepper, parsley, and toasted breadcrumbs.
A classic deli sandwich of turkey, provolone, mayo, mustard, lettuce, and tomato that I ate with a Mexican coke and a side of potato chips.
Fried wontons in garlic sauce and duck lo mein at Wo Hop that Ben and I inhaled after a date to the Poster House.
The vegan quinoa taco salad from Beatnic, formerly By CHLOE (RIP), that I have been eating for literal years and am *so* happy is right around the corner from my office.
A salt bagel (not toasted, ofc) with scallion cream cheese washed down with an iced hazelnut coffee—cream, one sugar—from Bagel Boy in Brooklyn.
And finally, I made myself a little pasta with pesto cream sauce a few weeks ago. Just heat 1/2 cup of heavy cream until warm, not boiling, and toss in 1/4 cup pesto (my recipe rules if I do say so myself) and a knob of butter. Stir to combine, then toss with your pasta and a little splash of pasta water. Delicious.
xx MDR