Quick Bite: Easter Brunch: 8 Delicious Dishes

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter the bottom and sides of the casserole dish and dust with the breadcrumbs. Set aside. In a large sauté pan over low heat, sauté onions in olive oil very slowly, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 20 to 30 minutes. Do this in two batches if needed. Remove the onions from the pan and add the sausage. Sauté the sausage until done. Drain, crumble, and set aside. Mix the ricotta, flour, eggs, cheese, and pepper. Add the cooked onions and sausage, and mix again. Fold in the spinach leaves. Fill the casserole dish with the mixture and bake for 60 to 90 minutes. (Cooking time will depend on the shape of your dish). If it begins to brown before it is cooked through, cover the top with foil and continue baking. Casserole is done when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place the roast in a roasting pan and cut 10 to 12 deep slits all over the roast with a sharp paring knife. Stuff these slits with the cloves of garlic (if the cloves are very large, slice them lengthwise) and pieces of mint and rosemary. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, and wine together. Pour over the roast and rub over the surface. Use ground salt and pepper to taste. Roast for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until meat starts to brown. Lower the temperature to 350ºF for the remainder of the cooking time. Roast should cook about 10 to 15 minutes per pound, or until the internal temperature is 125ºF in the center. Let cooked meat rest 10 to 15 minutes. Thinly slice and serve with pan juices. Chef’s Note: Although I prefer boneless because of ease of carving, this can also be done with a bone-in leg of lamb.

Working with only the smallest fresh artichokes, remove tough outer leaves; cut a thin slice off the bottom of the stem, and trim the top of the artichoke, removing the thorns. Cut each artichoke in half lengthwise. Rub all cut areas with lemon to keep artichokes from turning brown. Poach in simmering salted water with the 1/2 lemon, until tender (about 10 minutes). Strain and reserve. Discard lemon. Poach peas in simmering salted water until tender. Strain and reserve. Sauté onion in extra virgin olive oil very slowly, on a very low flame, for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until translucent. Stir four to five times during cooking, taking care not to brown them. Toss artichokes, peas, onions, and mint together and season with salt and pepper. Serve chilled or at room temperature. *If baby artichokes are not available, the next best thing is frozen artichoke hearts. Canned artichoke hearts can also be used, but the flavor and texture will be slightly different.

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place the first four ingredients in the bowl of a processor* and pulse a few times to mix. Add the frozen butter and run for one minute or so until butter is incorporated. Add the mint and pulse again to mix. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, setting aside about one tablespoon for glazing before adding the cream. With the processor running, pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients through the chute. As soon as the liquid is in, turn off the processor, pulsing once or twice to finish blending. Dough should not form a ball. Do not over-mix. (If you prefer to do this by hand, sift the dry ingredients together and cut in the butter. Mix in the mint. Add the prepared liquid (as above) and mix quickly, using just a few strokes. Avoid over-mixing.) Drop mixture onto a lightly floured surface, gather the dough, and pat into an eight-inch circle. Cut into eight wedges and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Brush each scone with the reserved egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Serve while still warm with butter and jam.