Easter 2012

 

Easter is one of my favorite holidays - I remember as a kid, dying eggs, getting an amazing Easter basket from my mom, having the whole family over for a huge Easter dinner, and of course Easter egg hunting.  I was always so excited to wear a new Easter dress (usually one my mom handmade for me) and to be surrounded by family and yummy food.  In general, most people equate the holidays with copious amounts of home cooked delicious food, and for me, this Easter I intend to honor that stereotype with an incredible, fresh, Italian meal inspired by one of my family's favorite NYC restaurants; Marchi's.

The story behind Marchi's dates back to when my parents started dating.  One night after work, my dad took my mom there with a bunch of their friends and it has been in our family's favorite restaurants list since then.  It's an Italian restaurant located in the Murray Hill section of NYC (East 30's) - where the menu is forever the same.  Price fixed, menu fixed, and ALWAYS consistently delicious.  5 courses of incredible, non-traditional Italian food, that will leave you sated but not stuffed. (I'm pretty sure Marchi's should throw me some cash for this incredible plug I am giving them....)

So I digress from my gratuitous praise of Marchi's and now will explain the menu for 2012's Easter Sunday!

To start, I want everything to be fresh and uber Italian so there is only one option for where to go food shopping: Eataly.  Eataly is Mario Battali's answer to Italian market heaven.  Fresh produce, breads, mozzarella, pasta and meats makes this market a FoodSAZm dream as well. Soooo here's the Marchi's inspired, Eataly filled, Easter menu:

Starters: Fresh Antipasti: celery, melon, tomatoes, salami, and other goodies (maybe some Burrata and Italian bread!)

Salad: Marchi's "Lorenzo Salad" consisting of tuna fish, capers, chopped celery, parsley, and red cabbage.  Below is a picture of the first course served at Marchi's (thin sliced salami, the Lorenzo salad, and a huge plate of fresh fruits and veggies).

 

 

Lasagna: the *Pièce de résistance* - for this I will be making homemade pasta with my mom's pasta machine and will attempt to recreate Marchi's veal bolognese that literally melts in your mouth. Below is a photo of Marchi's lasagna with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese on top!

 

Meat: This is where Justin is put to work...he will be creating a meat course that he says he will figure out during the Eataly shopping process (yum!) -- note: Eataly is perfect for inspiring the palate and the mind into creating delicious dishes! At Marchi's the third course is a pan fried Whiting fish, and the fourth course consists of thin sliced veal and chicken with fresh veggies on the side.

Dessert: I haven't yet decided on what dessert will consist of (to tell you the truth, I am just so focused on making homemade pasta, I think I will be exhausted after that feat...).  At Marchi's they serve a huge bowl of fresh fruit, a fried lemon tart and Crostoli (Pictured below: crisp, deep-fried twists sprinkled with powdered sugar -- my dad and I are obsessed with this portion of the meal!) Maybe Eataly will inspire an Italian dessert for me to attempt!

Stayed tuned for a blog post, documenting this holiday's culinary undertakings and for photos and step by step instructions on how to recreate a Marchi's dining experience in your own home :)

HAPPY EASTER everyone!!