I had originally wanted to do something with brains for Easter, but my butcher was out. So I went with the next best thing. A baby lamb for Zombie Jesus to devour! Ain’t nothing quite compare to the taste of new birth. Plus the bloody red meat with the gooey green sauce was perfectly Zombielicious!

I had friends in town for the holiday from NC, and we started the day with Easter Egg bagels from The Bagel Store a.k.a. the most magical place on Earth.

Cannoli and Nutella cream cheeses made these a super yummy addition to the day! Then we went to the butcher to get the rack of lamb to go with the incredible pistachio pesto I picked up while in Italy last month!

Graham Ave Meat was hoppin with people and the butcher was happy to see me as always, and its always great to get to see exactly where your meat is coming from!

So, rack of lamb in hand, we headed back to the house to drop off and then went for a nice walk to Brooklyn Brewery and then Brooklyn Flea, where we split and devoured one of Dough’s Hibiscus Doughnuts so fast I didn’t get a photo. Then we headed to Surf Bar for one final cocktail before heading home to start dinner! Hopefully all the miles we walked made up for the amount of sugar we had had at that point, haha. Definitely time to stop by the produce market and get some veggies.

Serves – 3

Nutrition – Pretty damn good!

Ingredients –
2 racks of lamb
1/8 cup pistachio pesto – (you can see below recipe for a full batch should you want to make your own, just blend all ingredients together, and then add oil and blend until smooth)

1 1/2 cups pistachios
2 cup fresh genovese basil
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
a sprinkle of sea salt

1 package mixed green salad, thoroughly washed
1 bunch asparagus
1 container brussel sprouts
3 portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 TB roughly chopped fresh rosemary
1 TB olive oil
S&P

Dressing-
2 parts walnut oil
2 parts apple cider vinegar
1 part fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/8 cup finely chopped rosemary

This entire meal is grilled. Chop and toss your veggies in oil, rosemary and sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and black pepper. The brussel sprouts are going to take about 45 minutes in a grill pan, so those will go on first. When that goes on, take out the rack of lamb and sprinkle with S&P, and then rub each on all sides with pistachio pesto and let rest on the counter (away from any pets)

Should you not have a jar of your favorite pesto on hand, it is super easy to make, as shown above, OR you can use my recipe for walnut pesto which is also super delicious and will work well here.

When the sprouts have been grilling for 30 minutes, its time to put your asparagus, mushrooms, and rack of lamb, meaty side down on the grill. The lamb will need to be grilled on each side for 2-3 minutes and then taken off and tented with foil until it reaches your desired temperature. I personally like rack of lamb medium rare. Rare lamb is too bloody for me, and overcooked lamb is just pointless. It should be red in the center and gradient out into a pretty pink with charred edges.

When all is ready, toss your dressing ingredients in your mixing device of choice. (Or prepare in advance) I received a cool Aerogarden salad dressing maker as a gift from them, and I have to say, A – It’s surprisingly awesome, and B – Who knew major companies still existed that were so pleasant? Anyways, layer your salad, greens + dressing + grilled veggies + a little more dressing. Plate with lamb and settle in for deliciousness!

Sometimes, it gets dark and I really wish I had an actual camera instead of an iPhone. So just trust me that with some flowers, wine, and candles, Easter Dinner at my house was intimate and beautiful. : )

NOM NOM. I totally ate an entire second plate identical to this one. It was finger-licking good! Thea meat was PERFECTLY grilled and the salad was flavorful and fresh, and without a starch to weigh us down, we saved room for dessert!

It wouldn’t be a Holiday meal in my neighborhood without a fabulous dessert from Fortunato Brothers! They do it UP for each one, and for this Easter, they had all their stellar Holiday cakes and pastries along with some beautiful marzipan sheep, and my favorite…a pear, complete with worm!

We didnt get that, but we DID split a piece of their ridiculously light and fluffy chocolate covered cheese cake on a stick

as well as their famous pinoli and pistachio cookies! To go with the lamb, of course!

All in all, it was an amazing day for food, love, and friendship, and we finished it off with a nice, bloody slasher flick. HOORAY! What did YOU eat for Easter/Passover?!