Food news antipasto

Are you the type of person who eats their chocolate Easter bunny ears first or tail first? Whichever way you do it, you are participating in the biggest US chocolate holiday by far: Easter dwarfs Valentine’s Day and Christmas in terms of chocolates sold. To keep you in the chocolate mood without adding any calories, The Guardian’s Annalisa Barbieri investigates three wonderful books about chocolate, one of my favorite subjects.

Sometimes the oddest combinations of ingredients can coalesce into a glorious medley despite any theoretical contradictions against mixing them together. This is especially true in the world of cocktails, as Punch Magazine explains. They explore oddball drinks that defy all logic, including the Yellow Parrot (absinthe, yellow Chartreuse and apricot liqueur), the Trinidad Sour (which uses a whopping ounce-and-a-half of Angostura Bitters), and the darkly-named Death Flip, a drink developed in Melbourne’s Black Pearl bar.

What is beloved by Dorie Greenspan and touted by a 117-year-old nun as the secret to longevity? The creamy and icy cold inside, marshmallow-y all around, and warm on the edges Baked Alaska. Dorie writes about this quirky, delicious dessert in the New York Times, offering up a recipe for a gorgeous, multi-hued version of the kitschy classic.

Massimo Bottura is expanding to the US, but not with a fine dining restaurant. The Osteria Francescana chef is opening a new location of his refetorrios, food waste-fighting soup kitchens and community centers. Bottura’s nonprofit operates multiple such centers across the world. The latest refetorrio will be in Harlem at the Emanuel AME Church, at 37 West 119th Street.

The symbolism of the humble egg is on display this weekend at Easter celebrations around the world. Seen as a mark of fertility, eggs are also associated with birth and renewal, and somehow they became associated with bunnies during this spring holiday. The pandemic made backyard chicken coops increasingly popular which means that eggs are on the menu more often than ever before. The Wall Street Journal discusses all of this and more, with several egg recipes to accompany the stories (free registration required).