Easter

Homey and comforting, this lovely pie comes together without much fuss. Thin egg noodles are layered with ham, cheese, and mushrooms; tiny peas scattered between the layers add a green burst of flavor. The dish is baked until beautifully golden, sliced like pie, and eaten at room temperature. This is traditionally baked on the day before Easter, to be eaten as part of the family picnics enjoyed on Angel's Monday, Italy's national holiday the day after Easter.

You can make zuppa inglese with all sorts of readymade cookies or cakes. Here it's made with colomba, Italy's traditional Easter cake. I love colomba's soft yeasty cake texture and fabulous buttery aroma. My favorite part is the top of the cake, which has a crisp, sweet almond crust. In Italy, the day after Easter is called Pasquetta, "Little Easter," or Il Lunedi dell'Angelo, "Angel's Monday." Italians traditionally go on a picnic that day, the first outdoor excursion since the start of winter. Dessert includes all the leftover Easter sweets like pastiera, colomba cake, or Easter eggs.

Italian wheat pies—filled with a rich ricotta custard studded with tender wheat berries—are associated with Easter celebrations, but according to author Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez, rice pies are just as classic and in her estimation, taste better. Eriquez had been making wheat pies for years when she had some extra dough a while back and used it to make a rice pie. "My family went berserk. They went crazy for it!" said Eriquez with a laugh. "Rice is more tender. It has a nicer taste than wheat," she explained. "If you give my family a choice, they're going to ask for the rice before the wheat." The pastry dough, pasta frolla, is delicate and tears easily, so if it softens, quickly chill it in the freezer for a few minutes. And don't worry about the tears; they patch easily.

Pizza rustica looks nothing like the Neopolitan-style pizzas we know so well in this country. That's because pizza in Italian means pie and not all Italian pies are made with a bread dough. Pizza rusticas tend to be double-crusted affairs enclosing a mixture of cheese and nuggets of various cured meats and sausages. With its rich filling, pizza rustica is often served at Easter as a way to celebrate after the lean eating during Lent. In this version, author Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez makes an open-faced pizza rustica.

The dressing for this salad is on the less acidic side: Once the tart pickled vegetables are in the mix, it will be perfectly balanced.

This recipe calls for fairly small racks of lamb, about a pound each. If your lamb is larger, the cooking time will increase, but you can get away with serving single, not double, chops.

Look for pea shoots at the farmers' market or at Asian markets (though any tender green will work in a pinch).

For some, the beginning of spring is marked by budding crocuses and blooming daffodils. For me, it's all about the rhubarb. After a long winter of baking endless nut, citrus, and chocolate cream pies, the emergence of those leafy pink stalks from the ground is a harbinger of the coming bounty of spring and summer fruits. Some wait until strawberries are in season a few weeks later to start baking with rhubarb, but I use it as soon as humanly possible. Toasted almond frangipane is a lovely, creamy foil to the tartness of the rhubarb, and adds an extra layer of flavor without overwhelming the star ingredient.

Garrett McCord, coauthor with Stephanie Stiavetti of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese, created this recipe exclusively for Epicurious. A completely traditional take on the ultimate comfort food casserole, we think this is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Plus, it's a flexible recipe that can easily be tinkered with to suit your family's mac 'n' cheese preferences. If you really like the crunchy topping, go ahead and add more—use an additional 1/2 cup of panko, an extra 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and a slightly larger handful of shredded cheese. Want more assertive cheesiness? Experiment with different Cheddars, including aged versions. And of course, feel free to add your favorite extras like raw or roasted broccoli or cauliflower, or crisp cooked bacon. For more on mac 'n' cheese, including tips from McCord and more mix-in ideas, see Classic Recipes: Macaroni and Cheese.

These light and airy biscuits owe their texture to three leavenings: yeast, baking soda, and baking powder.

The lamb needs to marinate overnight, so be sure to start 1 day ahead.

Osteen likes to frost these cakes while they're still warm. They'll absorb some of the frosting, which takes on the consistency of a glaze.

Onion flavor is layered in this dish: The greens have a brightness to balance the bulbs' sweetness, the cooking liquid becomes a buttery sauce, and fresh chives deliver a high note to finish.

Kids and grown-ups alike will be charmed by the Seussian whimsy of these delicious deviled eggs; Sam-I-Am won't have to ask you twice whether you'd like these! If you have a favorite pesto recipe, by all means, use it in the filling.

Baby turnips and the season's first onions are some of the BA Test Kitchen's favorite spring ingredients.

Risotto only sounds intimidating—if you can stir, you can make it. Poaching the eggs ahead of time should quell any lingering performance anxiety.

If using skin-on hazelnuts, rub them inside a clean kitchen towel after they've been toasted—the skins will slip right off. Serve the fish with a lightly dressed butter lettuce and herb salad.

Prep time: About 45 minutes
Slow cooker time: About 4 hours
Oven time: 20 to 25 minutes (can occur during the slow-cooking process)
Finishing time: About 20 minutes With this juicy, flavorful dessert (slightly spicy from the peppercorns), you get the best of all worlds: the fruit cooks slowly and develops complex flavors in the slow cooker, the lemony drop biscuits turn golden in the oven, and the juices reduce on the stovetop into a thick sauce that blankets the fruit. I loved this recipe so much that I "tested" it six times! As for my children, they coined it "rhubarb dessert" and now crave rhubarb as a result. This cobbler is especially good with vanilla ice cream.
For ease, zest the lemons before squeezing them for the juice. You can make the biscuits in advance, though the dessert is most delicious when the biscuits are served warm from the oven. Purchase the reddest rhubarb you can to yield a dessert with the most vivid color. Make sure to use the amount of fruit called for—it might seem like a large quantity, but the strawberries and rhubarb cook down a lot. If you'd like to serve the dessert family style, pour it into a 9- x 12-inch baking dish.

Ask for the smallest lamb your butcher has (like those from New Zealand), or buy a 3 1/2-4-pound piece of a leg.

When you’re feeding a crowd, this is your go-to recipe...a pre-cooked spiral ham with a make-ahead sweet and savory glaze. Delish!