Here is a round up of my favorite Spring recipes form this blog. Mysteriously, these posts did not get many views back when I originally posted them. The first four recipes make a perfect Spring dinner party menu. The last three recipes are good dishes to make in advance for lunch or a quick weeknight dinner.

A Perfect Spring Dinner Party Menu

Kerthy’s Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Bacon & Spring Onions

My friend Kerthy is a masterful salad maker. She has never fed me the same salad twice. Each salad she feeds me is the best salad I’ve ever eaten. She brought this salad to my house for the most perfect Spring dinner party in 2015. You really do need ripe, local strawberries for this one. You can find the recipe for Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Bacon and Spring Onions at this link. Also, this post has stories about strawberries and other strawberry recipes.

Paul is a Sweet Pea Soup

This recipe is the invention of my friend Paul. He is sweet pea and also one of the very best cooks I know and also the partner of Kerthy. He brought this soup to the perfect Spring dinner party in 2015. This is a quick adaptation of a time consuming sweet pod pea recipe using edible sweet shell peas. It is so smart and delicious. You can find this clever recipe for Sweet Pea Soup at this link.

Chinotto Braised Pork with Baby Turnips

This was my contribution to the perfect Spring dinner party of 2015. It’s an herbal riff on the classic American dish of pork braised in Cola. Chinotto is an Italian cola with a bitter orange flavor that has a lot more complexity than a coke. This dish also has fennel, leeks, orange peel and rosemary. The pork and turnips become very tender, flavorful and aromatic. You should serve it with polenta to soak up all that good sauce. Find the recipe for Chinotto Braised Pork with Baby Turnips at this link. This whole dinner party is nice served with Negroni or Campari and soda. Campari is also flavored with bitter orange.

Cardamom Cashew Cream and Rhubarb Rose Parfait

This luscious vegan Spring dessert was not served at our perfect Spring dinner party. I made it for a Decadent Eight Course Vegan tasting Menu in 2016. But it would go perfectly, especially if your guest eat meat, but do not eat dairy. This is really good dessert for a dinner party, because you make and freeze it in advance. Find the recipe for Cashew Cardamom Cream and Rhubarb Rose Parfait at this link.

Quick meals for Spring

Baked Pistachio Herb Falafel with 2 Sauces

I like to make these bright green herby treats in advance for lunch with lettuce leaves and yogurt tahini sauce. This post also has a recipe for fennel yogurt tomato sauce to serve with the falafel for a quick dinner. If pistachios are too expensive (hello tariffs!) you can substitute with sunflower seeds. Find the recipes for Baked Pistachio Falafel with Two Sauces at this link.

Colorful and Delicious Black Rice Bowls

This recipe was published in the summer, but it’s a good Spring time dish too. You make a bunch of delicious things in advance and everyone picks which ones they want in their rice bowl. In my case “everyone” were the kids in my cooking camp. This is a winner for any situation with a large group of picky eaters. The components are…

• Cooked black rice
• Something pickled. I like radishes, but store bought Kim chi can represent this category
• A roasted green vegetable like green beans, broccoli, snap or sugar peas
• A raw vegetable like zucchini noodles or cucumbers, lightly dressed
• Some fresh herbs
• marinated protein (not pictured here, but we made tofu)
• A creamy herb dressing (this one is cashew basil)
• Chili crisp (optional but very good)

Follow this link for specific recipes for these components . You will also find photos of the rice bowls the kids at cooking camp made. Also, if you have a kid in NYC who wants to come to this summer’s cooking camp follow this link.

The Salad I Eat Almost Every Day

Somehow I never tire of this salad. It’s especially nice in the spring when lettuces and radishes are local and excellent. Its just a crunchy salad with a miso yogurt dressing and spiced pepitas. I like blue cheese on it, but that is optional. Check out the recipe for the salad I eat almost every day at this link.