I threw a casual Easter dinner party on Sunday for my friends (and myself) without a big family supper to attend. I’m lucky enough to have friends who love to cook and bake, so the pressure to put together an incredible meal is lessened when I know my guests are going to contribute something amazing. I find that if I make a solid main course, or component of a main course, and ask people to essentially garnish as they see fit I somehow always end up with a cohesive and delicious table of food.

Lela brought some seasonally appropriate devilled eggs (my favourite!) made with creme fraiche instead of mayo and then adorned with capers and paprika. I doubled my recipe for Eggplant Parmesan and made two huge trays of it, serving the hot tomato sauce on the side (there was also garlic bread but it didn’t get into the photos). Finally, Jessica made brownies full of Cadbury mini eggs and Emily made what is now one of my favourite cookies: chewy, not too sweet, and full of oats, coconut, and shredded zucchini.