When I started writing the menu for this month, all I could think about was torta pasqualina, one of my favorite dishes from Liguria. This traditional Easter dish is a beautiful double-crusted pie filled with spinach, fresh ricotta, and whole hard-cooked eggs, and I've been wanting to make a Tartine-ized version of it for a while now. I mean, can you even begin to imagine how beautiful it'd be with a gorgeous puff pastry crust?!?

I tried to build a Ligurian springtime menu around the torta, but couldn't make it work. Then I expanded my territory to Provence, but still couldn't get all of the pieces to fit. You see, there are just so many things to consider when I put together the menus for these dinners, from stove capacity at the bakery (not much), to which ingredients I can get from my favorite local farmers without blowing the budget, to how much I can realistically get done in the few hours I have after I arrive at Tartine in the afternoon, to which types of dishes hold up to, and even flourish in, a family-style service. I do my best to cook simple, honest food, but counterintuitively the simplest things can often require a frustratingly immense amount of work and forethought.

I finally found inspiration at Canal House Cooks Lunch, one of my favorite blogs. I haven't been able to get this image out of my head for a month, and when I glimpsed back at it this morning, the theme for the dinner became clear: The Chicken and the Egg. What could be more perfect for celebrating springtime?

We'll finally have that torta pasqualina, some delicious version of roast chicken, piles of spring vegetables and if the stars align, soufflé for dessert. Come join us for dinner!

photo credit: the year in food, by kimberley hasselbrink

the details

who: the fab folks at tartine and me

what: The Chicken & The Egg: a three course family-style dinner celebrating the harbingers of spring

where: tartine bakery (600 guerrero st. sf, ca)

when: wednesday, april 18th at 8pm

why: to highlight the joy of good food and good company

how much: $50 plus wine and gratuity. cash only, please!

to reserve: please fill out this form to submit your name into the lottery. due to the overwhelming popularity of our dinners, space is extremely limited so we now select guests by performing a lottery. we'll email lottery winners by wednesday, april 11th; if you don't hear back from us, please try again next month!