I know EXACTLY when I had my last party, prepandemic. It was New Year’s Eve 2019, and I served a celebratory meal: blini with salmon roe, roasted salmon with hollandaise, spinach risotto, green beans almondine, and fennel gratin. The reason I know this is I’ve kept a log of parties since 2013. Today this menu seems over-the-top! But when my 26-year-old daughter, in a fit of nostalgia, wanted to recreate the Easter egg hunts of her youth (albeit in a teeny way), I happily acquiesced. Back in the day, we always had 50 or more friends, but this time we invited just a few families. I made a traditional lunch: Cliff’s glazed spiral ham, a pile of roasted asparagus, and my “famous” macaroni and cheese (well, actually Fine Cooking’s). I’m so out of the hosting habit that even this simple spread got the best of me. I managed to burn the Mac, but Mimi’s steady hand scraped off the layer of blackened breadcrumbs and saved the day. I’m not sure any of us will ever go back to our pre-Covid ways with elaborate (and large) parties, but it sure was fun having a few vaccinated folks over whose kids are too old for egg-hunting but gleefully hopped to it. Hope you all had a happy Easter.

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