Photo: Erix!/Flickr

LOCAL BITES

Easter Brunch
The best thing about Easter is not the marshmallow chicks or egg hunts –- it has to be the sprawling brunch buffets many restaurants save for just this day. Be sure to do your research, though, because each Easter meal has its unique perks. Check out your options for this Sunday at Boston Chefs.

More-Than-Meat Meet
Do some shopping for Easter this Saturday, 12-2pm, at 11 Olive Square in Union Square, Somerville (this is the parking lot of Metro Pedal Power). In addition to Stillman Farm and their humanely-raised, organic meats, you’ll find spring green house salads from North Star Farm of Westport, MA; Narragansett Creamery yogurt; native frozen strawberries and a selection of Yacht Club Sodas from Centredale, RI; and, Vianne Chocolat, with selections of  eggs, bunnies and baskets made locally from high quality ingredients and local dairy. To top it all off, City Feed and Supply of JP will be giving out free coffee and a chat.

Don’t Forget!
Harvard will be hosting a free lecture with Fred Kirchenmann, a national and international leader in Sustainable Agriculture, on Monday, April 25th at 4 p.m. at Harvard’s Server Hall.

The Art of Home Cooking
JJ Gonson has been teaching this class for years, but it only comes ’round once a semester. This Monday, April 25th, is your singular chance: 6-9 pm at the Cambridge Center For Adult Education. In JJ’s words, “[i]t’s wikked fun.” You’ll cook “like crazy,” talk about local food and ingredients, then repeat. With beer, if you like. ‘Something like six spots left as of this morning.

Winesday
It might be tough to get over Wednesday’s hump, but the Museum of Fine Arts is out to give you a little push. One a month, the museum hosts what it calls Winesdays. For $25, sip wine from a featured winery. An expert will be present to help you “learn to taste” the wines. This Wednesday, April 27th, sip from 5:30 – 7:30 at MFA’s Bravo restaurant. Call (617) 369-3474 for more information.

Grains
Also on April 27th, food writer Maria Speck will be in town to discuss her new cookbook Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. For you carb-lovers, this means farro, barley, polenta and wheat berries cooked in a new American way. The talk, sponsored by the Harvard Food Literacy Project, is free and open to the public, and will be held at 5:30pm, Emerson Hall 210, Harvard University. Samples from the cookbook will be on hand, too!

Jazz on a Plate
Here’s the latest in the world of pop-up dinners: Robert Harris of A Season to Taste will be serving a four-course meal to the sounds of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute at the Multicultural Arts Center, April 28th. A $100 ticket gets you into the cocktail reception, dinner, live music and a one-year individual membership to the Multicultural Arts Center. View the tempting menu here, including Cider-Brasied Double J Farms Grass-Fed Beef Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata, and Chilled English Pea Soup with Crispy Crab Cake and Exotic Mushroom Relish.

So many Pancakes
Springfield, MA: where the pancakes are plentiful. PRK is looking out for you – we’re telling you about this event early so you can plan. Saturday, May 14th, pull up a chair in Springfield it’s annual World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast. Tables and chairs seem to go on for miles, stacked end to end down Main Street. In 1987, the second year of the breakfast, tables stretched for 3,700 feet. At only $3 for adults and $1 for children, the popularity is not surprising – you get pancakes, bacon, orange juice and a coffee for that low price.

NATIONAL TREATS

Home & Awhey
Do you ever get that itch to make absolutely everything from scratch? Really, everything – even your cheese? Take these tips and recipe from Culture Magazine to make feta in your own kitchen.

Coffee Art
“One latte, please. Make it a dragon top.” Creating a masterpiece in espresso and steamed milk is an art. See what it takes to make beautiful designs in foam at Salon, including a slideshow of winners from Salon’s Great Coffee Art contest. Featured there is the grand-prize intricately-poured dragon.

Finally a Fiancé
Can’t get him to pop the question? Buy a chicken and get cooking. Glamour magazine editor-in-chief Cindi Leive told Patty Lee at NY Daily News how this recipe for roast chicken with lemon pushed the boyfriends of three colleagues and over 70 readers to propose. Or, rather than read, watch Ina Garten make the magic chicken in this video.

Food TV
From Steve Cavendish of the Chicago Tribune read this list of the top ten food television shows he said you should be watching. Number one? Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

A Meal Cooked by the 1927 Yankees
Well, not quite. But you’ll get the point when you read this story out of Chicago about the good works emanating from creative culinary ideas to benefit a beleagured Japan.