The Scottos' delicious Easter dinner recipes

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium saucepan, then reduce the heat and keep at a bare simmer. Melt 3 tablespoons butter with the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until every grain is coated with butter and oil. Then add the wine and stir until absorbed. Add 1 cup of the broth and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding broth, about ½ cup at a time, stirring frequently and making sure all the liquid is absorbed before adding more broth. Cook until the rice is just tender and creamy but still al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes. You may have leftover broth.

Stir in the asparagus, shrimp, 3 tablespoons butter and lemon zest. Cook over low heat while stirring until shrimp are heated through and cooked, about 1½ minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the fresh thyme, toss well and serve immediately.

To make the polenta, heat milk and heavy cream in a large pot and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly add the polenta stirring constantly for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat, stir in mascarpone and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the spring peas and pearl onions, cook onions in large pot of lightly salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Transfer onions to shallow baking pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Bake until tender and golden, shaking pan occasionally to turn onions and brown, about 10 minutes. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over low to medium heat. Add garlic and quickly sauté for 1 minute. Add the onions and peas; simmer until onions and peas are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Add 4 butter, stir until melted. Season with salt and butter.

For the lemon gremolata, gently mix together the parsley, pine nuts and lemon zest in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

To make the lamb osso buco, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a nonstick pan, cook pancetta over medium heat just until fat is rendered. Remove pancetta from pan and set aside. In a large sauce pot, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, add onions, carrots, fennel and garlic. Cook very slowly until very soft. Transfer vegetables to a roasting pan large enough to hold the lamb shanks in a single layer. Season shanks with salt and pepper. Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large pan until very hot. Sear shanks until browned. Transfer shanks and cooked vegetables to a roasting pan. Add pancetta, red wine, veal stock, thyme, lemon and orange zest. Cover roasting pan with foil and roast for 2 to 2½ hours until the meat is tender. Remove osso buco and use the same liquid for the sauce, skimming the fat off of the top. Serve osso buco over creamy polenta with spring peas and pearl onions. To finish, garnish with gremolata.

For the orange marinade, peel outer skin of orange with no white pith attached. Using a very sharp knife, cut skins julienne as fine as possible, the thinner the better. Remove white pith from oranges with a sharp knife so that all is remaining is the whole orange, pith free, then slice oranges into ½-inch thick slices. To marinate oranges, arrange oranges in one layer in a shallow glass dish. Sprinkle cinnamon, star anise and scraped vanilla bean over oranges slices. Pour Grand Marnier and vanilla extract over orange slices, cover and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.

To make orange caramel sauce, combine sugar and orange juice in a stainless steel sauce pot. Bring to a boil and when the sugar is light brown in color, remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and swirl until melted then add marinade liquid and orange zest. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.

To serve, place the marinated orange slices in serving bowls, add a scoop of vanilla gelato, pour warm caramel sauce on top and garnish with the roasted walnuts.

To make pastry dough, mix or pulse together flour, sugar, and salt with a food processor. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add eggs and pulse until eggs are incorporated and dough is formed. Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap for about 1 hour. Dough may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

To make torta rustica, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, add all the cheeses, eggs, and heavy cream. Mix thoroughly then fold in the prosciutto and salami; mix well. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 1/8-inch thick round about 18 inches in diameter. Fit dough into a 9-inch springform pan, leaving a 2 to 3 inch overhang. Into the shell, add the cheese meat mixture. Carefully fold the extra dough over the top of the filling toward the center of the torte, leaving the top partially opened. Brush dough with egg wash. Bake torta in middle of oven for 1 hour, or until top crust is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.