by Francesca Di Meglio

If you'd like to make your own Pasquetta tradition, invite some friends, grab a blanket, and head for the great outdoors. Here, a couple of menus that could work in Italy or wherever you call home:

Menu 1: Packed and Perfect
Antipasto: Focaccia bread with some sliced Italian cheese (provolone would work) and other cold cuts or hard boiled eggs

Main Course: Already cooked omelets made with eggs, cheese, onion, and one or two of your favorite fillers (mushrooms and bell peppers are delightful additions)

Side Dish: Simple Salad - chopped lettuce and carrots with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some sea salt

Dessert: If you can't get gelato at a nearby shop or stand, then bring pastiera with you. This wheat pie is the traditional Easter dessert of Neapolitans everywhere.

Menu 2: Grilled and Great
Antipasto: Bruschetta on the grill. To wow the picnickers, put a slice of brie cheese on each slice of crusty Italian bread and let it melt on the grill and then top each with grilled cherry tomatoes that have been doused with olive oil and a dash of oregano.

Main Course: An assortment of grilled meats that you cook when you arrive at your destination and set up your portable grill

Side Dishes: Grilled zucchini and artichokes. My brother is famous for his 2-inch strips of zucchini that are seasoned with olive oil, lemon, and sea salt before grilling for just a minute or two on a medium flame. There are numerous recipes available online and in cookbooks for making a mean grilled artichoke. Just be sure not to let them get too chewy by overcooking.

Dessert: Fruit - some of it on the grill - would be a nice way to finish this meal. Pineapple is especially tasty grilled. But fresh, raw cantaloupe would be refreshing, and easy to carry, as well.