This is the traditional cheese tart my family makes for Easter. It's served at brunch on Easter morning with lots of other eggy, bready, cheese-y dishes. Every year as it's tasted, everyone comments on the flavour of the filling, the crust, the texture - Is it too dry? To wet? Too sweet? Not enough lemon? Too much cinnamon? My version usually passes the test, or I haven't heard about it if it wasn't as good as Grandma's! The speculation over how it turns out could be mitigated if there was an actual recipe to follow, but as in most traditional foods, the outcome is determined by how closely you have paid attention to the past and how many times you have attempted it yourself. I have an Italian Easter Brunch Menu story that features this tart in the upcoming April issue. I developed a standard recipe for it so maybe the debate can be settled once and for all - but knowing my family I'd doubt that! This Ricotta Cheese Tart along with Ricotta Cookies, a rich Egg and Parmesan Soup with Croutons , Taralli, and a savoury Frittata with Bacon and Green Onions are all part of my family's Easter Brunch.

You'll find the recipes for these dishes in the April 2009 issue of Canadian Living.

The recipe for this delicious Swiss Chard Double Crust Pizza is online and is also a favourite part of our brunch. The tart I made for the magazine isn't as deep as the one in this picture, but I designed it to fit in a spring form tart shell to make it easier to handle. Sometimes this tart is made without a crust at all. It is traditionally cut into diamond shapes and can also be baked in a pie dish. I like to use a big 10 inch cake pan so that it comes out high and majestic but it makes it a bit tricky to finish the edge and get out of the pan. The pictures show how I do it.