Brutti ma buoni — ugly but good — is a favorite Italian expression, and a pretty fair summation of my life as of late. But in spite of how messy my days look and feel, the season of beauty has arrived. It’s time for decking the halls, for cookies dressed in sparkling sugar, for beef Wellingtons crowned with golden caps of puff pastry. And in contrarian fashion I’ve concluded it’s time to tell you about one of the very ugliest recipes in my repertoire.