169 replies to this topic

[Pam R]

The table:

Before we eat dinner, we go through the Hagaddah, retelling the storey of the Exodus from Egypt. The hagaddah is also a guide for the evening, telling us when to drink the four glasses of wine, when to eat the matzo, bitter herbs, have dinner, etc.

I tried to drink this instead of wine:

Ugh. Too sweet. Couldn't do it.

When it was time to eat everybody helped themselves to chopped liver and gefilte fish while I got the soup.


The little yellow circles are soup croutons from Israel. They are made by Osem and are awesome. They're made from potatoes and get soft rather quickly, so the trick is to add a few, eat them, then add more. Repeat.

Then, everything else:




Missing the turkey.

My plate:

[Pam R]

Dessert

Last week I baked some chiffon cakes at work:


I do all the baking, then my mom does the finishing. The pecan chiffon cake I baked turned into a Shmoo:


Along with some cookies I did at work:


Some fresh fruit and peach tea:

(Also pictures 1.5L 7-Up from Israel)

[heidih]

The meal looks and sounds lovely. Leftovers?

The soup croutons sound intriguing. I like contrast in my soup - will keep an eye out for them.

Your soup has a lovely yellow color - any secrets in your method?

I meant to ask when you first posted the shot of the chopped liver - can you give us an overview of your recipe?

Thank you for taking the time to share this holiday with us given the huge time crunch you are in.

[Shelby]

Those soup croutons are the first thing that caught my eye on the table. They look like nekkid spaghetti o's. I'm dying to try them. Must google and order some. I wonder how they shape them so small and round like that?

[Pam R]

The meal looks and sounds lovely. Leftovers?

Plenty! After a piece of matzo & butter with a few slices of fruit earlier this morning, lunch was a small bowl of chicken soup, a slice of brisket and piece of kugel. There's enough for a few more meals.

The soup croutons sound intriguing. I like contrast in my soup - will keep an eye out for them.

The croutons are very popular. During the year they are little square-shapes and made from wheat - and called "shkedi marak" which means soup almonds. They hold the crunch a little better than the Passover potato version, and I like both, but I think I prefer the Passover circles.

Your soup has a lovely yellow color - any secrets in your method?

Thanks, Heidi. I don't do anything special -- lots of chicken, onions, carrots, parsnips & celery. Then some dill and salt. Here's my eGCI chicken soup demo . I know some people leave the skins on their onions and claim it adds the yellow colour, but I've never done that and still get yellow soup every time.

I meant to ask when you first posted the shot of the chopped liver - can you give us an overview of your recipe?

First, for liver to be kosher it has to be broiled (click here for explanation). Once it's been broiled and cooked through, it's ready to go. We use a meat grinder and mix it with lots of onions that have been really well cooked in oil or chicken schmaltz (until soft and uniformly browned), hard boiled eggs and salt. Beef/calf or chicken livers can be used. Some people hand-chop the liver but we make too much for that. Even at home, making a small batch I'll use a food processor, just pulse it until it's the right texture for you.

Thank you for taking the time to share this holiday with us given the huge time crunch you are in.

My pleasure! Thanks for reading and playing along.

[Pam R]

Those soup croutons are the first thing that caught my eye on the table. They look like nekkid spaghetti o's. I'm dying to try them. Must google and order some. I wonder how they shape them so small and round like that?

With a machine? This is the first time I've seen the round ones. Last Passover they were square. I have no idea if this is the reasoning behind it, but I wonder if they changed the shape so they wouldn't be confused with the regular, square ones.

[Pam R]

Blintzes
First you have to make the bletlach (wrappers). I have two recipes that I like, one using matzo cake meal and one that uses potato starch. The cake meal recipe uses sugar and is closer to a crepe than the potato recipe. Today I went with the potato starch recipe.

Ingredients: water, potato starch, eggs and salt.


I whisk it together in a measuring cup, let it sit for 5-10 minutes and whisk again before using:


Heat a small, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush with oil, then pour a little batter into the pan. Swirl the batter around then pour any excess back into the measuring cup. Whisk the batter before each blettle.


Cook until the edges start to release and the top of the wrapper is dry. Use a spatula to loosen the blettle and turn the pan over -- the blettle should release easily. Repeat until you've used all of the batter.

[Pam R]

Thinking about what to cook tomorrow. How do we feel about blintzes?

Love me some blintzes, but please make them potato.

Since you asked so nicely, I made potato blintzes for you and cheese blintzes for me. Then I forced myself to have both for dinner.

For the potato filling, I use red potatoes and yellow onion. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1/4's then into a pot of cold water. Boil until tender. While that's going, brown some onions (ok, lots, not some). I used grapeseed oil.


Drain the potatoes, add the onions, salt, black pepper and some garlic powder and mash 'em.


For the cheese filling, I wanted to keep it simple.

Pressed cheese, eggs, salt and a little sugar. You can add more flavourings to this -- I make a version with a little vanilla and orange zest, but not tonight.

Now we're ready to roll some blintzes.

[Pam R]

Assembly













All done. Stick them in the fridge until ready for dinner.

[Pam R]

Dinner was salad and blintzes (salad had a little of my favourite feta cheese in it).



To finish the blintzes, they need to be browned. Use oil of your choice or butter. If I'm making potato blintzes to go with a meat meal, I'll use oil -- since tonight was dairy, went with butter.

A little sour cream (also from Western Creamery) on the potato blintz and some of the strawberry/blueberry sauce I made for the matzo brei yesterday on the cheese blintzes. Delicious!

[Kent Wang]

This is really a whole different world of cuisine that I know little about—and right here in North America!

Have you been to Israel? Are the Passover food traditions any different there?

[Pam R]

This is really a whole different world of cuisine that I know little about—and right here in North America!

Have you been to Israel? Are the Passover food traditions any different there?

I have been to Israel a couple of times, but never during Passover.

I'd guess that it's easier to keep Passover in Israel than it is here. They actually have restaurants that are open during the holiday (actually, so do cities with large Jewish populations like NY and Miami). And from reports I hear there are lots of products that are available there and not here (I bring in over 1000 products that are kosher for Passover, but it can't compare.)

There are different traditions and influences there. In Winnipeg, the Jewish population is mostly Ashkenazi -- from Russia and Eastern Europe. So this group traditionally doesn't eat kitniyot (discussed earlier -- no legumes, corn, seeds, etc.). This is a very simplistic explanation- Israel has a much larger mix of Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews. For the most part the non-Ashkenazi Jews eat kitniyot and their food is influenced by the countries and regions they come from: Spain, Portugal, Morroco, Iraq, etc. From what I understand, the lines are a little more blurred in Israel. In Canada, canola oil is considered kitniyot and not used by Ashkenazim. In Israel, from what I understand, it's used by many.

We have a family friend here who is Israeli but her parents are from Morocco. I've been lucky enough to eat in her home during Passover and she's an amazing cook. Lots of spices and flavours that aren't used much in Ashkenazi cooking.

If anybody cooks Sephardi foods please tell us more! I'd love to get the chance to spend time in Israel learning more about Sephardi and Mizrachi cooking.

[Pam R]

I'm not sure what's on for tomorrow. The store is open, so I'll be at work. As I mentioned earlier, I'm waiting for my condo to be finished -- I'm hoping to get down there tomorrow if possible. If I can, I'll get some pictures of my new kitchen.

I also have a non-Passover related question. I've been looking for kitchen stools for months and can't find anything I like. Anybody have good ones? They need to be comfortable as they'll probably be the only seating in the kitchen. And I'd rather not have to sell my stove to pay for them. Why is it so hard to find good stools?

[PopsicleToze]

I also have a non-Passover related question. I've been looking for kitchen stools for months and can't find anything I like. Anybody have good ones? They need to be comfortable as they'll probably be the only seating in the kitchen. And I'd rather not have to sell my stove to pay for them. Why is it so hard to find good stools?

I've had a lot of luck finding things from Ballard Designs (Click Here)

Congratulations on your new condo! Happy decorating
Rhonda

[David Ross]

Pam-are there any reliable online sources for schmaltz or is it pretty easy to render it at home?

[Dejah]

Pam: It's been wonderful to read your blog, about traditions and cuisine I know nothing about. It's especially a pleasure to have someone blogging from the Canadian prairies.

[Rebecca263]

Pam, I find Ashkenazi food so exotic- and I never can wrap my mind around the idea that our Syrian food might be considered exotic by anyone-it's just plain food.
For Passover this year we hosted a second seder for one of my daughter's friends- I made a typical Syrian seder but I added a gefilte fish course and instead of a minty soup I made a cumin spiced chicken soup. In deference to our guest I didn't serve any rice, or peas- which are usual accompaniments to a seder here.
Our meal consisted of these courses:
Chicken soup, made with thighs, garlic, carrots, celery and cumin.
Gefilte fish with horseradish-(Yehuda brand gefilte fish- far too salty for my taste)
Avocado halves filled with Balsamic vinegar(Bartenura) accompanied by a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, mint, parsley and Bermuda onions.
Braised lamb shanks(our traditional seder meat course) made with tomatoes, garlic, onions, celery, carrots, cumin and chicken broth.
Zucchini and tomatoes, stewed with LOTS of onions.
Olive oil roasted small white potatoes- these are put into a souffle dish, covered halfway with olive oil, then liberally salted and lightly sprinkled with whole cumin and cracked peppercorns, then roasted near the lamb shanks. Too delicious for words!
For dessert I made small bowls of frozen fruits pureed with almond milk- blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and bananas- which I served with sticks of sugarcane and dark chocolate covered matzoh shards that I had dipped earlier.
I normally make pistachio ka'ak and almond cookies, lachm la'lou(a sweet stew),chicken with prunes and keftes b'hamoud-lamb meatballs in a lemon mint broth, but there were only 2 young people to eat all of my cooking- and I was avoiding kitniyot-I had to limit myself!

[weinoo]

I noticed you use table salt in the pictures you've shared with us on the blog. Why not kosher salt?

[abooja]

Thinking about what to cook tomorrow. How do we feel about blintzes?

Love me some blintzes, but please make them potato.

Since you asked so nicely, I made potato blintzes for you and cheese blintzes for me. Then I forced myself to have both for dinner.

Why, thank you so much! And such a fine job you did, too. My blintzes are often as big as an Oldsmobile, and my bletlach or blettle (thanks for the new words!) are clearly way, way too thick, based on your photos of properly made blintzes. Are they at all crunchy when you serve them? Howard thinks they shouldn't be, and he's probably right, but I like some crunch.

Interesting that you cook your matzoh balls for so long. I always thought the Streit's recipe made for mushy balls, but perhaps I just like them a bit more al dente than most. I made matzoh ball soup yesterday, using up some odd chicken parts from the freezer, including an old hen and some chicken feet, but my broth never turns out as yellow and clear as the beautiful stuff you made upthread.

[DanM]

Pam... Are the matzoh balls floaters or sinkers?

[Pam R]

Good morning! I'm running a little behind this morning. Today we were supposed to open the store at 10 AM -- I got here at 9:30 and the store was packed and the phone ringing off the hook (my father opened the door when he got here). Lots to answer and post - I'll be back as soon as I can!

PS: A couple of blintzes and some fresh fruit for breakfast.

[Pam R]

I also have a non-Passover related question. I've been looking for kitchen stools for months and can't find anything I like. Anybody have good ones? They need to be comfortable as they'll probably be the only seating in the kitchen. And I'd rather not have to sell my stove to pay for them. Why is it so hard to find good stools?

I've had a lot of luck finding things from Ballard Designs (Click Here)

Congratulations on your new condo! Happy decorating
Rhonda

Ooh. I've never been to that site. They actually have one that I like that isn't too pricey. . will have to investigate shipping to Canada. Thanks! And most of the design choices have been made, thankfully. I just have to pick the counter (will be going with quartz) and the backsplash (probably glass). Otherwise, the floor will be grey (polished cement) and the IKEA cabinets have been sitting in the garage since October , and all of my stainless steel appliances are waiting in my builder's house out in the country! Everything is white and stainless, so I want to try to bring some colour in with the stools and backsplash. Counters will be white -- better for picture taking (all of the pictures for my last cookbook were taken on my kitchen table.

[Pam R]

I noticed you use table salt in the pictures you've shared with us on the blog. Why not kosher salt?

I use both, actually. I like David's kosher.


When I'm baking or adding salt to dressings or batters, I prefer table salt -- it just dissolves better. I use the kosher salt when I seasoned the brisket, the roasted potatoes, etc. We also use it for what it's really meant for -- when we broil the livers for chopped liver, they get salted with kosher salt to pull out any excess blood. Because it doesn't dissolve completely it's supposed to rinse off better after the broiling.

Do you use kosher salt only?

[weinoo]

all of my stainless steel appliances are waiting in my builder's house out in the country!

Interestingly enough, I thought you lived "out in the country!"

Do you use kosher salt only?

Yes, unless I'm using one of the myriad fancy salts I have clogging up my pantry.

[Pam R]

Pam: It's been wonderful to read your blog, about traditions and cuisine I know nothing about. It's especially a pleasure to have someone blogging from the Canadian prairies.

Thanks! Wish we had some local produce to show off. At least there's no snow on the ground here.

[Pam R]

Why, thank you so much! And such a fine job you did, too. My blintzes are often as big as an Oldsmobile, and my bletlach or blettle (thanks for the new words!) are clearly way, way too thick, based on your photos of properly made blintzes. Are they at all crunchy when you serve them? Howard thinks they shouldn't be, and he's probably right, but I like some crunch.

Interesting that you cook your matzoh balls for so long. I always thought the Streit's recipe made for mushy balls, but perhaps I just like them a bit more al dente than most. I made matzoh ball soup yesterday, using up some odd chicken parts from the freezer, including an old hen and some chicken feet, but my broth never turns out as yellow and clear as the beautiful stuff you made upthread.

My blintzes aren't really crunchy, though the potato would be considered crunchier than the cheese (even though the wrapper is the same for both, they really brown up differently). They're more . . silky?

Mushy or light and fluffy? If they're too light, add some more matzo meal to the mix.

Oh, chicken feet. I've never used them because we can't get them, but my grandmother always used chicken feet in her soup -- and my uncle always sat at the dinner table gnawing at it. All of our chicken comes from out-of-province and apparently they're not allowed to ship the feet across provincial borders. At least, that' what we've been told.

[Pam R]

Pam... Are the matzoh balls floaters or sinkers?

Floaters, but not the lightest in the world. I prefer them in between. I want to be able to chew them, not have them completely dissolve.

I had a cousin who made cannonballs when I was a kid. I don't want them too dense, but I don't want them heavy either. I find you can adjust the density by adjusting the amount of matzo meal in the mix.

How do you like them?

[jackal10]

Sinkers, flavoured with parsley and fried onion in them for me

[Pam R]

Pam, I find Ashkenazi food so exotic- and I never can wrap my mind around the idea that our Syrian food might be considered exotic by anyone-it's just plain food.

You're exactly right. You menu sounds exotic - and fabulous! I'd love to cook for Passover with you -- a bit from your menu, a bit from mine.

[Pam R]

Pam-are there any reliable online sources for schmaltz or is it pretty easy to render it at home?

Not up here, David. We get all of our schmaltz from chicken soup. We make so much chicken soup that we can usually get a couple of litres of fat from a batch. My grandmother used to make it from chicken skin, and if you were lucky you got a piece of the gribenes (what remains from the skin and fat) as a treat. The chicken soup method is easier.