NancyH

THAT. Does not make me hungry.

I enjoy Matzo Brei, which is a Jewish version of French Toast, all year round. Matzo sheets are broken into pieces, soaked in hot water to soften them, then mixed with egg (which soaks into the matzo similarly to bread soaking up eggs for French toast), and fried in fat. I prefer it with salt and pepper rather than sweet flavors (sometimes with some fried kosher salami mixed in), but some folks add raisins, cinnamon, sugar, you name it. The key for me was always onion flavored Nyafat, a fake food made from hydrogenated oils that no longer exists. It was popular because it gave Matzoh Brei a great flavor and texture, and it was parve, meaning it could be eaten with meat or dairy. Chicken or duck fat also works (or any fat really, though it's not exactly the same). But I would never add dairy (butter, milk) if I was using meat derived fat or adding salami to my Matzo Brei.

Lidia Bastianich did a breakfast risotto dish on her PBS show that looks delicious. The recipe is on her website.

Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed reading this. Safe travels!

The type of potato salad I crave was unique to New York City and its suburbs. There was a German Deli on Larkfield Road in East Northport NY that made several kinds of potato salad. Our favorite was very white in color, with the potatoes thinly sliced as if on an egg slicer. It had very little visible ingredients mixed into it, though "strips" of shredded carrots and chopped parsley were laid across the top of it (and mixed in with it when it was scooped out of the deli tray). It had a clean, slightly spicy, slightly sweet flavor that I now know was from a vinegar and sugar cure put on the potatoes after they were boiled. I don't know anyplace selling this type of potato salad anymore (though I'm a long way from Long Island these days). I keep trying to perfect the recipe, because It's my favorite potato salad! Here's a photo of what it looked like when I made it. Any comments to improve the recipe would be appreciated!

Will yours stand by itself on its business end? Put a clean plate in reach and stand it on the plate.

Would parchment paper work?

Sorry to be so late to the party, but I'm recovering from surgery, However, as every food safety instructor I've ever studied with says: when in doubt, throw it out. Hope your Passover went well!

THAT. Does not make me hungry.

I had a piece of hog like that once; I cut the hair out and lost a lot of skin. What my chef friends told me to do (too late) was indeed to use a cooking torch to burn the hair off. Iwatani makes a good one, but if you need it quickly, head to restaurant supply!

We freeze them when our garden overflows. They do lose their texture, though they continue to taste good.

You're so lucky - we usually don't get edible Flowering Chives until July. They go well in almost any stir fry (just remember to reduce the regular garlic to compensate). I unfortunately copied the attached stir fry recipe into a Word document, so I can't attribute it, but it looks like a way to solo the chives most nicely. Also, I know you said you're dumpling-ed out, but the attached recipe from Cooking Channel offers a unique approach to texturing the dumplings. The tahini in the dipping sauce is like Chinese sesame paste (probably interchangeable with it). Enjoy! Stir fried chive buds.doc www.cookingchanneltv.com_recipes_pretzel-pork-and-chive-dumplings-with-tahini-mustard-dipping-sauce.print.pdf

I am having Euell Gibbons flashbacks (and hearing Richard Dawson say, "Hickory nuts can be fun;" you had to grow up in the 70s) Actually, I'm thinking this preparation method might work better with Grape Nuts than uncooked oatmeal.

Anna N - Nyafat is sort of like vegetarian schmaltz. It was made with hydrogenated cottonseed oil, which ensured that it was Kosher for Passover and parve, meaning acceptable to use with either meat or dairy. That aspect is also what killed it, when the US government restricted transfats. My mother used the onion flavored version to fry her matzoh brei; before I fully embraced pork fat, I used it for that and fried rice. It gave a unique texture and taste to things. So far, the best substitute I've come up with is coconut oil infused with fresh onions, but so long as that last jar holds out, I don't have to work on it too hard just yet.

I am working slowly through my last jar of Onion Nyafat. I had bought a case of them right before Rokeach discontinued them in 2008, from a supermarket having a "going out of business" sale. 2 of the jars went rancid before I could open them and got pitched. Once this last one is gone, it's gone. Matzoh Brei may never be the same for me!