Pam R

it's a little harder to get bison here... I have a company in South Dakota who will try to get all the paperwork done after Pesach so that hopefully the Canadian Government will let it in. and.... no giraffe sources?

Yep. They're both ruminant and have split hooves. (as is giraffe by the way... I always wondered how soup made from giraffe neck would taste... ) Now, if I could get my hands on some Bison I'd like that for Passover... but I think I'm going to stick to the more traditional (because I can get it) poutry and beef. I am thinking about serving a recipe I tried the other night - roasted duck with a sour cherry sauce. Or I'll sleep right through!

If you had a shoichet in the family could you imagine the shank you could have had for the seder plate?

Ling - I'm not sure if they fit the bill, but if you're looking for something like a Hungarian Morello Sour Cherry (in juice), then I'd try looking at places that cater to the Kosher crowd. With Passover on it's way, grocery stores may have them in their Passover section of try phoning Omnitsky's or Kosher Food Warehouse. If they don't have them they may be able to point you in the right direction. I'm not sure if this'll help you at all... but I know that I'm stocking them right now for the holidays - so I'm thinking some of those places will too. Good luck. Pam

That's gotta be one of my favorite eGullet lines. Thanks Michael!

You're right Jamie! You wanted to know why I like VS? Well I'll tell you! It's always busy (always a good sign in my book), the staff is friendly and helpful and the food is great. Some people may prefer a restaurant where they roll around the carts full of food - but I like my hot food hot - and this place lets you order what you want. Little slips of paper on the table let you order whatever dishes you want and it appears hot and fresh on your table within minutes of placing the order - even when they're packed. I've been to some of those cavernous places downtown - I have no knack for waving people down with carts. I can sit there for hours with no food to eat. (well, maybe not hours) Did I mention that the food is great? Not just the dim sum either. But that's a whole other issue.

Middle of Nowhere - welcome to eGullet! It's always nice to get some new thoughts and opinions. You made several interesting points in your post - some of which I agree with, some I don't. Some of them I think have been or can be discussed in other threads. Let's discuss Dim Sum over here. Going to the Forks to buy produce (or anything else)? I wouldn't do it - I think it's really a tourist trap and don't know any locals who actually shop there. But there are some great produce suggestions over here. The only times I've been to the Forks area in the last couple of years was to visit MTYP or CityTV - never to buy foodstuff. You may want to take a look and comment on this prairie thread. There are several others in the forum you may find interesting. I agree that Winnipeg is no NY or Paris but I think it has a lot to offer. I don't expect any Michelin stars to be appearing around here anytime soon - but I don't think it means we're in a culinary wasteland. Don't forget - ethnic isn't limited to Chinese and Indian. We have Ukrainian, French, Jewish, Filipino, Thai and so much more.

My favorite is Victoria Seafood. Not such a fan of other places that are highly recommended. What are your thoughts?

Let me add my bruchim ha'baeem to you Miriam. What a lovely first post! I love these sorts of stories - they make the seder (or any meal) more memorable and the following ones more entertaining in the re-telling. You're menu sounds lovely - I too am a fan more of the 'rag' noodles (or bletlach noodles - potato starch and egg) than the matzo balls. And I don't think anything in your menu clashes - it all sounds fabulous to me. I hope we get to hear more from your kitchen

I could be wrong (that never happens!) - but I don't think the point was to target a lower demographic and keep things low brow. I think it's more the point that we have such a great assortment of ethnic, relatively inexpensive restaurants already, it makes sense to build on that. No reason that it couldn't be a mix of high end and ethnic eateries that already exist. As for the Joe and Mary sixpack... Winnipeg already gets the American university kids coming up here for drinking and partying... no need to advertise to them.

Welcome back and I hope we hear more from you on topics like this. I also agree that somebody - Andy Ritchie? sure, why not - needs to spearhead this. He has the staff - and the paper. Contacts outside of the city too. Have to get the word out beyond the perimeter.

I hope everything went smoothly for you - I can't wait to read the (your) reports. Congratulations!

Gingerbread Hamantashen recipe in recipeGullet. I'll try to get the chocolate recipe in tomorrow ... just in time for next year

Gingerbread Hamantashen Nice change from the typical hamantashen. Fill with pear or apricot lekvar. 2-1/2 c all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp baking soda 3/4 c brown sugar 1/2 c margarine 1 large egg 1/2 c molasses 1 tsp vanilla Mix together the flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg and baking soda. Use an electric mixer to cream together the brown sugar and margarine. Add the egg, mixing it in, then the molasses and the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. This will make a very soft dough. Turn it out onto a work surface, cut in half and form into 2 flat squares. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour (can be done a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator). Generously flour worktop (I like to roll this dough out on parchment paper because it tends to stick a little as it's so soft). Roll the dough approximately 1/4" thick. Use a cutter to cut 2 to 3" circles. Place about 1 tsp. of filling in the center of each circle and fold up three side, pinching to form triangles. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are just starting to brown. Cool. Keywords: Jewish, Kosher, Easy, Cookie ( RG1666 )

hmm... did I type chocolate-ginger dough? I did chocolate dough and ginger dough! Sorry. I will post the recipes in recipeGullet when I get a chance today - in case you want plain old chocolate or gingerbread In the chocolate I did either bing cherry lekvar or strawberry jam (when I ran out of cherry) and the ginger got pear or apricot. I'm off to back some more because I was short for my orders and people still want them today. Then I'll start unpacking 7000 lbs. of Passover dry goods. Passover prep really DOES start at Purim.

I don't mean to frighten anybody... but my first Passover shipment arrived today.. Not including the items that were back-ordered, here's most of the 7,000 lb. order: It's going to be a very long Pesach for me this year...

How was the tasting Michelle? Here are mine:

I have a double batch each of gingerbread, chocolate and lemon-scented hamantashen dough in the refrigerator now. A bowl each of apricot, bing cherry, prune and pear fillings - plus a bunch of jams if I run out of filling. Ready to go for baking off tomorrow.

No. Part of what I like best about Passover (and other holidays) is the tradition of it all! Having said that.... I started testing some new recipes last week... but haven't gotten very far (I'm working on a chocolate cake (with orange) to be served with an orange scented berry compote). I'm somewhat stumped by entrees... but here are a few things I've done in the last few years that I liked: Rib Roast Braised Lamb Shanks (I like the added benefit of having a shank for the seder plate) Roast Turkey with a fresh plum, nectarine and peach compote (actually did this for Rosh Hashana, but if you can get the fruit it would be good here too) If I could get my hands on some I'd love to serve rack of lamb... but I can't. I seem to be fixated by lamb, because I'd also go with a lamb roast. Veal is a nice option - I don't generally like veal but my mother always made a Passover version using chops or cutlets - browned and then cooked with mushrooms, onions, peppers, white wine and stock... so good. Especially on mashed potatoes. You seem to have desserts handled. When you mentioned eggplant.. did you mean as a side or an entree... or either?

Chris - what a wonderful thread! I regret that my memory is so terrible I never remember what I pay for things ... but the next time I get to a regular grocery store (wholesale club prices OK?) I'll take notes. I can't wait to see some results. Shopping in my little region of Canada and certain US states I know that the prices vary like crazy.

I've ordered a couple of new books (which I meant to do last week... ) To start building my kosher cookbook collection I'm going with: A Pied Noir Cookbook: French Sephardic Cusine From Algeria by Chantal Clabrough Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen - Joyce Goldstein Can't wait to begin!

y'all may just kick me right out of this cook-off... but. I was talking to some customers last week about these fruit nectars I sell. They happen to be Israeli, but that's not important - if you have a favorite, somewhat thickish fruit nectar that's all you need. I was telling them how wonderful these juices are and said to them that my favorite one 'tastes like it's a fresh ripe pear that's been squeezed into a can'. Hmmm... I thought.... sorbet! So I took two cans home and tossed them into the ice cream machine. Oh my. I didn't add anything and it didn't need anything added. I can't wait to try the mango nectars.

I didn't find this to be a problem.. maybe I used more sugar in it. I gave out samples at work the day I made them and they were well received (people wanted to place orders but I don't know if I'll have time to fill them). If this is a concern though - last year I used regular dried cherrie - not the sour ones. They were good too Thanks for the recipe Michelle!

I'd eat those. Have you used fresh fruit before? I haven't (scared it will give off too much liquid) ... but using dried pears for another lekvar is good too

Michelle - it's pretty much a sour cherry lekvar. Dried cherries, sugar and water. Simmer and puree. I added some thick (cold) chocolate ganache to some of them (dough, small piece of ganache, cherry, fold) and they were great. I would think that the curd would boil up, over and out of the hamantashen. If you can figure out a way to bake them hollow that would be just dandy. Let us know .