eG Foodblog: Pam R (2011) - Passover Part III

[Pam R]

Sorry I haven't posted much today. The thing I like least about self-publishing a cookbook is the accounting! I've been slugging through it and have more to do. But as I'm doing it I'm enjoying my salad. Crisp and cold. Mixed lettuces, strawberries, a very sweet white onion, toasted pecans and balsamic dressing. Oh - and that creamy sheep's feta that I love.

[Pam R]

I also took 3 minutes to put a pot of compote on the stove.

Assorted dried fruit, a sliced orange (you can use lemon), a little sugar and some cinnamon. I'd rather stick a cinnamon stick in the pot, but didn't have any, so ground it is!

It's simmering slowly. More from me once the work is done.

[Pam R]

Pam, fantastic week and fantastic blog. I'm amazed at how you fit everything in your schedule! Also, please post pictures of your new condo's kitchen and the stools you ordered. I'm excited for you ))

Thanks so much! I'm excited too.

I was hoping to get into the condo on Thursday so I could take some pictures, but apparently concrete was being poured and I couldn't get in.

The last time I thought to take pictures, my kitchen looked like this:

Doesn't show you much.

From the corner, to the right, we'll have a sink, dishwasher, freezer and fridge. To the left, a range, wall oven/microwave and pantry. Big island in the middle. The picture on the right shows a big window on the other side of the island. I can picture it all in my head! The cabinets are sitting in my parents' garage waiting for the builders to take them. Any day now . . right? The plumbing and electrical is all in, the whole place is drywalled and taped and they're supposed to be painting this week.

Stools? These. Simple. But I'm already thinking that I might paint the bars. It's hard to find white stools.

[Pam R]

I have so enjoyed being in your world this week; I've learned so much about kosher/non-kosher cooking from you and your blogs. I am not doing as much Passover as in previous years; my chef friend moved on to a kosher catering company so he can't use my company but we stay in touch. There's been a huge influx of Passover items brought in by a local supermarket chain - stuff you couldn't get even three years ago (carrot cake mixes?! KfP confectioner's sugar - so now I can make meringues!) is on the shelf so I think a lot of people are doing things at home now that so much more is available. We've had a great week with you; hope you have had a great week with us!

Thanks, Jeanne. You're so right. There's much more available now than there was a few years ago -- compared to 20 years ago? It's amazing. One of the reasons I decided to write a Passover cookbook was because of all the questions we get every year from our customers. Most people use recipes that have been passed down for generations -- which are great. I love the traditional recipes. But at the same time, they also want new recipes and don't know what to do with new ingredients (like baking soda! oh my!). When you're baking with cake meal instead of flour, you can't just substitute one for the other in the same quantities. But if you play around, you can find all sorts of new things to make. I love it.

I've had a great week, thanks!

[Pam R]

For a little road trip planned for tomorrow, I thought I should bake something to take along. Somebody was in the store on Thursday and told me how much her family enjoyed my banana chocolate chip loaf -- sounds good to me!

Ingredients:

Into the loaf pan. Oh, wait. Can't find the loaf pan. This will work.

Cooling. Smells fantastic.

The plans for dinner, the last meal for my foodblog have changed slightly. I better go cook it.

[Shelby]

Your kitchen is going to be great! I can't wait to see the finished product.

Your stools look a heck-of-a-lot more comfy than mine do. I have a love/hate relationship with ours. They are uncomfortable, BUT they fit under the island in the middle of the kitchen so perfectly and I love that they can be out of the way like that.

Can't wait to see dinner!

We didn't have to go to a family dinner today (yay!) so we're doing a mini Easter dinner.

[Pam R]

Your kitchen is going to be great! I can't wait to see the finished product.

Me too! I was supposed to be in back in December. The best thing about this condo and probably why I decided to buy this one is that I bought it as a white box and was able to do whatever I wanted in the kitchen, as long as it fit the space. Can't wait to see it done!

Your stools look a heck-of-a-lot more comfy than mine do. I have a love/hate relationship with ours. They are uncomfortable, BUT they fit under the island in the middle of the kitchen so perfectly and I love that they can be out of the way like that.

They are incredibly comfortable. They were well-priced, the right hight and white. Are they my dream stools? No. But I think I'll be happy with them.

Can't wait to see dinner!

Coming up!

We didn't have to go to a family dinner today (yay!) so we're doing a mini Easter dinner.

Happy Easter! What did you have?

[Pam R]

Dinner. My mother always made this with veal slices and was going to do so tonight (before she decided to paint her basement all day). Since I'm not a huge veal lover (though I do like it in this dish), I used some boneless chicken thighs I had in the freezer.

Dredge the thighs in cake meal seasoned with salt and pepper. Brown in olive oil.

Once they're all browned, take them out of the pan and set aside. Then add a pile of mushrooms, onions and peppers -- season with salt and pepper and saute until they just start to soften and some will start to brown.

Return the chicken to the pan, tucking the pieces in, under the vegetables.

Add some white wine, cook down for a minute then add some chicken stock. Simmer gently, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced a bit and thickened slightly. (Can be made with flour instead of cake meal.)

This is great served with rice, which I don't eat during Passover. Tonight we had it with roasted sweet potatoes.

[Pam R]

That brings my week to an end, though I'm happy to answer any questions about kosher or Passover cooking if you have them. I have 2 days off before going back to work to reorganize the store -- and I plan on sleeping a lot! I just want to thank all of you for reading and commenting. It's been a fun week, with lots of good food.

To those who celebrate, Happy Passover and Happy Easter. Thanks!

[nickrey]

Thanks Pam for a wonderful blog. As a gentile, it was very interesting to see how you celebrate Passover.

[Genkinaonna]

Thanks so much Pam! I learned quite a bit this week from you, since Kosher cooking is far from my range of experience. Take a couple of days off and let someone else cook for you!

[Rebecca263]

As usual, your writing is friendly and instructive- thank you so much for sharing your Pesach with us!

[Kent Wang]

When I came home from university (I went to the U of Minnesota) I got a job working in a restaurant. After working eight 12-14 hour closing shifts in a row without a break (instead of the 4 I was told would be the max) I decided that if I was going to work my guts out, I should be doing it for the family business.

Do you still put in a lot of hours, or is it more of a 40 hour week?

[demiglace]

Always love your blogs Pam..thanks so much for sharing your very busy week.

[weinoo]

Thanks for blogging, Pam. Great job during a busy week.

[kayb]

Great blog, fascinating cuisine, and it was great to learn about all the Passover customs! Thanks!

[Mjx]

Really enjoyed the blog, Pam, thanks for doing this even though you had so many other demands hitting you from all sides!

[robirdstx]

Thanks for sharing your holidays with us. Wonderful resource for future reference.

[Pam R]

When I came home from university (I went to the U of Minnesota) I got a job working in a restaurant. After working eight 12-14 hour closing shifts in a row without a break (instead of the 4 I was told would be the max) I decided that if I was going to work my guts out, I should be doing it for the family business.

Do you still put in a lot of hours, or is it more of a 40 hour week?

Depends on the week. If we're catering a lot or a holiday is coming up (there are lots of Jewish holidays) the hours get longer, but I try to keep it to 45-50 hours/week. But that's just the day job. I do all the work for my cookbooks in the evenings and weekends (I do all of the testing in my home kitchen). I've also started writing some articles for Jewish newspapers and kosher sites - so I have to find the time to do that.

[Pam R]

Thanks for all the lovely comments. I had a great time sharing my Passover cooking with everybody this week.

If you'd like to take a turn and share a week in your culinary life with the rest of us, just send me a note. Thanks again!