Passover 2006–

[TarteTatin]

So I just finished reading this 16 page thread.
Wow.

Does anyone have any new and exciting recipes for this Passover?

We are hosting our very first Seder, as many of the previous writers did on this thread.
Hubby is a great cook, and we're used to having dinner parties.

We're a "mixed" couple (I'm Jewish, he's a Wasp), and we're inviting three other "mixed" families over. So we're not really worried about keeping it Kosher.

I really don't like brisket, cause we had it so often. Liked the Braised short ribs someone mentioned...also liked the salmon quenelles...what else new and different? Maybe something with eggplant? I had this walnut spread from an Armenian place that was to die for. Maybe that's a good app...

Hubby will make his wonderful flourless chocolate cake recipe from Georges Perrier here in Philly.
And, his great meringues.

[Pam R]

Does anyone have any new and exciting recipes for this Passover?

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?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Does anyone have any new and exciting recipes for this Passover?

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Ah, the often asked, but never quite big enough, to make the standard "Four Questions" ...

These topics can be found right here

Passover Chocolate Chip Cookies

Passover Chicken Soup

Hardboiled Eggs for Passover

Your Passover Seder Menu: Shulchan Orech

Horseradish Recipe

Vegetarian Passover Ideas

Gefilte fish for passover

Passover entree

Passover Pareve Desserts

"How-to" Seder Guide

Passover Cookie Question

Passover brisket recipe?

and, after I brush off the hamatashen crumbs, I will be adding more ...

[Curlz]

We are hosting our very first Seder, as many of the previous writers did on this thread.

...We're a "mixed" couple (I'm Jewish, he's a Wasp), and we're inviting three other "mixed" families over. So we're not really worried about keeping it Kosher.

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What you're describing is my favorite type of Seder, Tarte...a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish folks is always more interesting, imho! I hope that even if you don't choose to do the full-blown Seder that you'll take the time to tell everyone the basics. I find that among my non-Jewish friends, Passover is now their favorite of our holidays because there is an explanation of everything! Kids like it too--as long as you don't make them eat any of that yucky stuff, like gefilte...oh, wait...that's ME.

Haven't started thinking about new recipes for this year yet, but thanks for bumping this thread up! Now my brain will get going...

[Swisskaese]

I am still trying to finish Purim. I am not ready to think about Passover yet.

[sgschef]

I just finished looking at the last few pages of last year and I am wondering....

Is it possible to get the recipe for the moroccan meatballs and the bullets mentioned last year? I am determined to liven up our seder this year!!

[Pam R]

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...

[JFLinLA]

Can I refer you to my thread from last year:

How-To Passover Seder Guide

This is from a class I taught at the temple a few years back. The class included recipes, we cooked some food for people to taste and included other stuff than what you see in this thread. Anyway, I'm teaching the class again (with my pal Karen, the gefilte fish queen ) and would appreciate any suggestions you have for improvements, updates, killer recipes, whatever.

Please post your suggestions on that thread, rather than here.

Thanks.

Jody

[Gifted Gourmet]

Is it possible to get the recipe for the moroccan meatballs and the bullets mentioned last year?

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Livening up a seder may sometimes rely upon real bullets but Comfort Me explains his version of matzo meal bullets right here

On to find those Moroccan meatballs you mentioned ...Moroccan Meatballs in Tomato Sauce with Olives & Preserved Lemon was what Comfort Me mentioned but I am unsure of his recipe ...

[Swisskaese]

Well, I guess it is time to think about what I am going to make for Passover. We are going to my cousin's house as we have been doing for the past four years. They cater the dinner, but I insist on bringing homemade matzah ball soup, Tapenade's world famous haroset and dessert. The truth is I wish we could just make the entire meal, but I don't want to hurt their feelings.

I would like to bring a new dessert this year and one of them will be Chufi's Weesper Moppen. I am thinking about dipping them in bittersweet chocolate.

The desserts I have made in the past have been:

Chocolate Almond Torte

Pistachio Cake

Chocolate sorbet

Edited March 20, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

something new and slightly different for Passover 2006

[Miriam Kresh]

Hello, I'm Miriam, new at eGullet. I live in Israel and am observant, with only a small family to cook for as my grown-up kids have married and moved away. Shabbat and Yom Tov are usually myself, Husband, our nine-year-old daughter and my mom. I wish I had a crowd to cook for, as there so often was in the past, but life's changes demand flexibility, so I just say I'm happy with the reduced work load.

It was a little sad, if truth be told, to realize that the great Seder spreads of the past are no longer appropriate to our smaller family. My husband and Mom don't enjoy a large meal at night, and our daughter would be happy with chicken soup and plenty of matzah to crumble into it, and some of the roast turkey. I cook to satisfy my own sense of adventure. The family just goes along happily most of the time; on holidays, though, they want no great deviation from the traditional menus.

A little epiphany occurred to me this year. Our rabbis here admonish us balabustas (housewives) every year that the focus of the Seder is the re-telling of the Exodus from Egypt, not the quality of the cooking; that a family needs a relaxed, happy mother at the table, not an exhausted woman harried to death with spring-cleaning and the preparation of a huge variety of dishes. It has finally come home to me. Let us linger over the Hagaddah, and explain it in language the little one understands; let us enjoy the meal, certainly, and let us sing the traditional lively songs that keep tired children awake and interested. Some of the old tunes bring back sharp memories of departed loved ones; some make us smile as we remember incidents of past Seders.

How about the time my sister and I almost dropped the huge roast turkey, and got hysterical laughing in the kitchen while Prince Charming, my dad's special guest and hopeful candidate for the hand of...well, either one of us...sat aghast in the dining room? Or the year Dr. K., our psychiatrist friend, hypnotised a 7-year-old me into believing that she saw the level of the wine in Eliyahu's silver cup actually dip down as the invisible, flying prophet visited our table and drank? I wouldn't touch that cup for years afterwards, creepily convinced that something ghostly had happened because of it.

I guess that as one grows older there will be a ghost or two at every family celebration. This year, I will lean towards the door as my husband opens it and asks that God's wrath be poured upon our enemies - hoping, that if I'm lucky, I'll hear Eliyahu HaNavi's robes rustle as he slips in and takes a little sip out of the cup we've poured for him and placed in the center of the table. I'll tip him a wink and lift my glass to sip a little along with him.

So what will the Seder menu be? Here in Israel there is only one Seder, of course. Let's see, it'll probably be something like this, on the light side:

The traditional bites from the Seder plate;

Chicken soup with potato-starch noodles, which are more popular than the matzah balls we eat all year anyway;

Gefulte fish (I make it without matzah meal; could never understand the presence of matzah meal in gefulte fish recipes as the mixture stays firm in the simmering stock very nicely without it. Must be a hangover from times when the fish had to be stretched).

A turkey cooked in a tajine pot I keep for Passover. Actually I have two tajines, one for all year round and one kosher for Passover. This year I'm departing from the usual savory roast bird stuffed with potato kugel, and plan to use apricots, prunes, dried pears, onions, honey, and wine vinegar, with just enough sweet potatoes to become undone in the cooking and bind the mixture slightly;

Steamed artichokes served with herb-infused olive oil for dipping (I am wondering if my favorites, basil, garlic, cilantro and aragula, will clash with the sweet turkey);

A big tossed green salad;

Strawberry sorbet. Everyone here appreciates a light, refreshing dessert after the large meal.

I have to think up a menu for the Yom Tov meal next day, but I will be less merciful towards stomachs filling up, and present some decadent and irresistable dessert. Hm, have to search through this thread more devotedly, there must be something wonderful here.

And it looks like my first-ever post is book length, so I'll wish everyone enjoyable cooking and a happy Passover.

Miriam

[Gifted Gourmet]

Shalom and welcome to eGullet, Miriam! As you can see when you go to the Special Occasions forum , we have a varied and eclectic mix of messages, discussions, and advice on everything from Hamantashen to latkes to matzo brie to Shavuout dairy meals, and so forth. Something for everyone here ... and in the General Food Topics, an ongoing thread on What we're cooking for Shabbos which is updated each week .. some even have photographs ...

I personally found the short "drosh" you made here on Pesach quite illuminating ... a tired mother? Yeah, is there any other kind before the first seder even begins? Oy, the cleaning and burning of chametz ...

The lighter meal which I make for luncheon on the first day of Pesach comes from the night before but is salad and fruit and often, even a dairy meal ... the previous balagan really makes one ready for something light and airy ... before a well-deserved nap that afternoon .. and before Round #2 for us in the Diaspora.

Please post often about what you are making and your thinking! Looking forward to more of your input, Miriam!

[Swisskaese]

Welcome Miriam.

It is nice to have another Israeli on board.

Your seder meal sounds very nice.

I am going to have my family over during Chol Hamo'ed. This will be when I get to cook what I want. I haven't decided what we are having yet.

[Pam R]

Let me add my bruchim ha'baeem to you Miriam. What a lovely first post!

How about the time my sister and I almost dropped the huge roast turkey, and got hysterical laughing in the kitchen while Prince Charming, my dad's special guest and hopeful candidate for the hand of...well, either one of us...sat aghast in the dining room? Or the year Dr. K., our psychiatrist friend, hypnotised a 7-year-old me into believing that she saw the level of the wine in Eliyahu's silver cup actually dip down as the invisible, flying prophet visited our table and drank? I wouldn't touch that cup for years afterwards, creepily convinced that something ghostly had happened because of it.

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.

So what will the Seder menu be?

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

[Miriam Kresh]

Thank you all for your welcome. I'm looking forward to participating in this forum!

Miriam

[KatieLoeb]

Shalom and welcome Miriam! Your menu sounds delicious.

I just found out that attending the second seder my good friend has invited me over for, there will be TWENTY guests! Since I am permanently on horseradish and Charoset duty I will be doing a lot of grating and chopping it seems... There's only six or eight of us on first night, but making enough for that second seder is going to kill me!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Since I am permanently on horseradish and Charoset duty I will be doing a lot of grating and chopping it seems...

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For the uniniated, Katie Loeb is a maven par excellence when it comes to making her Sephardic Charoset ... which you too can replicate by following this excellent recipe and, with God's gracious blessing, Katie makes this stuff year after year and is still alive! Amen!

[KatieLoeb]

Since I am permanently on horseradish and Charoset duty I will be doing a lot of grating and chopping it seems...

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For the uniniated, Katie Loeb is a maven par excellence when it comes to making her Sephardic Charoset ... which you too can replicate by following this excellent recipe and, with God's gracious blessing, Katie makes this stuff year after year and is still alive! Amen!

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Thanks Melissa! That's very kind of you to say.

I've really never ever made that much at one time. It's going to be a marathon of chopping and whirling through the food processor.

I'm half tempted to get the prep cooks at my restaurant to do the work for me for a price. My time is definitely worth something to me and this sounds like more than my usual two nights of preparatory work - one for the horseradish and one for the charoset. I have a meeting with the Executive Chef/owner tomorrow about something else. I might seriously ask him if I can pay a couple of the prep cooks to do some chopping for me on the side one afternoon just before Passover. I could store it in one of those big containers we use for our sangria and then keep it in the beer walkin until I leave that afternoon for dinner.

This is looking more and more like a plan...

[bloviatrix]

We're headed to Toronto this year for the sederim. It's going to be so much fun. We're going to stay with friends. I've offered to help cook, but I don't know if I'm going to be put to work.

We'll be back in NY for the last days. Friends just got a second apartment with a brand new stove. So, we'll be taking all our meals there. That's when I'll roll up my sleeves and cook.

[Pan]

Great first post, Miriam. I was the one who had the pleasure of approving your membership application, so I'm happy to see you posting.

As kids, my brother and I always noted that the level of wine in the goblet for Eliyahu had lowered by the end of the Seder. As I grew older, I realized that that was because of evaporation.

I will be going to my modern Orthodox godmother's place for the 2nd seder, but it looks like I may not be going to a first seder, as my cousins are going up to New Haven instead of doing their usual seder in Teaneck, and my father's cousin uptown isn't doing a 1st seder because one of his daughters can't make it until the 2nd night.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I might seriously ask him if I can pay a couple of the prep cooks to do some chopping for me on the side one afternoon just before Passover. 

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and to think that this holiday commemorates the exodus of the Jews from the bonds of servitude and slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh ... I know, you'll pay them a few shekels ...

As I grew older, I realized that that was because of evaporation

How long is a seder anyway? How much can wine evaporate in 2 hours??

[KatieLoeb]

I might seriously ask him if I can pay a couple of the prep cooks to do some chopping for me on the side one afternoon just before Passover. 

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and to think that this holiday commemorates the exodus of the Jews from the bonds of servitude and slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh ... I know, you'll pay them a few shekels ...

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And when they're done I can part the Red Sangria Sea and lead them to wander through the desert for forty years, no?

[Gifted Gourmet]

And when they're done I can part the Red Sangria Sea and lead them to wander through the desert for forty years, no? 

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Yeah, but at our age, those 40 years in the desert isn't going to make us look any too supple and erotic, you realize .. a better plan: they can do the wandering and we'll head for a spa and recuperate and meet them later in the "Promised Land" looking incredible!!

[Pan]

[...]

As I grew older, I realized that that was because of evaporation

How long is a seder anyway? How much can wine evaporate in 2 hours??

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Two hours? Is that how long your seders last?

Anyway, the answer is, enough for a child to notice.