Passover 2006–

[jackal10]

Can alien races be Jewish? What would they eat, or the equivalent of say Knaidlach?

[Jason Perlow]

Well, Spock and Kirk ARE Jewish, you know. Nimoy grew up Orthodox, actually.

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and Kirk is now 'Denny Crane' .. highly successful Boston Legal star ... now back to Passover and its complexities ... how shall I use my U Bet chocolate syrup?? anyone?

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Oh come on Melissa, like you need some kind of tutorial or something?

[Jason Perlow]

Can alien races be Jewish? What would they eat, or the equivalent of say Knaidlach?

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Well, Quadrotriticale is definitely chometz. Romulan Ale is also fermented from some sort of cereal, so that's out too.

[Pam R]

Well, Spock and Kirk ARE Jewish, you know. Nimoy grew up Orthodox, actually.

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I know... that's why I'd like to see the pics!

[Jason Perlow]

Well, Spock and Kirk ARE Jewish, you know. Nimoy grew up Orthodox, actually.

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I know... that's why I'd like to see the pics!

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That -would- make a great TV special, wouldn't it. "The Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy Passover Comedy Variety Hour." Sponsored by Hallmark, Manischiewitz and Barton's Chocolates. They could bring in all the goofy Jewish guest stars, like Jeff Goldblum and Steven Spielberg. Have Jerry Seinfeld do the four questions and re-broadcast the Passover skit from SNL where he walks in as Elijah with Jesus (played by the late Phil Hartman).

[Gifted Gourmet]

Leonard Nimoy once said there was something "Jewish" about Star Trek. Do you agree with that?

Well, everybody on Star Trek was Jewish.

Except for Roddenberry.

We wouldn't let him join. [Laughs.]

source

Yes, I know about the U-Bet eggcream but what else can one do with the stuff for Pesach?

[Jason Perlow]

Well of course you can mix some in with KFP Coke and have a chocolate coke. Plop in some KFP ice cream and you got a nice ice cream float, although of course you'll want to do that with a dairy meal.

How about some over Matzah Brei pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream?

[UnConundrum]

Sorry, Melissa, but I'm not a big chocolate fan... Maybe use it in a cake or mandel bread recipe? Maybe mix it into a sweet custard with some vanilla, add some milk soaked matzoh, and bake? sort of like a matzoh pudding?

[Swisskaese]

That looks like a seder plate they would use on Star Trek!

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I never thought of that, but I it does. I am sure Spock and Captain Kirk would have had an interesting seder with it.

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My G-d. I'd like pictures from their seder.

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Well, Spock and Kirk ARE Jewish, you know. Nimoy grew up Orthodox, actually.

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That is why I said what I said.

You guys are hysterical!

Edited April 15, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[UnConundrum]

Passover dinner tonight:

Sous-vide cooked salmon, broiled for color, and served with a vino cotto (simply a reduction of concord grape Passover wine... the sweet stuff)

Apple salad, made with a little finely diced sweet onion, apples, grapes, vinegar and evoo, topped with almond slivers that were sauteed in some butter, and then sprinkled with some sugar while still on the heat. Stir till the sugar disolves and the almonds are a nice golden color. Cool on a silpat.

Picture would have been better if I hadn't already eaten a chunk of the salmon

[Gifted Gourmet]

This Passover, Peas on Earth

article from the Forward

Until last Wednesday, I had no idea what "legumes" meant. Oh, I knew that legumes were an edible of some sort and not a French rock band ("Les Gumes" or some such). But coming on the word as I did only once a year, during the run-up to Passover, I knew legumes only as a Passover no-no,..

Hence the shock, on learning in the Wednesday Dining In section not only what legumes are, but also that they no longer are forbidden. No siree, from now on you can abandon everything you were raised to believe, everything you knew to be true and pure — kosher l'Pesach, that is — and chomp away at matzo with, just to take one example, peanut butter.

Excellent article on kitniyot on Passover ...

[jaynesb]

Help! I have searched through this whole thread and found only 2 passover cake recipes that did not contain nuts.

My uncle has a nut and seed allergy, and I would like to prepare a nice dessert that has no nuts or seeds. Any suggestions of favorites that fit the bill?

I would appreciate any guidance.

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I had wonderful success substituting matzoh meal for whole wheat pastry flour in this James Ormsby's Whole-Wheat carrot cake . The recipe calls for some nuts but I think you could easily leave them out. I haven't played around very much with a zucchini version but everybody at our seder really liked this one. (Works fine as a single recipe in a standard cake pan but if you try to double it, I'd recommend a tube or bundt pan so it cooks through.)

I do use Passover baking powder and baking soda for this recipe.

Jayne

edited to add remark about baking powder/soda

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Jayne, thank you SO much for this recommendation! I made the carrot cake for our 2nd Seder (held last night--go figure) and it was a HUGE hit. It weighs a ton, though--is that from all of the ingredients, or is it because there is matzo meal in it? Either way, we all loved it, and I wanted to thank you.

Curlz

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I'm glad they went over well but I think I goofed on the ingredient substitution. Many apologies!!! I should have said matzoh *cake* meal. In any case, the cake is really very heavy whichever way you do it. I made two of them this year and they were really popular. (I made them in a ring-shaped paper pan, probably a pannetone pan but it saved on the cleanup.) I think I made them one year as mini-muffins for a pot-luck. (I'm only now recovering from seders and hosting my 102-year old grandmother for the past 6 days... not to mention taking care of my daughter who did a job on her chin right before the second seder and I'm just hoping that I shouldn't have gone for stitches!)

jayne

[jaynesb]

yeah, I've got a new and exciting recipe. It's

This recipe is great for playing with - sub walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts for pecas.  sub apricot or pear (or any number of dried fruits) for the cranberries.  whatever you can get.  You can also replace some of the cake meal with chocolate and do a chocolate/hazelnut.

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you're welcome Jayne! I'm happy you like the recipe. I'm also happy you didn't find the Jerusalem Post version which somehow missed the pecan in the ingredient list! It's now here.

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A post-seder thank you again. I'm still enjoying the biscotti, or what's left of them. They went over really well. They went on my cookie plate along with homemade candied orange peel, chocolate sparkle cookies (made with ucky-nasty margarine), some flourless cocoa, pecan cookies from a Payard recipe, and some pecan pie cookies (Harris Ranch Pecan Drops). I loved that people kept saying "I can't believe these are Passover desserts!"

I used walnut/cranberry mostly because I already had pecan in other cookies and also because I couldn't find it preground and didn't feel like grinding it myself. (I'm wondering about that chocolate variation though. Would it work if I use cocoa or should I be adding ground up chocolate?)

jayne

[Pam R]

A post-seder thank you again.

....

I loved that people kept saying "I can't believe these are Passover desserts!"

You're welcome again . Isn't it funny that the best Passover compliment is when somebody tells you it doesn't taste like Passover?

Would it work if I use cocoa or should I be adding ground up chocolate?)

Whoops. I should have said replace some of the cake meal with cocoa powder (not chocolate). Though ... replacing some of the cake meal with cocoa AND adding chocolate should be good too

[Rebecca263]

I know this sounds silly, but, to me, it's Passover when I have marshmallows and a glass of Coca Cola to binge on.

Ah, the flavors of spring!

[Gifted Gourmet]

The final two full days of Passover begin tomorrow night at sundown .. anyone doing any holiday cooking for the end of the holiday?

Tomorrow morning I am doing an apricot-apple matzo kugel (sweet), two more cakes, a dairy soup with potatoes, and a yam souffle ...

By Friday morning, I will begin to put away my Passover dishes, pots & pans, and Pesach 2006 will be but a sweet, enduring, memory ...

[Swisskaese]

I am making some more matzah ball soup and I haven't figured out what the rest of the meal will be yet.

We are going to look at the beautiful spring flowers in the North.

[Pam R]

The final two full days of Passover begin tomorrow night at sundown .. anyone doing any holiday cooking for the end of the holiday? 

Nope

I'm going away for a few days and letting other people cook for me ... while I sleep.

Chag Sameach!

[Gifted Gourmet]

I'm going away for a few days and letting other people cook for me ... while I sleep.

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And, may I say, no one is more deserving of the rest and relaxation than you, Pam! Between your business requirements and running your blog during the holiday ( ), you can lay back and rest on your laurels! Hag sameach to you as well ...

[Swisskaese]

For the final night of Passover I made:

Chicken schnitzel with a matzah meal and sesame seed coating (homemade)

White and sweet potato chips (homemade)

Steamed asparagus

[Rebecca263]

For the final night of Passover I made: Apps for the kids of stuffed eggs, then mains of Chinese seasoned chicken and vegetables, small packs of minced steamed vegetables eith a dipping sauce, and dessert ? Fruit plates consisting of green grapes, some small rosy apples I fell in love with at the market with no name on them, and pineapple. Man, those kids ate everything!

Tomorrow night we will celebrate with another houseful of kids and home made something, but I have no idea yet what that something will be.

[Gifted Gourmet]

And so we bid a fond, sometimes not so fond, farewell to Passover 2006 ... be sure to check out *Debbie Koenig's Words to Eat By blog ... she really understands the relief some of us feel at the "freedom" to eat more casually than Passover affords ...

A few things I won’t be eating again for another year:

Matzo • egg matzo • matzo farfel • Tam Tam crackers • chocolate-covered coconut macaroons • any other kind of coconut macaroon, if it comes from a can • matzo brei • potatoes (ok, maybe I’ll eat them before next year, but it’ll be at least a week before I can stomach them again)

If you kept kosher for Passover, what are you dreaming of eating?

*dknywbg is an eGullet member ...

[Cleo]

This thread has been so helpful in the past, so now I'm wondering, once again, what's on everyone's menu for Passover this year?

We're having a relatively small group at my place (7 adults and 3 children plus, of course, my 6 month old).

I'm planning to make:

Chicken Soup and Matzoh Balls

Brisket

Fricassee of Chicken with White Wine, Olives and Capers (a Patricia Wells recipe)

Potato Kugelettes

Spinach Souffle (from Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook)

Macaroons and other desserts (tbd)

The brisket and the kugelettes are definites. But I'm open for suggestions on the chicken dish and the spinach. The goal is to keep it easy and the other goal is to make a chicken dish that can cook on the stovetop rather than in the oven. I go through this every year since the brisket in a LeCreuset takes up most of the oven space to heat up. (In the late spring we are moving to a house and it has a double wall oven so next year oven space won't be an issue!)

[BeeZee]

Someone on another board posed a question about making gnocchi with matzoh meal, anyone try this? Oh, and I've never even made gnocchi the "regular" way, so I don't know if this is too difficult, to start making substitutions on something which sounds like it's tempremental to changes in the dry/moisture ratio.

[Pam R]

If your potatoes are really dry and you don't have to add too much, I think you'd be able to make a nice gnocchi - but use cake meal, not matzo meal.