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Passover 2002–2005


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I have many recipes for sponge cake, but none compare to Aunt Ida's for taste and texture.  It's  good enough to eat at other times of the year, something I've never been able to say about the typical Passover sponge cake. That being said, it's still spongecake, although lighter, higher and more flavorful than any other I've ever had. (I think it's the full cup of orange juice that makes the difference.

I would be thrilled to know that that cake had been served at Judith Malina's seder!  Let us know what you finally decide and how it was received.

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I have many recipes for sponge cake, but none compare to Aunt Ida's for taste and texture.  It's  good enough to eat at other times of the year, something I've never been able to say about the typical Passover sponge cake. That being said, it's still spongecake, although lighter, higher and more flavorful than any other I've ever had. (I think it's the full cup of orange juice that makes the difference.

I would be thrilled to know that that cake had been served at Judith Malina's seder!  Let us know what you finally decide and how it was received.

Well. it's the one, then. I'm going to test the recipe this week, so I'll know what I'm bringing next week. Of course, I'll have to share it around, but I doubt anyone will refuse - even if I tell them how many eggs it has in it.

Interestingly, I may have mentioned that the seder, although traditional, has been re-written by Judith, with different speaking parts and roles played by guests there. This is going to be cool, and I'll let you all know about it.

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Sounds like the Levine family seder, which I compiled and re-wrote from a variety of sources many years ago.  We go around the table and take turns reading.  Over the years, certain passages have become associated with certain family members.

Franklanguage -- be sure to use a two-part angel food cake pan with a removable bottom.  I've edited the posted recipe accordingly. I have only 10" pans, but if I had a 12" pan, I would use that instead of the 10-incher plus the 8" or 9" layer.  You will need to run a knife around the side to release the cake.

Don't worry about the eggs. The cake is big -- it serves a lot of people.

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Franklanguage -- be sure to use a two-part angel food cake pan with a removable bottom.  I've edited the posted recipe accordingly. I have only 10" pans, but if I had a 12" pan, I would use that instead of the 10-incher plus the 8" or 9" layer.  You will need to run a knife around the side to release the cake.

Don't worry about the eggs. The cake is big -- it serves a lot of people.

Well, I'm glad I baked a test cake tonight, because although the recipe was straightforward, I normally would grease the pan liberally for a cake like this. I don't have a two-part angel food cake pan, so I used a bundt pan; all I can say is, live and learn. I would guess that for the small cake, I should use a pan with a removable bottom, which I also don't have.

So tomorrow I'll go get a 12" tube pan with removable bottom; but tell me, is the pan not greased simply because it's traditional, or is it because it's a sponge cake and mustn't be too oily?

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OK, Passover has it's limitations. You can't eat chometz, which basicly means flour and things made from flour. Except of course matzo, which is made from flour. Sounds ironic, but it has to do with making it so quick it doesn't have a chance to rise. Anyway, I realized while in the supermarket the other day there are some things only available at Passover time that I love and even stock up on. And other foods we make only at Passover. Here are some of my favorites:

From the kosher for Passover aisle at the market:

- Coke made with sugar, not corn syrup

- Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, again w/sugar not corn syrup

- No salt Manachewitz potato chips

- Chocolate Jelly Rings adn Marshmallow twists

Foods only prepared on Passover:

- Passover Rolls (like pate a choux puffs but made w/matzo meal)

- Farfel stuffing

- Matzo ball soup, actually this is one passover item that has crossed over to most holidays.

What are you looking forward to?

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Matzah brie.  Actually, when I was growing up, we called it fried matzah.  For anyone looking at this board who doesn't know what it is, it's savory French toast made with matzah that has been softened in cold water before being borken into beaten eggs and sauteed in butter or oil.  Usually, only salt and pepper are added at the table.

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I suppose whichever is in the cupboard. But, considering you're soaking the matzo in eggs it seems redundant to use egg matzo. Also, egg matzo seems too soft (? that's not the right word, delicate? I don't know but if you know egg matzo you know what I mean). I suppose I just don't really like egg matzo. I prefer the crisper crunch of pure matzo.

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Passover gets a lot tougher the more observant you are. I mean, as an assimilated Jew whose affiliation with the religion is mostly cultural, I pay attention to the no-bread thing (although after a few days I usually forget) but don't particularly focus on some of the more detail-oriented restrictions.

I was surprised to learn, for example, on my first visit to a Hasidic home for Passover, that the ultra-orthodox don't eat matzoh-ball soup, matzoh-brie, or any of that stuff on Passover. Apparently they're of the opinion that it's tantamount to leavening, or at least symbolic thereof, to take matzoh meal and use it as a flour substitute. They're also very strict about kitniot items like legumes and rice. This really rules out a lot of stuff when you start looking at every ingredient in every product, as well as various kinds of alcohol. I mean, you've got to use potato vodka instead of vodka made from grain, etc.

The schmura matzoh that is popular with the ultra-orthodox (I know they hate being called that; I'm just saying it for convenience and not because I agree with the label) tastes really bad -- as it's supposed to. It really conveys suffering. The supermarket matzoh that most non-orthodox Jews buy is fluffy by comparison. Egg matzoh is traditionally supposed to be eaten only by the elderly, the young, and the infirm, whose systems can't handle the full-strength stuff.

Then there's all the non-food stuff. Cosmetics, for example, contain lots of chametz, like wheat germ. The ultra-orthodox will remove all this stuff from their homes. Although pet ownership is not in my experience all that common in the Hasidic community, I have seen the occasional dog or cat in a Hasidic home and even their food has to be chametz free -- not easy to find.

Me, I like the Israeli approach to Passover: Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and all the millions of good food products that naturally contain no chametz. Don't try to create facsimiles of normal food, and eat as little matzoh as possible.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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For me, it's pretty simple.  My mom only cooked two items well.  French Toast and Matzoh brie. So, 50% of my mom's repetoire was focused in those 8 days.  

Come to think of it, I would have eaten a lot better if we would have had matzoh brie during the rest of the year.

beachfan

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The thing I miss the most from Passover are the macaroons, hands down. I haven't found macaroons to equal Passover macaroons any other time of the year, and there aren't nearly as many either. (They sell out fast, too.)

Of course, the answer is to learn to make my own, but they still wouldn't be the same.

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The thing I miss the most from Passover are the macaroons, hands down. I haven't found macaroons to equal Passover macaroons any other time of the year, and there aren't nearly as many either. (They sell out fast, too.)

Of course, the answer is to learn to make my own, but they still wouldn't be the same.

I forget the name of the bakery, but it's on the same block as Veniero's, 1st ave and 11th or 12th, at the corner, and if I remember, they have fabulous macaroons all year long.

If I'm confusing them with another bakery, then just get something else, because that bakery is definitely fabulous.

I now wind up stopping there for something on my way to Veniero's, so each trip is a double desert day.

beachfan

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Being non-observant, the only thing I really ever "miss" (other than better soda) are those wonderful fruit slices.  You can get them year-round, of course, but I have old memories of having them around this time of year which adds an inexcusable level of nostalgia. :)

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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Unlike the Fat Guy, I like the hard texture of the schmura matzah, although I readily agree that it is largely tasteless. With some good sephardic haroset, though, it's something else altogether. The commercial grade of matzah is far better for matzah brie, the best after-seder Passover food in our house.

My wife makes a chocolate cake with matzah meal, ground hazelnuts, choped figs and cognac that is the item most looked forward to at the seder table. The recipe for this cake has been passed to many people who are only interested in great chocolate cake, Jewish or not, holiday or not.

Who said "There are no three star restaurants, only three star meals"?

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Being non-observant, the only thing I really ever "miss" (other than better soda) are those wonderful fruit slices.  You can get them year-round, of course, but I have old memories of having them around this time of year which adds an inexcusable level of nostalgia. :)

Well, there's always finding someone selling Passover candy for a religious school fundraiser. :) That's how we've been getting our annual "fix" of fruit slices and chocolate matzah - my niece.

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My wife makes a chocolate cake with matzah meal, ground hazelnuts, choped figs and cognac that is the item most looked forward to at the seder table. The recipe for this cake has been passed to many people who are only interested in great chocolate cake, Jewish or not, holiday or not.

Well?

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 BUT...they are nothing like Passover macaroons.

You must mean they are better or at least comparable to the Sweet Things macaroons.  Can you elaborate.  My entire Passover meal came from Waldbaums from 1965 until I left NYC.  Macaroons were Manishevitz in a can.

beachfan

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Oh, no.  Something Sweet's macaroons are much better than the canned Passover varities, which are all based on coconut and artifically flavored.  Simething Sweet offers genuine almond-paste based macaroons that come in flavors like mocha, vanilla and lemon. They come as a petite sandwich, rounded sides out,  the exterior gently crisp, but the whole cookie melting in the mouth after the slightest nutty resistance.

There's something I love about canned Passover macaroons, too, but it has more to do with nostalgia.

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Chocolate Fig Cake for Passover or Anytime:

Cake:

Bring four ounces of the best dried figs you can find to a simmer in a quarter cup of similar cognac or brandy. Cool.

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8" round cake pan, line with wax paper and dust with cocoa powder.

Beat 8 tbsp margarine until light, gradually adding 2/3c sugar and a pinch of salt until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat in 3 large eggs, lightly beaten, then 4 oz best quality bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled. Fold in 4 oz roasted hazelnuts, finely ground, and the fig mixture, chopped.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Let cake sit in pan 10 - 15 minutes, then loosen edges, invert onto rack, remove wax paper and reinvert onto a serving plate arranged with removable pieces of waxed paper. Let cool completely.

Glaze:

Melt 3 oz semisweet chocolate with 2 tbsp sugar, a pich of salt and 2 tbsp water. Remove from heat and stir in margarine. Cool until slightly thickened.

Slowly pour glaze over cake, quickly smoothing all over with an offset spatula.

Decorate perimeter and center of cake with whole roasted hazelnuts.

Presumably, for the nonobservant and for any other time of year, butter instead of margarine would do this cake no harm.

If you try it, let us know how you liked it.

Who said "There are no three star restaurants, only three star meals"?

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  • 3 months later...

*pulls head out of sand and shakes vigorously* how does one go about making gefilte fish. i'm hoping beyond hope that something i would fabricate would taste better than the bottled stuff you find on the supermarket shelf. :wacko:

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