Passover Food…. and memories of days gone past. Old really old (and they were only in their 50’s) unhealthy grandparents, who used chicken fat instead of a better oil, who used big wide egg noodles laced with sugar, sugar and more sugar…..eggs, etc. and they called it Kugel or Noodle Pudding. Well, yeeeeaaaah. Milk, eggs, sugar. That sounds like a custard or pudding to me…
So….. I made a very untraditional Passover this year because basically I’m not religious but I love, Love, LOVE the tradition, and if done right, Passover Food is the bomb!
Having it on Sunday instead of tonight Monday, was easier for us to cook and everyone to attend…… (I told you we’re rebels without a cause)…..And we read the story of Passover from a Haggadah (a small printing book – not really a book, but lets call it that, so you get the idea). As a matter of fact, there’s money to be made with this as Maxwell House Coffee realized many moons ago. According to Fast Company’s Newsletter:
“Over 90 years ago, American Jews celebrated the Passover holiday by eating matzo and unleavened treats, but when they reached for a beverage they shunned coffee in favor of tea. It seems there wasn’t a coffee brand certified kosher for Passover. In 1923, Maxwell House saw an opportunity and introduced the first kosher for Passover coffee; others soon followed. Looking to solidify the brand in the minds of Jewish consumers in the early 1930s, Maxwell House’s ad agency employed an innovative marketing tactic for the time: branded content.
Well, that’s what we call it today. In fact, Maxwell House decided to publish a book, specifically a Haggadah, and offer it to customers for free with the purchase of a can of coffee. (A Haggadah recounts the Exodus from Egypt, comprised of prayers, songs, and stories which guide the Passover Seder.) The Maxwell House edition was an instant hit. Today, it’s the most popular Haggadah in the world, with over 50 million printed“.
The first thing I put down after the plates, silverware, glasses and flowers is a standard Sedar Plate, with a roasted Lamb Shank, Hard Boiled Egg, Horse Radish that’s red because it’s mixed with beets (Bitter Herbs), Kapas which is either parsley, celery, lettuce, onion or potato dipped in salt water and Charoses (a mixture of finely chopped apples, walnuts, and cinnamon mixed with wine). These are all used to demonstrate parts of the story we are about to tell. Three matzohs placed separately in covers is part of the deal as well. I remember growing up and being the youngest, I got to hide the matzoh at the end of the meal and then negotiate to give it back for money. Really? Really? It’s part of the ‘traditional’ to steal, experience the giggling joy of the head of the table going for the ‘dessert’ and not finding it, and as the youngest, negotiating a ransom for the dessert? Let’s think about that one…..
And for the best part ~ everyone gets their own glass of wine with a general carafe on the table for re-fills. We did not use Manischewitz Wine. We used GOOD wine. There are up to 4 toasts! We were all laughing by mid sedar… Lots of wine, no food yet! I didn’t get persmission to use the group photo, so I’ve blurred the faces to protect the drunk… errr…I mean…. the innocent!
And of course there’s an extra cup of wine in the middle of the table for Elijah…. he’s the angel of the unexpected visitor, which we are to be open to feeding, should he arrive unexpectedly at the door.
Yeah right. An indigent person comes to the door? We feed him and give him lots of wine? lol
Now here come the traditional foods for the Sedar.
We started dinner with an old standard: Gefilte Fish. The people I have talked with who tried to make it themselves years prior said: “Never again”. The fish used is White Fish, or Pike …. and more tiny little bones than it’s worth. So, from the store, straight out of the jar works for me!
Next…. Matzoh Ball Soup!
And I want to say that I have heard my entire life how difficult making good Matzoh Balls is. Well… it just ain’t so!
It comes out of a package. And if you follow the directions, you’ve got the balls you’re looking for! lol
Another protein, in addition to brisket is Chicken. I put it on a Rotisserie. YUM!
And then I took a Foodsaver machine and sucked out the air. It kept fresh for two days, all the while having the flavors marry in the fridge. Moist. Delicious. It was a big hit!
And then there were ………….Sides
You take kasha or buckwheat
coat it in egg, brown it up on the stove
add onions, mushrooms ~ all browned up ~ and throw that into bow tie pasta
and you’ve got Kasha Varnishkas
Carrots with Cinnamon
Grilled Asparagus with a Matzo Crumble
Yes. We made Kugel. It’s just wide egg noodles, with or without yolks, depending on whether or not you’re vegan (that’s just a joke). But what you add to that determines that as well.
You can do a vegetable Kugel…. or the more traditional…. sour cream, cottage cheese, raisins, cinnamon sugar and butter. And Butter. AND Butter!
Now I did what I could. I substituted Grapeseed oil and Coconut oil in place of butter, and stevia and maple sugar in place of standard sugar. But let’s face it! Sugar is sugar!
So by now you realize that this is not a traditional blog, with perfect recipes. You can always find that elsewhere. What I try to do is give you the ‘story’, give you suggestions, tell you what might go wrong with your meal and how to prevent that.
My tip on any holiday meal is this: Prepare up to 5 days ahead. Use a Foodsaver Machine. Cook an item or two per day. Easy Breezy. Use the machine to suck the air out and store. If you cook 2 things a day, and cook it only up to 80% done….. then the day of the event, you simply throw everything into the oven on low and slow, and it finishes up in a half hour to an hour.
Mind you, do not cook asparagus in advance. Do not throw your salad together in advance. We still want to keep a fresh element to the meal. We’re just talking about the protein and side dishes, and soup…. because sitting in the fridge does in fact give all the flavors of each dish a chance to ‘marry’…. and that makes for a YUM meal!
We ended this meal with Angel Food Cake and Chocolate Macaroons. For some reason, the macaroons have the flavor of a tootsie roll to me. Mmmmmmmmm………
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian