Category: Stylish Entertaining

Passover Round-Up 2009

Herbed Matzoh Balls
What would make the perfect introduction to this year’s collaborative Passover meal? I think Matzoh Balls says it all. Come, have a seat at our Seder Table, and Taste With The Eyes.
Our Collective Meal Served by Course:
First Course

Karen’s Haroset

Stacey’s Haroset

Giz’s Gefilte Fish


Soup

Julia’s Stuffed Matzo Ball Soup
Salad

Zahavah’s Fennel and Pistachio Salad

Father Adam’s Spinach Salad
with Mandarin Oranges, Olives, Oakwood Smoked Bacon
Main Course

Zahavah’s Moroccan Meatballs in Saffron Sunset Sauce

Amy’s Baked Tilapia with Lemon Parsley Matzah Crust

Father Adam’s Roasted Leg of Sonoma Lamb

Elra’s Braised Cornish Hen with Coriander
Kirmizi Biber and Preserved Lemon
Sides

Father Adam’s Fresh Asparagus with Garlic and Butter

Lori Lynn’s Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots
with Olives and Gremolata
(Brisket in background)

Father Adam’s Scalloped Russet Potatoes with Cheddar


Dessert

Penny’s Chocolate Cloud Cake

Penny’s Low Fat Cherry Cheesecake

Penny’s Peach Melba Torte

Penny’s Strawberry Shortcake

Penny’s Hazelnut Pear Tort

Stacey’s Chocolate Covered Macaroons
Après Passover

Phyllis’ Tempura Gefilte Fish
Contributors (alphabetical):
Amy
“As our ancestors ran from Pharaoh’s army on their escape from slavery and their journey out of Egypt and into the promised land, they had no time to wait for their bread to rise. Instead, the bread baked unleavened on their backs in the hot desert sun. This was the first matzah, and we eat it today to remember the sacrifices that our people had to make so that we could be free. The following is an application of matzah that I doubt our ancestors would have ever imagined, much less had the time or ability to prepare on their backs!”
Elra
“The Kirmizi Biber will add a little bit of spiciness to the dish.”
Father Adam
“On Holy Thursday, our meal is a little nicer than usual. On that night, we remember Jesus’ Passover Meal (the night before he died) and the night he instituted our Eucharist. We don’t imitate the Seder meal, but we do remember that Jesus was an observant Jew and that he would have celebrated the Passover just as Jews have done throughout the ages. As Roman Catholics, we are proud to look at this as our heritage.”
Giz
“Here’s babba’s recipe that’s been kept under lock and key. We think it’s ‘the best’.”
Julia
“Finally, finally this year, I synthesized all my mistakes and wisdom to create feather light matzo balls. The secret is to make the batter as wet as possible and still hold together when cooked. The water in the batter turns into steam when cooked, pushing against the dough, expanding it to create air pockets. When the matzo balls “set” (i.e. the proteins coagulate and the starches gel), the air bubbles are trapped inside.”
Karen
“I was supposed to prepare Haroset (aka Charoset) for a “Last Supper” reflection in my parish on Maundy Thursday (9 April 2009). The first time I tried making Haroset (using a recipe that I had randomly come across while surfing the web) about 3 -4 years ago, the results weren’t good. This year, I was given a “killer recipe” except that it came without any measurements, indication of proportions, and the directions were simply to mix everything together then refrigerate for 2 days. Panic, panic…what if I got the proportions or sequence wrong etc?”

Lori Lynn
“Our Passover Menu does not change much from year to year. We always have matzoh ball soup, tomato onion brisket, chicken with honey orange ginger glaze. This year I did change up the vegetable dishes however, one of the new dishes we made was Roasted Carrots, Parsnips, and Shallots with Olives and Gremolata inspired by Marie, the Proud Italian Cook.“

Penny
“We didn’t have anyone who was kosher this year, so I opted to make lowfat dairy desserts, which I made by mixing recipes from my CD, Amazing Passover Desserts, with some of the recipes from Light Jewish Holiday Desserts. We had 4 desserts: Lowfat Strawberry Shortcake – made with Passover Genoise, Strawberry Filling and Lowfat Whipped Cream, Chocolate Cloud Cake with Lowfat Ganache, Lowfat Cherry Cheesecake, and Coconut Macaroons. Each cake was made in miniature so that the portions were small and no one felt stuffed even tasting all of the desserts.”

Phyllis
“But wouldn’t this be a great way to use up leftover gefilte fish once Passover is over?”
Stacey
“Here is my recipe for Haroset. It is more of a Sephardic, Middle Eastern version with different nuts and dried fruits, unlike traditional haroset (also spelled haroseth & charoset). It is absolutely delicious. I always say each year ‘why don’t I make this all year long? It would be a great appetizer, and great on a turkey sandwich!’ But, I never do. It wouldn’t be as special, if I did.”
Zahavah
“On Wednesday, April 8, the morning of the first Passover seder, many Jews will partake in a rare ritual called Birkat HaChamah (”blessing over the sun”) after sunrise…Supposedly every 28 years, the sun is in the exact same position that it was in on the fourth day of creation, and many take advantage of this opportunity to remember creation and bless our Creator. The prayer said roughly translates to, ‘Blessed are you, Eternal our Lord, who makes the work of creation.’ “
As our virtual Seder draws to a close I wish you peace and extend my sincere thank you to all the cooks of this exceptional meal.

Passover Seder & The Kids

The tables are set early in the day.
Passover begins after sundown.
And there is much to prepare!

The kids have their own table. Stone is six years old and Jett is four.
They have their own Seder plate, just like the adults.

Passover Seder Plate contains symbolic foods having special significance in retelling the Passover story: z’roa (roasted shankbone), charoset, chazeret (romaine lettuce), karpas (parsley), beitzah (roasted egg), maror (horseradish).

What is the significance of all these frogs?

We have new people at our Seder every year, and they ask, what can I bring? Since the food is already planned, we say, please bring a frog. Our frog community has grown over the years.It is very important that children are involved in the Seder. The frogs, the place mats for coloring, helping with the washing of the hands, and ultimately the hunting for the afikomen help to keep even very young kids engaged and excited about Passover. My nephews are two energetic little boys who are well-behaved and respectful throughout the evening. I am a proud Aunt, can you tell?

My favorite, the Chef Frog (bottom left). Is he holding a brisket?
When Pharaoh refused to set the Israelites free, God punished the Egyptians with Ten Plagues. Frogs are one of the Ten Plagues.

We recognize guests who are attending their first Seder. Lena, Kim and Viktoria are from Germany and are working in Chicago for a year as au pairs.

Everyone is seated. There is Stone at the kids table by the window. Everyone gives him their attention as he welcomed everyone to our Seder with his own poem.
My brother, Don, is the leader. Everyone participates. We read from the haggadah. We recite the blessings. We tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. We sing. We drink. We eat. We laugh. We get teary-eyed. Our story is being retold all over the world on this day.
Seder means order. Here is the order of the Seder:

  • Kaddesh – Saying a blessing over the first cup of wine in honor of the holiday.
  • Urechatz – Washing the hands, no blessing is said, prepare to eat karpas.
  • Karpas – Eating parsley dipped in salt water, representing the tears of our ancestors.
  • Yachatz – The middle of the three matzohs on the table is broken, the larger piece becomes the afikomen.
  • Maggid – The story of the Exodus from Egypt is retold. It starts with asking of the Four Questions by the youngest at the table.
  • Rachtzah – Hands are washed for the second time with a blessing, prepare to eat the matzoh.
  • Motzi – A blessing for bread or grain products is recited over the matzoh.
  • Matzah – Blessing specific to matzoh is recited and then matzoh is eaten.
  • Maror – Blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable such as horseradish, symbolizing the bitterness of slavery.
  • Korekh – Another set of bitter herbs known as Chazeret is eaten as the sandwich to replace the paschal offering. We make a matzoh sandwich with maror and charoset.
  • Shulchan Orech – A festive meal is eaten.
  • Tzafun – Piece of Matzoh hidden for the children to find and is eaten as the ‘dessert’ or the last food of the meal.
  • Barech -Grace is recited over the third cup of wine and then it is drunk. The fourth cup is poured along with the cup set aside for the Prophet Elijah. The door is opened to invite him in.
  • Hallel – Several psalms are recited followed by a blessing over the last cup of wine.
  • Nirtzah – A wish is made that Jews may celebrate next Pesach in Jerusalem or that the Messiah may come again next year.

Jett is ready to help with The First Washing of the Hands.

Lena and Stone assist with the washing of the hands, here, with Cousin Vicki. Vicki had been the youngest in our family until Stone and Jett were born. The youngest is the one to ask the Four Questions. This year, for the first time in almost three decades, Vicki did not ask the Four Questions. Stone did. (Maybe you remember Cousin Vicki from my posting about her beautiful wedding to Jonah in the Sonoma wine country last Fall here).

We eat matzoh on Passover to remind us that the Israelites left Egypt in such haste, they could not wait for the bread to rise. Additionally, matzoh is the “bread of affliction” – the food of slavery, it reminds us to be humble and to appreciate our freedoms. Don places 3 matzohs in a special cloth. The middle matzoh will be broken in half, the larger piece placed in a little bag and hidden. The kids hunt for this piece of matzoh called the afikomen after dinner and receive a cash reward for “returning” the afikomen to the adults.
Stone asks in English and Hebrew:
Why is this night different from all other nights?
Mah nishtanah halyla hazeh mikol halaylot
1) On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice.
2) On all nights we eat chametz or matzoh, and on this night only matzoh.
3) On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night maror.
4) On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline.

A second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in preparation for eating the matzoh.
As Lena and Stone help with the hand washing at one table, Kristy and Jett assist the other table. One of the objectives of the Seder is to retell our story and teach the next generation about the rituals, symbols, and meaning of the holiday. Next, we recite a blessing for matzoh and maror, eat a Hillel sandwich of charoset and maror, then serve the meal.
Please stop by on April 17 to see the food from this Seder and others!

Later that night:

“I found the Afikomen!”

Happy Easter & Eggs

Passover Seder Plate
Which Includes The Beitzah (Roasted Egg)
I would like to wish a very Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating tomorrow! May it be a glorious day for you and your families, full of blessings and love.
For our family, Passover began at sundown this past Wednesday. Needless to say, I had been quite busy shopping, cooking and preparing for Passover. I look forward to sharing more about our Passover meal in an upcoming post. Today, in honor of Passover and Easter, I thought it might be neat to put together a compilation of some of the egg dishes that have been featured on Taste With The Eyes.

My nephew, Stone, peels the hard-boiled eggs for Passover.
Passover
The Beitzah (roasted egg) on the Seder Plate reminds us of the the festival offering brought by our ancestors to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence. At the Seder in our home, we serve hard-boiled eggs with the first course, which can be dipped in salt water, representative of the Israelites’ tears over suffering and slavery.
Easter
Throughout history, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations. The egg is seen as symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. A red colored-egg symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world and human redemption through the blood shed in the sacrifice of the crucifixion. The egg itself is a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. (from Wikipedia)
If you have something to share regarding the symbolism of the egg in your religion or culture please leave a comment, it would be very interesting to hear about it.


PASSOVER ROUND-UP 2009

It’s not too late to join in the Passover Round-up 2009! It will post on April 17th. If you participated in a Seder this year, I hope you will join us. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo.
Wishing you a very special Easter.
“Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.”
– S.D. Gordon

P.S. In honor of Easter, you might enjoy the beautiful photos and interesting text on the blog of my dear friend of many years, Father Adam. It’s called Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within a Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Green Risotto

Recipes and Reminiscences
from the Home of
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
My foodie friends and I are having another themed dinner party soon. The theme is going to be a tribute to Jackie Kennedy. We will wear pill box hats and pearls, and cook dishes of White House Chef René Verdon and of Marta Sgubin, Jackie’s personal chef.
So I’ve gotten out my Kennedy cookbooks and started to look for inspiration. That’s where I found the amazing Green Risotto. In Cooking for Madam by Marta Sgubin.
Marta said, “I loved to serve this for lunch in winter, because it was food with such a beautiful color.”

Heat 1/4 c. olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add a finely chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown.

Add 1 1/2 c. arborio rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil. Add 1/2 c. white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add about 5 c. hot vegetable (or chicken) stock gradually as absorbed, stirring continuously until the rice is al dente.

Liquefy fresh spinach leaves with a small amount of water in a food processor.

Add the liquid spinach to the risotto.

Serve with (optional) Parmesan on the side.

Oh! Have you heard that there’s a huge virtual party going on? Legendary Italian cooks Marie and Maryann are hosting the second annual Festa Italiana. A grand buffet bigger and finer than any you’ll find in Vegas! Come join us for an Italian party like no other.  I’m bringing Marta’s Green Risotto.

Cajun Prime Rib

Cajun Prime Rib
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mélange de Haricots with Mushrooms
Cajun Prime Rib
Recipe by Paul Prudhomme

Remove the fat cap from the top of the prime rib roast. Season the meat with a generous amount of pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Arrange thinly sliced onions in a layer on top then replace the fat cap. Bake at 550°F for 35 minutes. Cool, then refrigerate until completely chilled. Remove the fat cap and discard.

Slice the cold rib into thick steaks.

Season the steaks generously with the Cajun spice mixture:
  • 1 tbsp Plus 1 tsp — salt
  • 1 tbsp Plus 2 tsp — white pepper
  • 1 tbsp Plus 2 tsp — fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp Plus 3/4 tsp — black pepper
  • 2 1/2 tsp Dry mustard
  • 2 1/2 tsp Ground cayenne pepper

Heat cast iron skillet until beyond the smoking stage. The skillet cannot be too hot! Cook steaks in the hot dry skillet.

Look at that smoke! This is an outdoor experience. How do you like Greg’s double burner propane stove?

Cook on very high heat until a black crust forms (about 2 minutes per side).

Make sure the steaks are well-chilled when they go into the hot skillet, this will insure a rare to medium-rare interior with the blackened exterior.
Pat’s excellent wine pairing: 1994 RUBICON EDIZIONE PENNINO Zinfandel Magnum. This serious Zinfandel has briary and spicy aromas with berry fruit and peppery flavors.
Thank you for a wonderful evening to my friends Chip & Pat! And to Greg for bringing his amazing cooking stove and introducing us to this legendary Paul Prudhomme recipe.