Taste With The Eyes: Passover Round-Up 2009

4.18.2009

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

Calm in the Kitchen

"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

Elra's Cooking

"The Kirmizi Biber will add a little bit of spiciness to the dish."

Father Adam

Monastery Daily Photo

"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

Equal Opportunity Kitchen

"Here's babba's recipe that's been kept under lock and key. We think it's 'the best'."

Julia

Grow. Eat. Cook.

"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

Gastronomic Ruminations

"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

Taste With The Eyes

"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

Amazing Dessert Recipes

"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

Me Hungry

"But wouldn’t this be a great way to use up leftover gefilte fish once Passover is over?"

Stacey

Stacey Snacks

"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

Kosher Camembert

"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.

Julia Child Quotes - TOUJOURS BON APPETIT!

“You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'"

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

"It's easy to get the feeling that you know the language just because when you order a beer they don't bring you oysters." Paul Child on speaking French

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. "

"Life itself is the proper binge."

"It was a Morsel of Perfection."

"I was in pure, flavorful heaven at the Cordon Bleu."

Julia Child sees herself on TV, July 1962, she saw room for improvement, and still she can say it was fun : "There I was, in black and white, a large woman sloshing eggs too quickly here, too slowly there, gasping, looking at the wrong camera while talking too loudly and so on...But it had been fun."

She has her own opinions on kitchen equipment: "Clairborne sniffed at our use of a garlic press, 'a gadget considered in some circles to be only one cut above garlic salt or garlic powder.' I happened to like garlic presses..."

Understanding Julia's captivation by French food: "This is the kind of food that I have fallen in love with: not trendy souped-up fantasies, just something very good to eat. It was classic French cooking, where the ingredients have been carefully selected and beautifully and knowingly prepared. Or, in the words of the famous gastronome Curnonsky, 'Food that tastes of what it is.' "

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made. Even after you eat it, it stays with you - always." Julia's instructor, Chef Bugnard at Le Cordon Bleu

"Oh, 'crise de foie,' that French sole was so delicious!"

Julia's passion comes through loud and clear as she describes a fish dish: "La Truite's true glory was the Sole a la Normande, a poem of poached and flavored sole fillets surrounded by oysters, and mussels, and napped with a wonder-sauce of wine, cream, and butter, and topped with fluted mushrooms. 'Voluptuous' was the word. I had never imagined that fish could be taken so seriously, or taste so heavenly."

Julia's unique way with words, on Crepes Suzette: "The creature named Suzette may or may not have been the mistress of the Prince of Wales, but whoever she was, she long ago inspired a magnificent dessert that is still one of our favorites."

"I am probably one of the few people around who saw the real Caesar Cardini making his salad. I was about 9 when my parents took me to his restaurant in Tijuana. They were so excited when big jolly Caesar himself came to the table to make the salad. And it was dramatic: I remember most clearly the eggs going in, and how he tossed the leaves so it looked like a wave turning over."

"With a handsome package such as Jacques's, you can neatly cut the top open at the table with a pair of scissors..." Julia on Salmon en Papillote

"There's no reason to be intimidated by the idea of making pâté. You can just think of it as meat loaf."

From Julia's dear friend Jacques Pepin, "You are what you cook."

"Understanding egg yolks will make you a master of hollandaise sauce."

Julia encouraging us not to be intimidated: "When you know how to saute your meat so it browns rather than steams, you're cooking. What's difficult about that? You heat the pan, you dry the meat, you don't crowd it into the pan, and you're browning it. Is that difficult?"

Food Quotes

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."

Orson Welles

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

"Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit."
Charlie Trotter

"Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore. "
Thomas Keller

"I love to make people happy."
Wolfgang Puck

"Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking as olive oil is to Italian."

The Little Saigon Cookbook by Ann Le

"I wish, I wish lunch could last forever...waiter, bring us one more bottle of wine..."

Jimmy Buffett

"My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis."
Emeril Lagasse

"Gordon Ramsay makes me laugh because he knows that I'm not a chef."
Nigella Lawson

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else."
Mario Batali

"I always knew the importance of it, since I was three or four years old my mother used to feed me wine and water. I grew up with wine as liquid food."
Robert Mondavi

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at his/her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers."
Laurie Colwin

"Food is a central part of our lives. It provides the body with fuel and raw materials for maintenance, growth, and repair. It draws together family and friends, anchors celebrations and rites of passage, and sometimes soothes the soul."
Ethan Becker