Seder 2026

I did all that elaborate cooking for Purim, and now Seder is reruns.  I decided to go easy on my guests (and myself) this year and keep it basic.  The only item close to an experiment was the sumac onions, and that was more of a condiment.  So was the green goddess dressing, which ended up being mostly parsley because the plant is now a bush.  I was skeptical about paying $4 for a start at Home Depot, but it has definitely earned its keep.

I didn't even make the latkes from scratch.  I started with a box mix, then added the last of some potato flakes, a couple of mashed leftover sweet potatoes, extra chopped green onion, and enough water and an extra egg to make it work.  They did not taste at all like my own recipe, but didn't taste quite like the mix either.

Good news, I was living in the moment.  Bad for the blog, the only photos I took were of the platter set-ups and extra sticky tabs on the cabinet so I wouldn't forget to serve something.  Still forgot to set out the charoses until we got to that point.  I added a few chopped dates to it this year on a whim, and it went over very well.

I was also proud of myself that everything was cleaned up the next day.  I'll do the laundry part once I have a full load, but the dining room is back to normal.

Roast Leg of Lamb

Potato Latkes with Applesauce

Roasted Carrots

Roasted Brussels Sprouts 

Salad with Green Goddess dressing

Sumac Onions

Torta Caprese

Purim 2026

I don't usually make such an elaborate spread for Purim.  Ok, yes I do, but it doesn't always get its own post.  We're still on the Festive Cooking chapter, so I'm going for it.

I've been watching a lot of Turkish cooking channels.  Because it's Ramadan, some of those are showcasing iftar spreads of ten or more dishes for that person's turn to host.  I had to keep reminding myself I was cooking for one person.  Yes, leftovers for three more days, but only four meals total.  I narrowed it down to a reasonable amount of food and calories.  Really, each dish is appetizer-sized and meant to be enjoyed as part of a larger meal.  Once I get to the actual posts I will put in those notes.

What really surprised me was how little this cost.  Because I based it on items on hand and kept it close to vegan, it was a whopping $3 for a small cabbage and a couple of onions.  If you costed out everything, it was probably $20.  That's still a very good deal for such an elaborate production.

Ramadan Pidesi

Farro-Stuffed Onions

Lima Bean Purée

Charred Cabbage with Tahini Dressing

Sumac Onions

Hamantaschen with Fig Filling

These recipes are not being posted in order.  I'm doing hard (the bread), all the easy ones, and then the multi-part stuffed onions.  I'll try to remember to link all of them once they're posted.  And yes, I have noticed that there are a lot of onions in this meal.  Not seeing a problem with that.

All my good intentions to start Passover cleaning fell victim to life stuff.  I've done two of the tasks, meaning I'm three weeks behind and will have to clean on work days.  I am not skipping renting a carpet cleaner again this year.  I can rest the day after Seder.

Chanukah 2025

For once, Chanukah was not the same week as another holiday.  I hosted a dinner on the last night, which also happened to be the Winter Solstice.

I worked that morning, so I pre-cooked some of the menu and prepped other items.  I had four hours to do the same-day cooking, and didn't really need more than two.

Let's hear it for living in the moment, I didn't take any pictures aside from the upcoming post on how to spatchcock.  I didn't even photograph the bird after roasting.  No platter arrangement, not even the set table.  I thought I had.  The next day, I took one of all the dishes in the kitchen.  I didn't wash anything that night.  It took less than an hour to hand wash everything after I got home from work the day after the party.  It was a long 48 hours, but I was happy to see everyone.

What surprised me was that the kale salad was almost gone.  Pretty much everyone in attendance said they didn't like kale, and I assured them I wouldn't be offended if they passed on any of the dishes.  I didn't even fill the bowl, assuming it wouldn't be popular, but I needed another vegetable in case someone didn't like asparagus.  I massaged the leaves to make them easier to chew and tossed the salad in a Dijon dressing.  The asparagus and latkes were also gone, which I expected.  One guest brought baklava and date rolls, so there was plenty of dessert.  She didn't know I had a Mediterranean theme going on with the meal.  It definitely worked.

Roasted Spatchcock Chicken

Latkes with applesauce

Kale Salad with Dijon dressing

Asparagus with Garlic

Zaalouk

Hawaiian Rolls

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Part XVII : Festive Cooking

I'm still trying to cook using pantry items first, and following a reduced-carb Mediterranean template.  However, holiday meals tend to break the budget.

As I was tweaking October's meal plan of protein choices into an actual grocery list, I ended up with a lot of new items I don't normally stock.  My grocery spending for the year has been better than average.  I can get away with it despite rising prices.  A big part of that was discovering the Ralphs (Kroger) discount system.  I stopped shopping there when Pavilions had a much better points redemption strategy.  Ralphs doesn't get me free products, but their prices are usually lower and they generously discount items days before their Sell By dates.

It was time to start a new section, to reflect that I'm not only cooking budget meals right now.  Granted, the day after I made this choice, Ralphs had excellent meat sales and I spent just shy of $27 refilling the freezer.  I had just pulled my last pack of chicken thighs and was down to a turkey carcass and a brisket that I might cook up for one of the work pot lucks.  With today's prices, I'm pretty impressed that I got a whole chicken, 10 thighs, 2 lbs of chuck roast, and a one-pound tuna steak for less than $30.  I may not have to buy meat for the rest of the year, even for holiday parties.  And maybe January.

A lot of the recipes I have planned can be multiplied for parties, served as appetizers, taken to pot lucks, put into dessert gift baskets, or generally enjoyed as a special meal.  Not everything will be expensive or difficult to make.  Some of it is dump-and-go slow cooker.  A lot of making a meal special is presentation and the spirit in which it is served.

Lamb Fondue

I got some lamb "kabob" meat, then had to figure out what to do with it.  I considered Stoo, harira, a chunky shepherd's pie, kebabs, or a tagine.  Then I decided to just do far too much prep work and get out the fondue pot.  Good thing I didn't go with grilling, because it rained out of nowhere.

I'm putting "parties" on as a label, because something this devoted to presentation should have an audience.  We did have fondue nights growing up with just the four of us, but it was always an event.  Not usually on a holiday, just something everyone recognized as a special dinner.  This was when we each had three dipping sauces in little cups that I still use.  My mom was careful with the portioning, and we rarely had any leftovers to repurpose.

Despite going to two stores for the best deals, this one got spendy fast.  I realized I was cooking the same day as shopping and took advantage of clearances, but I did bring in everything except the yogurt and the last lettuce in the garden.  I've been doing very well on the grocery bills lately, and was planning on freezer and pantry meals for the next week with zero new groceries.  It all averages out if you're looking at what is on hand before shopping.

If you're new to hot oil fondue, there are some very important rules to follow.  Number one is managing cross-contamination.  The raw food needs a separate plate.  I caution against serving any kind of finger food with this, including bread, since you will be touching the raw lamb with your fingers and likely not getting up to wash each time.  Number two, the fork will be very hot coming out of the pot.  Do not touch it, never put it in your mouth, and use your eating fork or knife to remove the cooked item.  If serving vegetarians or vegans, have a second pot for any non-meats.

*1 lb lamb stew meat
other dippers of choice such as another protein, mushrooms, par-boiled potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, etc
*1/2 C Greek yogurt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
*2 Tb chopped cilantro 

1.  Prepare your fondue pot according to manufacturer's directions.  I used the electric one, which was kind of big for what I was doing, but far easier to set up and clean.

2.  Start heating 1 quart of oil on the stove.  Some fondue pots go straight from stovetop to the holder.  Others, like mine, you have to heat the oil separately.  Technically, you can do it over the fondue element, but it takes a lot longer.

3.  Prepare your raw meat platter.  The pieces should be no larger than two bites.  I don't mind cutting mine after cooking.  If they're too large, they take forever and lower the temperature of the pot.

4.  Whisk up the yogurt, vinegar, cilantro, and spices for a dipping sauce.  I also got out some pesto for the veggies.  It's fun to have more than one option.

5.  Make sure every place setting has a plate for cooked items, regular utensils, and fondue forks.  Most come with two of each color.  I also put a salad on mine ahead of time.  You can do group sauces if no one double dips, or give each person an ounce or so of each.

6.  To cook the lamb, skewer one piece on the pointy end.  Gently lower it into the oil so it doesn't splatter.  I tend to char mine as a personal preference, but rare is ok for everything except chicken and seafood.  If you put the veggies on the same plate as the meat, they must be cooked for at least a minute due to cross-contamination.

7.  Once done, remove piece from fondue fork onto eating plate, start up the next one, and enjoy your meal!

Difficulty rating :-0

Thanksgiving-Style Seder

I picked up a 12 pound turkey after Thanksgiving and sank it in the bottom corner of the chest freezer to camp out until now.  Turkey is a common choice for Seder, and I decided to go a little farther with a Thanksgiving theme.  Minus the pumpkin pie, which I couldn't figure out how to make without gelatin.  Also, I still had a Passover cake taking up an unfortunate amount of space in the chest freezer since last year.  Those things are good at room temperature for six months, so I knew freezing it for a year wouldn't be a big deal.  It actually defrosted wonderfully soft and moist; even I wouldn't have known the difference.

I haven't roasted a turkey in a very long time.  I can't even remember the last time I made a whole chicken.  I forgot where I put the roasting pan and panicked that I may have gotten rid of it.  It has been that long.  What I decided to do was cook the turkey in the morning, carve it, and refrigerate it until we were starting Seder.  That way, the oven would be free the hour before to make all the casseroles at the same temperature.  It worked perfectly.  I will do that from now on whenever a meat requires resting and carving.  Why stress yourself doing it after the guests arrive, when the taste is not affected.

With turkey, you need stuffing, in this case a savory farfel kugel.  The gravy was all the pan drippings boiled with a potato starch slurry for thickener.  It turned out to be cheaper to buy kosher chicken trimmings and make my own broth, as klp boxed broth is way overpriced and basically a chicken-flavored salt lick.  I have a personal rule not to serve my homemade pressure-canned food to guests, but cranberry sauce is high acid water-bathed and safe.  I would have loved to make the sweet potato casserole with the canned potatoes; commercially canned is the safer option.  At some point, I will trust my skills and the process enough, but I'm still new at this.

I'm from the school that you don't have green beans during Passover.  I've loosened up on some of the kitnyot to follow modern trends, but that's a biggie.  Instead, I came up with an asparagus dish that I couldn't find online, so maybe I actually invented it.

I forgot how many casserole dishes you end up using when you make a Thanksgiving dinner.  No wonder I have so many of them.  I keep thinking I'll get rid of a couple, then something like this happens.

What really surprised me was how little I spent at the grocery store on a dinner party for eight and specialty items.  Some of the klp was leftover from last year with a sufficient expiration date.  Some things I had been picking up gradually along the way as part of my pantry stock.  All together, I probably spent a lot for the week's food, but over the course of an entire year.  The fresh items and what I didn't already have were $40 for Seder and $80 to fill out the other 23 meals of the holiday, plus snacks and treats.  Darn eggs.  As usual, I bought more than I'll eat in a week, but I'd rather that than scramble for meal ideas.

*Roast turkey & gravy

*Cranberry Sauce

*Farfel Stuffing with Red Chard

*Sweet potato casserole

Asparagus with Orange-Date Vinaigrette 

*Passover cake with sliced strawberries and whipped cream 

Chrismukkah 2024

It is so rare to have Chanukah start on Christmas Day, but it was convenient not to have to ask for the day off.  My decorations were very confusing, having both out at the same time.  I gave up and left them that way.

I have been planning for months to have brisket, and it has been in the freezer since there was a good sale.  It was the new 7 quart Crockpot's first project.

The pie wasn't on the original menu.  My host at Thanksgiving dropped the pie face-down, so this was a do-over.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to hold that grudge for several years.  It's a lot of work.

With the cost of everything going up, I went easy on guests who wanted to bring something and asked for the salad and vegetables.  Huge sticker shock when the cost of eggs doubled overnight and I needed nearly a dozen for the menu I had planned.  Ended up making peppermint fudge as my chocolate dessert instead of the Torta Caprese, which cut out a few eggs.

I did set out hors d'oeuvres, which I rarely do.  I've been snacky lately.  Baked up store brand spanakopitas and set out a cheese platter and shrimp half-ring.  The advantage of making too much food is having leftovers for a few days.

Hors d'oeuvres
Green salad
Cranberry Brisket
Sweet Potato Latkes
Herbed Star Bread
Roasted broccoli and carrots
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
Peppermint Fudge

The Pantry is Ready for the Season

I've quietly been preparing for the end-of-year holidays for months.  I can't remember when I bought the ingredients for the green bean casserole, but it was probably in April.  Brisket was $5 a pound one day, so that went in the freezer for Chrismukkah.  Nearly every grocery day, I spent about $10 on items I knew I would use by the end of the year.  By spreading out the purchases, I won't have any big hits to the grocery budget.

In some climates, people stock up for winter every year as a routine.  Those are the people who get snowed in, or maybe certain items are delayed by storms.  Winter colds of every origin are more prevalent, and so are power and water outages.

I don't have those problems where I live.  Sometimes a storm will cut out internet or electricity for a few hours, but that's about it.  This makes my "winter" preparation mainly about snagging items I know I will use at a good price and checking the expiration dates first.

There's also the home canning.  When the Presto arrived, I no longer hoarded the canned sweet potatoes I picked up on clearance last year.  I'll need to can some, which is about 6-8 pounds for a load.  It's going to cost half the price of a can in the store if I time it right.  I'm not canning as though I won't be able to get to the store, but just to take advantage of sales to make items I would be buying anyway.

I did make the mistake of not buying half priced mincemeat in January, but I'm leaning toward making a Torta Caprese for Chrismukkah dessert.  Maybe I'll get lucky and some store will actually sell the pastries so I can have one or two for the season.

I do roll my eyes at myself when I glance at the corner of the pantry where the holiday-themed groceries have accumulated.  But then I remember how much cheaper they were six months ago than they are today, so it was probably a good choice.  It has been very hard not to break into the fried onions.  I should have bought two.  If I find more at a good price, I'm getting them and munching.  I also want to make pumpkin baked goods.  It's finally that time of year when no one questions it.

One thing I can break into is the cranberry sauce.  I still have a lot from last year.  I'll take a jar to Thanksgiving and make cranberry brisket for Chanukah.  I still can't believe it's so late that the first night is also Christmas.  At least that means I have the day off.

Is this too much food to have on hand for one person?  Probably.  Almost definitely.  It's still nowhere near the mess I started with in my mom's pantry because nothing is sitting until it spoils.  I have been very careful about dates, rotating, and putting already-purchased on the meal plan.  But if all I have to buy between now and January is fresh produce and dairy, I'm good with that.  Means more paycheck left over for gifts and parties.

Brandied Cherries

There was a pretty good sale on cherries, and I just ordered a ridiculous number of canning lids.  What I need to get are more jars.

Brandied cherries, or any spirited fruit, are way overpriced.  You tend to find them at niche markets with charcuterie items.  They're just fruit poached in syrup with enough alcohol to taste.  If you're making it fresh to serve that day, it takes less than half an hour, and most of that time is waiting for water to boil.

While I did process can these, it's a water bath recipe, so it doesn't have to be canned to achieve the desired effect.  There will be regular stovetop directions.

The recipe I found said you can make these whole, which is good because these were huge cherries that didn't fit in my pitter.  There is nothing wrong with pitting them first, but they should be treated with lemon or a crushed aspirin in water to preserve color.  What I didn't realize was that when a cherry is cooked the flesh naturally separates from the pit.  As long as you know it's in there, it's very easy to eat the fruit and tactfully spit out the pit.

I'm giving sample quantities, about as much as you would need for a dinner or cocktail party.  Does anyone do those anymore?  You can scale it to what you need.

1 quart (about 1 to 1-1/2 lb) red cherries
1 C water
1/4 C sugar, or less if the cherries are very sweet
*2 Tb brandy

1.  If canning, prepare water bath canner, jars, and lids for your expected quantity.  These can be done as pints or quarts.  For non-canning, you only need a non-reactive final container like glass or ceramic.

2.  Remove stems from cherries, pit if desired, and wash thoroughly.  If pitted, soak in a water with either lemon juice or a crushed aspirin to preserve the color.  Drain.  For whole, pricking the bottoms with a sterilized pin will reduce splitting.  It's also a lot of work when you bought five pounds of cherries, so I skipped it.

3.  Stir together water and sugar in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add the cherries and return to a strong boil.  Stir to make sure all cherries have touched the boiling syrup, then remove from heat.  The cherries will be par-cooked and softening.

4a, non-canning: Allow mixture to stop boiling, then stir in brandy.  Allow to steep as mixture cools.  Once room temperature, transfer to a non-reactive container and store in the fridge for up to three weeks.

4b, canning: Ladle 1/2 C of syrup into the bottoms of the jars.  Fill with cherries to 1/2" headspace.  Add 1 Tb brandy to each pint, then fill with syrup to 1/2".  Debubble and adjust headspace as necessary.  If you run out of syrup, add boiling water for the last little bit.  Wipe rims, center lids, and screw bands down finger-tight.  Process 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts.  After 24 hours, check seals, clean jars, and store.  Despite quite a bit of siphoning, all of my jars sealed.  I was surprised.  I wiped a lot of syrup off the rims and really didn't expect all of them to seal, even before they went in the canner.  The syrup level in two of them is below the one-inch mark, so I'll use those first.  The rest should be good for at least a year.

Makes 1 quart

Difficulty rating  :)

Seder 2024

This year, I decided to cook like there were a lot more people coming and freeze leftovers that didn't get taken home.  It may have gotten a little out of control.  I forgot to photograph the final spread, but it was way more than I needed to serve.  I also needed leftovers because there is a Little Debbie commercial being shot at the house today, so I don't have access to the kitchen.  Yes, during Passover.  The irony is not lost on me, but this is the first location shoot the house has gotten since I signed with two scouting companies over ten years ago, and I already had the week off without any specific plans other than painting the coat closet.  I'll re-kasher the counters once they leave.

I'm also trying to do the part of the observance where you don't go grocery shopping for the whole week.  It involved buying most of the produce Monday morning, which was fine because I didn't have time to prep cook last weekend anyway.  There were a lot of recipes, but the cabbage rolls involved the most actual work.

I had a short talk with my cantor, and she said that the Reform movement has recently relaxed the kitniyot rules to be more in line with Sephardic observances.  That's going to take a few years to get used to, but I'm less worried about checking for canola and soy additives in products this year.

I did go to Western Kosher for a few items that the regular markets aren't carrying this year.  Half of it was actually for the rest of the week, not Seder, and I didn't need meat.  $84 later...  I signed up for their rewards program, which is $10 off every $300.  The cashier agreed it doesn't take long to hit that.  For someone who usually manages $50 of groceries per week, it was a huge sticker shock.

The afternoon took a huge turn when my kitchen sink terminally backed up.  I was almost done cooking!  I've been postponing the inevitable.  The house was built in 1957 and this is the original pipe.  They're going to repipe the outgoing starting tomorrow.  Meanwhile, the laundry sink is my temporary kitchen sink, and I'm crossing my fingers I don't screw that one up as well.  I'm trying to be grateful that this happened while I have a week off, and before painting the outside of the house.  Also, I have enough food cooked until they're done.

Basic Seder Side Cup

Hard boiled egg
Charoset
Parsley
Gefilte Fish (Jar this year.  Didn't have time to make it.)

Starter

Chicken Matzoh Ball Soup

Main Meal

Roast Chicken Leg Quarters with Tomato-Garlic Confit
Lamb Keftas with Green Goddess Dressing
Smashed Potatoes
Quinoa and Vegetable Cabbage Rolls
Steamed Artichokes (which also used the Green Goddess)

Dessert

Boysenberry Parfaits
Almond & Honey Dates
Store-bought macaroons

Christmas Brunch

I was scheduled to bake the morning of the 26th, which meant I couldn't do an evening dinner party on Christmas.  And I closed the store on the 24th, so that took out Christmas Eve.  Good thing I'm Jewish.

So I made brunch instead.  Only three of us, so I didn't get too elaborate.  I didn't even create any new recipes.  I kind of modeled it after a tea, but with breakfast and lunch items.  I made a platter for build your own cold cut mini sandwiches, some latkes, a kale and white cheddar frittata, bacon and apple cinnamon rolls, and a keto rosewater-pomegranate cheesecake.  The guests brought grapes.  The goal was minimal leftovers, aka lunch for the rest of the week.

For my own dinner that afternoon (when you're a baker, dinner is around 3pm), I visited the new 99 Ranch that opened a reasonable distance from me.  No more trekking 20 miles.  The main dish was chicken with home-canned sweet and sour sauce, with vegetable fried rice and gingered bok choy for the sides.  Totally basic stuff that didn't require a trip to an ethnic market.  After putting some frozen egg tarts in my cart, I found a packet of 24 tart shells in a different freezer section for $5.  Maybe on a different trip.

This is just the bok choy section

However, I'm glad I went.  It's beautiful, organized, and still has the chain's good prices on specialty items.  There may not be as much of each item because of space restrictions, but the variety is the same.  Next time, I'll go hungry and visit the upstairs food court first.  I need to research recipes for Lunar New Year.

Chocolate Fondue

 

This is kind of why I did dairy for Passover.  I really wanted to be able to have a dairy dessert.  And for something that has to be made shortly before serving, it worked quite well.

Again, I was living in real time and didn't take photos that night.  I recreated the serving for the photo, but the pot was put away.  You'll note the little cup with the chocolate.  That is an ideal way to serve chocolate fondue so it doesn't drip everywhere.  You have the pot in the middle with a ladle, and people can refill their cups as needed.

The skewers were fun.  I had a Passover poundcake, strawberries, banana, and Passover marshmallows on the sticks.  I also filled bowls of one element each for those who didn't necessarily want more of everything on a skewer.

The chocolate did separate afterwards.  I don't know if that was from the Passover chocolate or maybe the mixture got too hot and was out of temper.  I made it in the Crockpot on Low, then brought the insert to the hot plate, where it sat for possibly too long.  If your party finishes more of the chocolate than mine did, this will not be a problem.

9 oz semi-sweet chocolate (chips or block)
1 C heavy cream
*1 Tb chocolate liqueur (optional: I used Sabra)
Pinch cinnamon, optional
Dippers

1.  Heat cream to just below boiling.  Pour over chocolate and stir to melt.  If necessary, microwave in 20 second increments.  Stir in liqueur and cinnamon, if using.

2.  Place chocolate into fondue pot if you didn't make it in one.  Set over low heat on the table and serve.

Serves 8-12

Difficulty rating  π

Cheese Fondue

 

I have two fondue pots, a Crockpot, and something called a "cheese baker", which is a crock that fits over a tea light stand.  I need to have more fondue parties.

When I decided to have a dairy Seder, it took me about a day to make it cheese fondue.  I researched recipes, and it was definitely doable.  Most recipes thicken the cheese with cornstarch or flour, but I found one that used potato starch.  Other than that, they were identical.

Most cheese fondue recipes include white wine.  I did not want to have most of a bottle of white left over that I didn't want to drink.  Plus, I like sherry in my mac'n'cheese and figured it would go well here.  Then I found KLP cooking Marsala and was sold.  That would be perfect with the white cheeses that are common in fondue, and lower in alcohol.  It didn't occur to me that it would turn the mixture pink.  No one seemed to care.

I was living in the moment and didn't take any pictures.  So you get ones of the leftover ingredients and a lunch I had during the week with re-melted cheese and some fruit I had to finish before it turned.

1-1/2 lb Swiss, Emmenthaler, and Gruyere cheeses, any combination
1/4 C potato starch, cornstarch, or flour
1 C cooking Sherry or Marsala, or 2 C white wine
nutmeg and white pepper to taste
Milk as needed to thin
Items to dip

1.  Grate or shred the cheese.  You can do it on a box grater, but I had the processor out for the latkes and used that instead.  Either way, freeze the cheese for about 30 minutes first and it will be easier to handle.  Toss shreds with potato starch to coat.  This part can be done a day ahead.

2.  In a medium saucepan, heat wine to a simmer.  You want little bubbles, but not a full boil.  If desired, you can let it simmer for 10 minutes to burn off most of the alcohol.

3.  Add cheese a handful at a time.  Stir constantly to melt.  If mixture is getting too thick, add milk to make it a dipping consistency.  Season with nutmeg and white pepper to taste.

4.  Pour into the fondue pot and keep over a low heat while serving.  If it starts to bubble, the bottom will scorch.  There wasn't much I could do about the electric pot except keep it on a low setting.  For the Sterno one, the insert can be used as a double boiler.

5.  Keep passing out dippers until the cheese is gone.  We had broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, artichokes, pears, apples, and matzoh.

Serves about 8

Difficulty rating  :)

Seder 2023

I decided to make a dairy Seder this year.  No particular reason except I was considering a dairy dessert.  I've done it once before as an Italian theme, with matzoh lasagna and another with a baked potato bar.

After coming up with a few ideas, I hit on doing fondue.  It fits the dipping idea, and turned dessert into chocolate fondue.

But then I had to figure out what to dip if I couldn't serve bread or meat.  As I started the list of fruits and veggies, I realized how much produce goes well with cheese.  Like a lot.  I came up with pareve (neither dairy nor meat) sides to balance out the cheesiness, and a menu was ready.

Yes, this is vegetable-heavy.  It's hard to take essentially two food groups and legumes out of a meal.  But that does counterbalance the cheese, and the oil in the latkes.

• Vegetable matzoh ball soup
• Green Salad
• Potato Latkes
• Gefilte Fish
• Beet and Orange Salad
• Salmon with Date Syrup
• Cheese fondue
• Apple-Matzoh Kugel
• Chocolate fondue

I only remembered to take photos of the preset table, but I did get one of the kitchen the next morning.  That took a few hours to clean up, even after having pre-made almost everything the day before.  Because that's what happens when you throw a multi-course dinner party.

Pan-Asian Tea

Now I know why people go out for dim sum.  I loved the idea of pulling from a huge variety of Asian cultures for this party.  What I didn't realize was how much my teas rely upon pre-baking at least half of the dishes.  The only thing I was able to make ahead was the almond cookies.  Everything else had to be fresh that day, or even within a few hours.

I had also planned to cheat on the bun dough and buy some at Mitsuwa, but they're primarily Japanese and didn't carry it in either the refrigerated or freezer sections.  I did not want to go all the way to 99 Ranch for it.  I can make dough faster than that.

At least the rest of the family got into it.  Techie Smurf made precise onigiri once I showed him how it worked, way more triangular than mine.  Writer Smurf wanted to pinch the bao dough all day.  Yes, I do know how to make silky dough.  Melody Smurf helped to decorate the cake.  Somehow, everything was ready by the time our few guests arrived, but I forgot to take pictures of the full platters.  I chickened out on inviting the intended dozen people once the Delta variant became a surge.  There are far worse things than eating tea leftovers for two days.

Cha Siu Bao (China)

Malaysian Chicken Satay

Onigiri (Japan)

Red Bean Buns (Taiwan)

Hong Kong Egg Tarts

Chinese Almond Cookies

Gelatin Fruits Cake

Various teas from India, China, and Japan

Feta Twists

So I had half a sheet of puff pastry from the pear strudel and quite a bit of feta from the falafel pizza left over.  Not quite enough to make a proper tyropita, so I compromised and ended up with this.

Puff pastry is an easy cheat.  It always works, and everything you do with it looks super cool.  I could have made this into little cheesy puff pockets, or tartlets, or pretty much any shape I could think of.  I just chose to do twists, like the French Twists I made some time ago.

Because I used a half sheet, these were only about three inches long.  Excellent size for snacking on an hors d'oeuvres plate.  To serve instead of breadsticks, use the whole sheet and twice as much filling.  They'll be twice as long, but you'll get the same number.

*1/2 sheet puff pastry (1/4 box)
*2 oz feta cheese
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary
kosher salt
black pepper
1 egg

1.  Defrost puff pastry according to package directions, usually 45 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat.

2.  Crumble feta and combine with oregano, pepper to taste, and a pinch of salt.  In a small bowl, beat egg with 1 Tb of water to make an egg wash.

3.  Roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to decrease the fold marks.  Brush with some of the egg wash.  Top half with the feta mixture.  Fold other half over the cheese side.

4.  Cut 1" strips of the folded-over pastry.  Pinch both ends and twist a couple of times, so the feta peeks through a little but doesn't fall out.  Place on lined baking sheet.  Once all strips are twisted, brush with more egg wash.  Sprinkle with rosemary and another touch of salt.

5.  Bake 15-18 minutes, until golden.  Cool and serve.

Makes 1 dozen

Difficulty rating  π