Passover
Last year we celebrated Passover at our friends house where we followed a different path over the course of the evening. What we followed was something he had put together with a budding rabbi called The Sayder. The evening was engaging, conversational and just fun. We decided that next year we would put on our own Sayder and so we did.
On Saturday night all our kids came home, with friends in tow, including family members and more new friends while we ate, drank many glasses of wine and followed the Sayder. We had a really great evening and decided that next year we would toss in a little history ( for those who come and are not Jewish ) and create some questions that might make more sense for the group around our table including ones that connect us to what is presently happening around the world. What I always want to get out of the holidays is a connection with the rest of the people around the globe sitting down to celebrate that night.
I made brisket with potatoes, roasted asparagus, long carrots, parsnips, charoset, chopped liver, chicken soup with matzo balls, matzo covered with chocolate, caramel and almonds, flourless sponge cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries…and of course macaroons. I just love a good macaroon and they are part of the annual event.
Here is the recipe for 24:
7 cups of unsweetened coconut chips
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 egg whites
4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
5 ounces melted chocolate (semi-sweet)
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a heat-proof bowl mix together all the ingredients above. Over a pot of simmering hot water put the bowl and mix for about 7/8 minutes. Use hot pads!
Then let cool for about 30 minutes. Create a nice looking mound for the cookies on the sheet. Bake until golden. About 15 minutes.
Once they come out of the oven, drip the chocolate over the top. Let cool.
Comments (Archived):
You guys sound like a really cool family. We celebrated passover growing up and while I loved dipping eggs and parsley in salt water, I hated sitting through all the reading and rituals. I could tell that the adults knew it was a joke too.Nevertheless I can appreciate wanting to bring the family together to share that connection with others around the world and throughout history. I sometimes wonder about my great^n grandparents and what they were like and I guess a big part of tradition is trying to share a small piece of life with those people that became us. I’ve stopped celebrating myself but you’ve given me something to think about.. and I’m sure I’ll come back around.
i like the tradition of celebrating holidays every year and making them our own. it should be celebrating history in a way that doesn’t pain everyone at the table. honestly that is the reason our kids came home…they knew it wouldn’t be an evening of torture but a really fun interactive conversational event.
I had an almost shocking passover experience with my ex husband and sister making fun of me for observing passover like I was doing something wrong eating matzoh. Wow!
We had a great seder at my mom’s in NY 45 people, maxwell house haggadah, traditional foods – not a lot of intellectual content – a bit too crazy with lots of kids but really fun family time.
Ooh, I love macaroons but have never tried to make them before.
I would just like to add that matzoh is totally underappreciated as an ingredient, particularly in scrambled eggs, otherwise known as matzoh brei. I saute a little onion first before adding in the eggs – to which matzoh, softened by a bit of boiling water, has been added. The result is universally appreciated.P.S. I tried gluten-free matzoh this year and was duly impressed. It really rocks with some of that fresh peanut butter you can blend yourself at Whole Foods.Shalom,@shortorderdad:twitter
made matzo brei on sunday. a once a year must!
if you lose the egg, they are very gooey, more like candy, but with a satisfying crunch from the brown bits…