Fun Playing With Passover Food With Family

And so we come to the reason for the trip east in the first place - preparing Seder delectibles to share with my family! My nephew came home from school and the game was on.

First order of business for Saturday: a 20 quart pot of chicken soup. 

While the soup bubbled, and before starting on the Gefilte Fish, we paused for an amazing lunch treat. My parents have new neighbors in the house behind theirs. The neighbors have chickens, which are allowed to free range all over their properties. This morning, the doorbell rang and we were presented with a half-dozen just-collected eggs by the two adorable children of the neighbors, with a delightful hand drawn card that made Mom's day. Those eggs did not last long:

Soft Boiled Fresh Egg

On Sunday, we turned our attention to the brisket, matzoh balls, and hard boiled eggs. Cleveland's own Mister Brisket provided the beef:

Here, the meat has cooked a bit over half way, and we sliced it then chilled it, to finish cooking before the first Seder. This is the first cut or flat. I also brought some of the deckle, or point, just to be sure we'd have enough (we had plenty, so I brought that back home with me).

Here's a look at the finished matzoh ball in soup; I took this after I got back to Cleveland:

And finally, the eggs. Yoda, um, Mom took charge of those; even she marveled at how hard it is to peel farm fresh eggs even if you cook them perfectly (Mom's Passover claim to fame was hard cooking and peeling over 500 eggs at a time for the Hebrew School Model Seders when I was kid):

And so, it was time for the first Seder in my parents' house in . . . I don't know how many years.

Mom, Justin, Andrea, Jeff, Stan, Daniel, Bob

The only family member missing is my sister Chaya. She couldn't make it up from Florida. But it was great to see my two nephews!

Seder Plate

Charosis

Dad made the salad

Baked Cauliflower with Scape Pesto (no cheese)

Unfortunately, here is where I got too busy serving to take pictures.

Potato Kugel

This leftovers photo came after I got home; I never did take a picture of the Farfel Pudding, which is one of my Passover staples. Because I couldn't get apricots at the two stores I looked in (who knew apricots in natural juice were so rare?) I used a can of mango instead - and liked it a lot better; mango and coconut oil (in place of margarine) will now be de rigueur in my Farfel Pudding.

We enjoyed two holiday breakfasts with my parents before we left. First, Dad made Matzoh Brei; note the coconut oil taking the place of the traditional onion Nyafat that is no longer made.

Perhaps Bain Capital, who's Sankaty Advisors Unit just bought Manischewitz (which had bought up Rokeach, maker of Nyafat, several years ago), will bring Nyafat back. Who needs Nyafat? I sweated some onions in the coconut oil to simulate the Nyafat, and it wasn't a bad knock off.

At Dad's request, I scooped the onion pieces before out of the pan before he put the raw food into the fat, and then served them on the side. Delicious!

For our last meal Wednesday morning, Dad asked me to make Matzoh Pancakes. We served these with berry jam and strawberries, neither of which wound up in the photos.

Matzoh Meal Pancakes

And then we left.

Fun Playing With Food and Family - I could not ask for anything more. Wishing you the best of this spring and holiday season!

Final Fun Playing with Passover Food 2009

And so, at Sundown last Thursday, Passover passed. It was a week of fun eats; I consume many of these treats but this one time per year. And so - a few more Passover goodies:

Matzo Brei - "Pancake" style:


The inimitable, and now extinct "secret ingredient."











Yummy!


Cream Cheese (Has to Be Temp-Tee) and Cherry Jam on Matzoh Sandwich

Instead of buying the processed "Kosher for Passover" jelly this year, I used Herb Thyme's locally made product (which doesn't contain any chometz, or leavened no-no's). The jam soaks into the matzoh by the time I get to eat my sandwich - the texture and taste bring back my childhood every time! Even if Breakstone (maker of Temp-Tee) is now part of Kraft.





I did not buy any canned macaroons or packaged desserts this year. Most of our desserts came from Davis Bakery.



These incredible macaroons came from Chef Bennett Davis at Appetite.


KP Muenster Cheese Melted on Matzoh




The Only Processed/Packaged KP Item I bought this year



I've loved these puffy cookies since I was a kid!





And then, Friday morning, when Passover was over - that first sweet taste!


"Half & Half" Bagel with Cream Cheese Lox Spread from D&R Bagels



D&R is located on Aurora Road in Solon, and their bagels are almost as good as the ones I grew up with in NY.



As these last photos demonstrate - Passover is definitely OVER for 2009. Hope you all had fun playing with your spring holiday foods of choice!

More Fun Playing with Breakfast Food

What a difference quality eggs make! This post shows three recent breakfasts, all made with Kathy Breychak's incredible Blue Eggs.

Saturday June 14, I awoke to realize that we did not have a scrap of bread in the house. And I was hankering for some Blue Eggs for breakfast. So, how to make them? Matzoh Brei!

Of course, the only proper medium for frying Matzoh Brei is Onion Nyafat.



Soak matzoh in warm water, lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper and add to drained matzoh, let soak for as long as you can wait, then fry in hot Nyafat. Add salt after frying, and serve with a big glass of ice cold Organic milk or make an Egg Cream (I did, but didn't get a photo of it).



This Matzoh Brei is "pancake" style rather than "scrambled. I think it gets crispier when you let it sit rather than tossing it around incessantly. But there are times I scramble it.










Yum.

This past weekend, Bob and I enjoyed a number of treats from Cleveland's resident meat maven - Mister Brisket. On Friday, I learned that Mister B had scored some fresh Copper River King Salmon. And at a reasonable price, too (last week, it was well over $30 a pound, this week, it was well under $30).

And of course, once I trundled down to the store (2156 South Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118), I had to get some other goodies from them. So - I loaded up a half pound each of pastrami (best in Cleveland and maybe the world), corned beef, and turkey breast and a package of casing hotdogs.

Saturday morning - Pastrami & Eggs. Knowing how I intended to use it, Mister Brisket sliced the pastrami into thick slices. Add Blue Eggs and a hot pan and . . . magic!


Four Blue Eggs


Pastrami begins to render over a low flame




Now? Not yet.


Now? Yupper!


Lightly Beaten Eggs Poured Over the Meat

And, after a perfect flip:









We served it with Challah and Ghee (and yes, a little ketchup for me).

Sunday, it was the corned beef's turn:




Four Eggs to Start, Again



The Corned Beef was more thinly sliced, and didn't render as much fat as the pastrami had.







Another perfect breakfast. Thanks to Kathy Breychak and the gang at Mister Brisket for providing the ingredients for me to play with!