The First Passover Seder

This year I was able to come home for Passove and celebrate with my family.  The first night was Monday night and I went to the dinner at my mom's house.  My grandma, my mom and Joe, my sister and her boyfriend (Chris), along with my friend Marie (yes the same one who recently visited me), all enjoyed the much more fun and updated version of a seder that we did this year.  I say updated because we used different, and newer books to read the Passover story from.

Here is the lovely set up at my mom's house.
This was our seder plate.  I think it is the lamb leg (shank bone) that is missing from the tray.  As we are mostly vegetarian, there was no desire to have this, I am sure.  On the tray there is also bitter herbs, green vegetable, salt water (to dip the green veggie in to), hardboiled egg, and charoset (apples, nuts and wine).
Matzo ball soup is a staple for this holiday as bread and leavened products are off limits.  This is made from matzo, duh, hence matzo ball soup!  This was the pot of vegetarian soup.  The other was chicken soup.
Yum!  I was cut off after 1 because I could eat a bunch, but then I am always too full (these expand like no tomorrow!) to actually eat dinner.
I wish I could say I got to help out an cook with my family like I planned, but you know how it goes when you are in town visiting and the time just slips away.  I always feel like I am running late when I am visiting here and it drives me nuts.  So, the good news is most things were already prepared, only a few things for my mom to finish up before the seder started.

This is an apple matzo kugel.  A kugel is similar to a casserole.
This is Tzimmes, which is carrots and sweet potato.
My mom prepared this beautiful salad.
The entree was salmon with the island soyaki sauce from Trader Joe's.  This was really good.
This is a vegetable kugel.
Oh, and asparagus.
My mom also made some chicken for anyone who wanted.
Everything was super delicious and I was glad both Marie and Chris could join us for their first seder.

So, on to the desserts.  Again, this is tough because of the religious dietary restrictions, so there is a lot using coconut and a lot with potato starch. 

This is my sister's matzo brittle.  It is really good.  This year she made it on whole wheat matzo.
One of my mom's friends brought us over this dessert tray she made.  There were meringues and macaroons, and some more brittle.  All of it was awesome.
Oh, and these.  Oh my.  Hey Beth and Astra, look what I found in my mom's kitchen.  These are marshmallows made with fish gelatin.  It didn't even have a fishy taste.  I once had ginger snaps with fish gelatin and it seriously tasted like fish, so I am so happy and excited to enjoy these.  We also have the ones covered in toasted coconut, and those rocked also.
So, that concludes my seder.  It was nice to be home with family.  Today I am heading to Florida to visit my grandparents and I am not sure I will really be able to post then, so if you haven't checked out my last from scratch meal, we made Mac and Cheese, so check it out in my possible absence here.

QUESTIONS:  Have you ever been to a seder?  What is your favorite Passover food (if you are Jewish of course)?  Any favorite food you eat for Easter (if that is the holiday you celebrate)?  If I have left you out because you don't celebrate either holiday, then just tell me what is your favorite food for any occasion?


6 comments:

Beth said...

yay for Kosher marshmallows!

I'm not Jewish, but I enjoy the matzoh (especially the brittle and the soup!). As for Easter, I'm a big fan of ham, mac and cheese, and deviled eggs.

Morgan said...

Happy Passover! I'm glad you got to go home and be with your family!

Andrea@WellnessNotes said...

I'm so glad you got to go home to spend Passover with your family. Looks like a beautiful celebration. I'm not Jewish, but I love matzo ball soup. My favorite Easter food used to be deviled eggs (but I can't eat them anymore because of my gallstones). Enjoy the time with your family!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

I'm having flashbacks of my high school days! Many of my good friends were Jewish and they always brought food to school to share, plus I did go to a couple Seders. My favorite food was the kugel and the chocolate covered matzo (this must be a fairly typical creation??). I also loved the matzo balls!! I don't remember them being as big as yours in the picture though, so I'm assuming they come in all sizes, or they are made in all sizes. I agree though, it was always hard to eat just one!
I hope you enjoy your last couple days at home!

Unknown said...

I have been to many a Seder and I do love me some Matzah Ball soup and chopped liver, MMMM!

For Easter, Matt's aunt makes this AWESOME stuffed french toast thing that is TO DIE! Can't wait to eat like 5 pieces on Sunday!

Astra Libris said...

I'm SO excited that you found the kosher marshmallows!! YAY! :-) The whole wheat matzah brittle looks fabulous, and a healthful Passover dessert, too! Thank you for the awesome idea for next year's seder!

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