Jewish Cooking Boot Camp: The Modern Girl's Guide to Cooking Like a Jewish Grandmother (17 page)

-STACY, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

"The first year I lived with my Israeli husband, he came up to me on the first day of Shavuot
[a Jewish holiday that follows Passover and commemorates receiving the Torah from God]
and cracked an egg on my head! While I was getting over my shock, he explained to me that
during Shavuot in Israel, all of the kids run around in the streets and have egg, water balloon, and silly-string fights. Now, when Shavuot rolls around, I always manage to dump
some cold water on my hubby's head when he least expects it."

-JULIE, WASHINGTON, D.C.

"I grew up in a household that celebrated all holidays, Jewish and Christian, but was never
prone to one or the other until later in life. . . . When I was younger, my mom decided to host
Passover and, it being her first time, she was a little nervous. My grandmother brought the
brisket and matzo ball soup, and my mother made all of the other preparations for dinner. I
was probably about twelve years old at the time and just starting to help my mom with planning and carrying out family functions. As we all know and do at Passover dinner, everyone
takes turns reading the traditional stories and prayers associated with Passover. I was asked
to read a portion of the reading and, being twelve and a little nervous in front of my family
of twenty, reluctantly I agreed. All was going fine with the reading and pronunciation until
for some unknown reason instead of saying the word `Egypt' I said `Jesus' instead. My grandmother spit out her food and everyone started hysterically laughing. I, of course, was embarrassed and, at the time, they all made me feel fine about it. But there is not a Passover dinner
that goes by without my slip being brought up!"

-JAMIE, WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

"My little brother was super-competitive and had a terrible temper, so at every Passover my
family would hide TWO afikomen: one for him and one for the rest of us!"

-JODI, RYE BROOK, NEW YORK

SERVES: 8-10 PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES

1. Put the hard-boiled eggs in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Place in a
bowl for later.

2. Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is soft and golden,
about 15 minutes.

3. While the onion is cooking, rinse and dry the chicken livers and cut large pieces in half.
Add the livers to the onions and continue to saute until the livers are no longer pink in
the middle (about 10 minutes).

4. Transfer the onions, chicken livers, and oil to a bowl to cool for about 20 minutes.

5. Put the chicken livers and onion mixture into the food processor and pulse until pureed.

6. Add the hard-boiled eggs and pulse quickly.

7. Remove the mixture from the processor, put in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper
to taste.

8. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with sliced cucumber and matzo crackers.

Serve with mild horseradish, red or white.

Once and for All: The Four Questions

Why does this night differ from all other nights? For on all other nights we eat either
leavened or unleavened bread; why on this night only unleavened bread?

On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs; why on this night only bitter herbs?

On all other nights we need not dip our herbs even once; why on this night must we
dip them twice?

On all other nights we eat either sitting up or reclining; why on this night do we all
recline?

My brother David has quite a way with words. He was also, growing up, a very, very picky
eater. The one thing he always loved, though, was a good chicken soup with matzo balls-or
to paraphrase his younger self, "white meatballs!"

1. Clean the chicken (see "Cleaning a Chicken," page 23) and place it in a large (8-quart)
soup pot.

2. Add all the other ingredients and cover completely with water.

3. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 3 to 31/2 hours, or until the soup turns yellow and the
chicken starts falling apart.

4. Remove the chicken, parsley, and celery from the soup, but leave the carrots.

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Time to make the matzo balls!

1. In a medium bowl, mix the eggs with vegetable oil.

2. Add the matzo meal and salt, and mix well. Let the mixture stand 15 minutes.

3. In a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, bring 3 to 31/2 quarts water to a boil.

4. Using wet hands, form the matzo mixture into balls the size of walnuts.

5. Drop the balls into the boiling water, cover the pot tightly, reduce the heat, and simmer
for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the matzo balls with a slotted spoon and add to the warm chicken soup.

If you want to prepare this dish a day or two ahead of time, add the matzo balls to the soup
before refrigerating. By sitting in the soup, the matzo balls will take on the taste of the
broth. When your guests arrive, simply remove from the fridge and reheat.

This is a simple traditional recipe for charoset. Make it at least a day ahead of time so that
the apples soak up the honey and wine.

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 to 5 hours.

When serving, put the charoset into three or four different bowls up and down the table for
easy access, as everyone seems to eat it throughout the seder and the meal.

Creating Your Own Haggadah

Roz's husband (and Andrea's father), Allan, is usually handed the daunting task
of leading the Passover seder. After years of trial and error, he has finally come up
with a workable strategy for creating a family Haggadah. We asked him to share his
knowledge.