Thursday, March 26, 2015

Friday Night Dinner Project: Passover Menu




Note: Due to previously mentioned technology issues the pictures are all below the text.  

Passover.  What can I say about this menu?  It is simply amazing and worthy of such a special time.  Take note though that this menu is not cheap.  For the lamb recipe I only bought two of the recommended four racks of lamb, and I still spent $100.00 on meat alone – although if you live in Europe where lamb is not as expensive it might be a bit easier on your pocketbook.
This is a beautiful meal.  Truly.  Make it and share it with people you love.

(the photos were taken with my Smart Phone when my computer was down – so they are a bit less than stellar – but you get the idea!)


Baba Ghanouj (Smoky Eggplant Dip)
Well, please don’t be too disappointed when I say that I did not make this recipe.  I tried.  Readers know that my husband and I do not like eggplant.  Although we have been pleasantly surprised with some other eggplant recipes in this book (like the Vegetarian Lasagne), I just could not bring myself to make this.  I started it – but the look of all the roasted eggplant was actually making me feel nauseous.  Sorry.  I’m sure eggplant lovers everywhere would enjoy it….but I just couldn’t do it.
Moving on…


Moroccan Fish Kebabs
Delicious!  I made them using all tilapia.  The tomato sauce, made using cinnamon and honey, is slightly sweet and is just lovely with these fish “kebabs” (that are actually more what North Americans would call fish cakes).  I served these as a main course with basmati rice.  Even my 1 year old son enjoyed them!


Rack of Lamb with Harissa and Charmoula
Lamb.  Love.  Lamb.  I love lamb because it is so delicious, but I feel guilty after eating it because it is so expensive and there is a lot of bone and fat and not so much meat.  Nonetheless – this is a beautiful recipe that I made using fresh Ontario rack of lamb.  The real bonus of this recipe is that it is so easy to make and it looks amazing.  The only thing I did was cook the meat a bit longer than recommended because I do not like it quite so rare.  It was amazing. 
My favourite part of this recipe is the Charmoula Drizzle made from scratch.  This sauce is so incredible – Bonnie Stern suggests using it on burgers, grilled chicken or steak.  I loved this sauce and I am looking forward to making it again and trying it on different types of meat.  You will not regret making this sauce!

Roasted Tzimmes
Can you really go wrong roasting delicious vegetables with honey and a lovely mix of spices?   You probably could, but this recipe is sweet and delicious.  And the vegetables do not go mushy!

Mixed Greens with Sweet Israeli Dressing
Best salad dressing ever!  No kidding!  This is a very simple salad (mixed greens!) with a light dressing  - but oh the dressing – it is incredible.  I could eat so, so much of this.  As the recipe says, a little bit of this dressing goes along way.  Pour it in and toss the salad and you are good to go.


Clementine Cake with Chocolate Glaze
As far as flourless cakes goes, I would say this cake is pretty good.  My husband wondered what was going on when I put the clementines (peel, pilth and all) into the blender.  This is a very moist cake.  It reminds me a bit of sweet potato pie, I think because of the texture (definitely not the flavor).  I did not make the chocolate glaze, I served the cake sprinkled with icing sugar.

Chocolate Merginue Kisses
A little bit of sweetness in every bite!  Light and scrumptious.


Caramel Matzah Crunch
The last line of this recipe reads: There’s NeverEnough!  That pretty much sums it up.  This is basically a homemade Skor bar that is Kosher for Passover.  It is rich and sweet and delicious, and freezes beautifully.  I always make a double batch, and there never is enough.




Clementine cake!

Clementines in a blender (pre cake!)

Fish kebabs

Heavenly!



Like I said, not a cheap meal - but a wonderful treat

My computer is back!!!!

My computer is back!!!!!

I think it has been over 25 years since I have gone 6 weeks with no home computer.  Bah!  It was an interesting involuntary experiment.  Now I am back and have so many posts to update.  So much cooking!  So many thoughts!

It is amazing how much I missed this little blog and how this tiny little outlet is such a healthy part of my life at the moment.  Lots of updates to come...