Nothing Like Matzah Brei!

Crossposted on me-ander

What's your most reliable, filling Passover food staple?

For us it's the classic "Ashkenaz" Matzah Brei. I just made a nice big one for my husband to take to work. It's a day's worth of food for him. It's one dish we can't live without on Pesach. OK, this isn't diet food, and I doubt if I'll eat one this year. I'm not planning on traveling, so I can make my usual low carb goodies.



Matzah Brei is easy, simple to make and includes ingredients and equipment everyone (and if you don't have, they're worth buying) has at home:

• matzah
• eggs
• water (milk optional)
• margarine or oil for frying
• something sweet to spread on it, honey or jam (optional)

The necessary equipment:

• a large bowl
• a spoon
• covered frying pan (you can cover with a plate or foil)
• spatula (or knife and spoon used in tandem)

Yes, that's it.

• take a few matzot and break them up in a large bowl
• add some water, half way unless you want milk, too, then the combination should be half way up the matzah
• add eggs, at least one per matzah
• mix
• let sit for awhile, so the liquids can be absorbed by the matzot
• heat oil/margarine in the frying pan
• spoon the mixture onto the hot, greased pan
• lower the heat and cover
• when you can see that the top is cooked/solid/not eggy-runny, then turn over and cover
• wait a minute and turn off the flame and let it sit for at least five minutes
• That's it!
  
  

My Pesach Present

My son-in-law saw this for sale and knew he had to buy one. He and my daughter decided that it was just perfect for me. It's a well-made wooden cutting board, constructed like a "table." Underneath is a "bowl." It's for cutting salad.

The ironic thing is that a number of years ago, I also saw one of those and bought it... for my mother.

Non-Gebrokts Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
3/4 cup boiling water
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a nine-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and butter the paper.
Place both chocolates and the sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Pour the boiling water through the feed tube and process for 10-15 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Add the butter and process until incorporated.
Add the eggs and vanilla and process until the mixture is smooth creamy, about eight seconds. Scrape the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes, until the edges of the cake are puffy and the center is just set. Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours or until ready to serve.

pesach recipes!

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Chicken Soup Tips

I've been making chicken soup for a few years now, and have a few tips to making a soup go from good to amazing. Now, everytime I come home I have to make a batch for my mother which she freezes for the next few weeks, until I come home again.

1. Cook it overnight. The bones from the chicken with disintegrate, and between that and the marrow, you will get a superb taste. It will require very little salt as it comes naturally from the marrow.

2. Use the white Vidalia onions. They are naturally sweeter and less pungent. Once again you will not have to add sugar or any other sweetener to the soup. (You may have to depending how sweet it end up being, and I suggest using honey)

3. I don't know why I do it, this is the mesorah I have from a friends mother who makes it better than I do, but cook the onion with the peel on.

3. Dill, parsley, salt, and pepper only. The beauty is in simplicity of taste. (on a side note, the same for spicing a chulent, only simple spices)