<p>Ok, I have some downtime now since the table is set, lamb shank bone and hard boiled egg are roasted and the frozen brisket is in the oven. I have a question for all you cooks. My aunt made the brisket this past weekend and froze it immediatedly. Can I safely refreeze the leftover brisket after supper tonight (I want to save some for my daughters, who won't be home until the weekend) or should/will it still be "good" to eat on Saturday if left (for the next 3 days) in the refridgerator??</p>
<p>WJB- I haven't cut into the brownies but they did "set" so they do look like they will be good (although they didn't quite smell like normal brownies when I took them out of the oven). Maybe I should taste them before putting them out for company?
If all else fails, I could put out a platter of passover store-bought cookies with our strawberry shortcake (with lots of extra berries and whip cream) and matzah brittle. I always over do the food quantities...</p>
<p>Wow, I can't believe I'm not cooking this year...it feels weird to be sitting here at my mother-in-law's with no work to do. (Well I did cook a bunch of things and brought them to my D at college on Monday...proud mom moment: she's organizing the Seder at her Hillel!!! And I did make a few things which I successfully transported via plane here, but still....).</p>
<p>Best wishes to all of you for Passover and may all your dinners be wonderful!</p>
<p>seiclan -- I sure hope they're good! I feel responsible. It's a recipe I've always had great luck with. One of my kids actually prefers these brownies to the ones I make during the rest of the year.</p>
<p>OK WJB- the suspense was killing me so I just now cut into the brownies and took a tiny piece to taste....YUMMY!!!!!! They are terrific!
Thank you thank you thank you!
First chocolate passover cake that I have ever enjoyed!</p>
<p>My D wrote to me from Sydney where she is studying abroad. She is having a seder for her friends. I found her a downloadable Hagadah, and sent her some recipes. I just think that is so cute. She has a tiny kitchen with a plague of well, they are not locusts, let us say.</p>
<p>She is cooking for 9! I can't wait to hear about it. She is going to have an adventure. :)</p>
<p>Can I safely refreeze the leftover brisket after supper tonight? Anyone know if it is ok, since it was already frozen and defrosted once already?</p>
<p>seiclan, I wouldn't refreeze it. But if you're planning on your DD having some over the weekend, that's certainly not too long to let it fester -- uh, stay in the fridge.</p>
<p>Briskets done and waiting to be reheated. Potatoes ready to be cooked. Veggies sliced and ready to roast. Hardboiled eggs all made, chilled, and peeled. Pitcher of salt water ready to go. Roast lamb shank on the table, with horseradish and parsley. Charoset to be added at the last minute, so the apples don't brown. Spongecake done, out of pan (now that was a challenge -- I gotta get me one of those removable-bottom ones), frozen strawberries defrosted. Coffee set up to go. Guests bringing a kugel and salad. </p>
<p>Which is why I can finally sit down and read CC . . .</p>
<p>Guests arrived 45 minutes early! Fortunately, I had just changed out of my filthy clothes 5 minutes earlier, and the food was ready to go. Cooking for 31 tomorrow (multiple main courses and side dishes) and transporting it to relative's home. Side benefit of the guests arriving early was that they left early and I was able to slice and sauce the brisket tonight. (My brisket is a two day affair-anyone else's?) </p>
<p>My DS#1 (grad student at U. Chicago) was making a seder tonight and was expecting 15-17 guests in his one bedroom apt! More people kept RSVP'ing and he had to run out and buy more chairs today! I am so proud of him. He completely kashered his kitchen, and bought all new appliances, etc. for Passover. Hope everyone had a wonderful Seder!</p>
<p>Some of my guests, OTOH, arrived an hour late. One couple got stuck in traffic, so that's forgivable -- another couple (not Jewish) live literally around the corner and also arrived an hour late. I don't think they "got" it that there was a schedule to be honored . . . . Oh well. We had a great time!</p>
<p>mo3s, wow! You've done something right in raising him. Continued naches! Marilyn, your hard boiled egg recipe produced perfect results! Thanks. (My seder is this evening so tata for now.)</p>
<p>Ok... I gotta ask-- is there a "recipe" for hard boiled eggs??? :confused:</p>
<p>BTW, made a very good and VERY EASY honey/brown sugar/cinnamon/nutmeg glazed carrot recipe to bring to the seder last night. And the seder we attended last night had more non-jews than jews in attendance. It was a lot of fun. We have another tonight, and a "belated" one to attend this weekend for folks who couldnt handle coordinating it during the week.</p>
<p>As an aside, it was mentioned last night that yesterday had some cool thing that happens only every 26 years?? It had to do with the aligning of the sun and that it was the exact way it was yesterday, the third day of the week, as on the third day of creation. I didnt quite follow it. Can anyone explain?</p>
<p>The unique event occurs only once every 28 year when, according to Jewish tradition, the sun reaches the exact spot it graced in the heavens at the moment it was created.</p>
<p>A followup to my D’s seder in Sydney. Around 5:30 this evening (12:30 pm tomorrow local time) I get a call from her. She was at a 7-11 trying to buy food for the 9 guests who were coming for dinner. It being Good Friday all the grocery stores in town were closed, the kosher butchers were closed for Passover. She had already bought items to make matzoh ball soup and has matzoh and fruit for the charoset. I suggested a very non-traditional tuna casserole. I figured at a 7-11 you can usually buy the ingredients for that. I will report back tomorrow when I hear what she made. I am still laughing about it. Yes, we are very reform, but even for us this is pretty out there. I guess they can always order pizza.</p>
<p>Jym - not so much a HB egg recipe as a process: “OK, here’s what I do: put the eggs in a large pot in cold water. Put on the burner on high. As soon as the water starts boiling, turn down until some bubbles are just breaking the surface. Set timer for 15 minutes. When done, run cold water over eggs until you can reach in, then take them out and plunge them into a bowl of ice and water. Once the ice is pretty much melted, dry off the eggs and store in refrigerator. My only secret to peeling (which doesn’t always work) is to peel them under cold running water.”</p>
<p>We had the seder the first night and my mom the second; total of 7 so not too bad. First night we had home made matzo ball soup, salad, turkey breast, farfel-nut-raisin stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and sauteed asparagus and broccolini. I made a sponge cake for dessert - we bought strawberies at Whole Foods then spent 10 minutes in the freezer section reading ingredients - finally found a blood orange sorbet that had just juice and sugar. What’s not to like! All I had to cook yesterday was chopped liver. Poor DS went to Hillel the first night and they ran out of soup and other food before the last table (his) was called to the buffet - boo! He was invited to AEPi the second night and said it was much better.</p>
<p>My daughter went to the Chabad house for her seder. She was shocked that the women and men were separated and the Rabbi wouldn’t shake her hand!
She went there instead of Hillel because that was where her AEPhi sisters were going. She said the food was pretty good, but not like ours! Because of her anaphylactic nut allergy she could not try any charosett or dessert and they would not let her bring any into the seder (she makes her own nut-free batch of charosett). She didn’t mind though, she went back to her apartment and had the Matza Brittle that I had UPSed to her!!!</p>
<p>Just curious: About what percentage of Jews (I’m using that term generally) actually don’t eat bread, pasta, etc… during Passover? Or equivalently, what percentage actually follow the whole matzoh/kosher thing during the holiday? </p>
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<p>No one actually believes that, right? It’s just symbolic or allegorical, isn’t it? Please tell me I’m right.</p>
<p>My daughter went to the Chabad house for both seders. She told me that the Rabbi’s wife did all the cooking (brisket for the first seder and chicken for the second seder). There was 70 pounds of brisket!!! I cannot imagine making brisket for 100 hungry college students!!! I wonder if she knew when she married the Rabbi that this would be part of her job description. Anyhow, I am very impressed (especially because D said the food was delicious and she felt very at home there). So wonderful that kids away from home have a place to go. I just made a nice donation to the Chabad at my daughter’s school.</p>