How late is too late?

I hosted my Passover Seder last night — the one I prepped for over a week for and stood cooking for two days straight — only to have the meal delayed and overcooked because I was waiting for  2 guests who showed up an hour late and then forgot the chairs that I needed so we waited another half hour before we sat down.  I was trying to serve early because I had guests who had just flown back from Tennessee and were on central time, and I had 3 kids under 10.  The excuse for being late was that the woman who is pregnant had taken a nap, which I can understand, especially since they hosted the first Seder the night before — but a phone call saying you’re running late with an apology would have been appropriate and appreciated.

Devil is in the details

My mother was convinced that the Rabbi had a fight with his wife and then wrote the laws of Passover.  Included in these “laws” is what we cannot eat and what we need to prepare for the Seder.  Having been making and hosting Seders for the past decade, I think I can agree with her.  There’s a lot of dishes to make for just one meal… but that’s part of the fun.  I wrote my shopping list last night.  I have 6 dozen eggs on the list — 6 dozen eggs for 12 people.  Eggs go into making chopped liver, gefilte fish, my chicken dish for the breading, matzah ball soup, and as a standalone feature, the stuffed egg, that is part of my individual seder plates that each guest will have in front of them.  I hope none of my guests have a cholesterol problem.  I also planned out when I’ll have the time to make all the dishes.  Usually, I am the Queen of Freeze — making dishes ahead of time and freezing them so that all I need to do the day of is defrost and heat.  Turns out great every time.  But this year, I’m hosting on a Sunday night — which leaves Saturday and Sunday to cook — so my guests are in for a freshly cooked meal.  And I;m in for a fun and tiring weekend.

Celebrating Passover

Every year I host a Passover Seder for a group of friends of mine that have become my San Francisco family. They join me to celebrate the Jewish traditions and get a chance to eat really good Jew food that you can’t easily get in San Francisco. This year I’m hosting second night — Sunday night — and already the planning has begun.

My menu is basically the same from year to year (there are a few dishes that get swapped in and out) — it’s how I get people coming back — to get a chance to eat homemade Jew food like their grandmother’s and mother’s used to make while they’re living many miles away from where they grew up. That’s what the holiday is about to me — sharing good Jew food with my peeps — and the telling of the story of Exodus through the good Jew food. Isn’t it?

In case you’re wondering, my menu includes teh following (recipes to come in future posts):

chopped liver as an appetizer

Gefilte Fish as the first course — if you look for gefilte in the ocean or the Bay, note that you will not find it — as it;s basically a Jewish fish cake

Matzah ball soup

Chicken dish — I think I’m going with my mom’s lemon wine mushroom sauce

Potato dish — I think I’m going with my mom’s mashed potato pie

A veggie dish — that has yet to be decided but leaning towards my sister’s zuchini pancakes

For the individual seder plates, I’ll make…

Stuffed egg

Charoseth — an apple, date, walnut, wine mixture that represents the bricks and mortar needed to build a new village for the Jews. (If you need to know the full story of Passover, I highly recommend seeing the famous Charleton Heston Film, The Ten Commandments.)

This menu incorporates two of my favorite Jewish foods — chopped liver and gefilte fish — what is your favorite jewish food?