Passover Success!!

Learn how to make Spring Wine and aliantha cookies.

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Post by Menolly »

I took advantage of the eight day long festival, and while keto actually fits in perfectly with my version of keeping Passover, minus kitnyot commonly used in keto cooking such as flaxseeds/flaxseed meal, I chose to go full carb and enjoy the holiday treats I traditionally make. I shared step-by-step posts to making them on Facebook, but editing imagebb codes for each photo was too time consuming during the festival. I'll go ahead and upload them now. So, be forwarned: I'm definitely going to do more than double post, and each post will be long...
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Post by Menolly »

I attended the two sederim (the two festive meals at the start of the holiday) elsewhere, so I didn't prepare any of the ritual foods. My first Passover lunch was a gefilte fish sandwich:

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Start with a plain board of matzah. I find a half of a full board to be plenty.

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I like to spread a thin layer of butter, sprinkle some kosher sea salt over it, and then spread kosher for Passover tub cream cheese over that.

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For a half a board of matzah I find about one and a half loaves of jarred gefilte fish to be about right. Slice and space fairly even over the prepared matzah. Spoon some hot grated white horseradish over the fish. If the fish comes in gelled broth, spoon some of the gel over all. Unfortunately, this batch came in a liquid broth, so no gel for me.
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Post by Menolly »

Since I wasn't preparing food for the second seder, I took the opportunity to make the first traditional Passover treat:

Matzah Caramel Crunch

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Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a half sheet pan lined with foil and parchment. The foil is double length to wrap over the chilled candy when finished.

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Matzah boards broken to fit the half sheet pan in a single layer.

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Because I make a half sheet pan's worth, rather than a standard size cookie sheet, I double the recipe. Here the caramel is started with a pound of butter.

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Three cups of K4P brown sugar (C&H out here) is added to the butter and then melted together. I then add 1.33 cups of sliced raw almonds and 1.33 cups of chopped pecans. Bring to a boil and simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat, allow to stop simmering, and stir in a splash of homemade vanilla extract made with potato vodka. It will bubble up, so be cautious.

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Pour the caramel and nuts over the matzah, using a silicon or wooden spatula to spread it as evenly as possible.

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Bake on center rack of oven at 350°F for 15 minutes. If it starts to burn, turn down to 325. Remove and...

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Immediately sprinkle with 2 cups of K4P chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or so to soften.

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Using the silicon or wooden spatula, spread the softened chocolate over the matzah and caramel.

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Sprinkle with kosher salt. I use Whole Foods 365 brand kosher sea salt.

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This is two K4P 3.5 oz. white chocolate bars chopped up for ganach.

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The finished ganach, which is put in to a zipper freezer bag. The corner is snipped to be piped on top.

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I'm not the best at piping, but it's acceptable.

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After chilling in the freezer for 15 minutes, it's ready for cutting.
Next time I'm going to allow the chocolate chip layer to cool more before piping on the white chocolate ganache. Hopefully, that will keep what I do pipe on top from spreading.

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An interior view showing the layers.

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A close up of a single serving.
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Post by Menolly »

SD made dinner on Monday night, which was steak and steamed broccoli. Rhis us a typical keto meal for us which fit in perfectly with the Passover restrictions, so I didn't think to photograph it.

I made my first Passover dinner of the festival on Tuesday. This Passover dinner was a recipe I've been making for years I took off of the internet called Joanna's Sausage Kraut. This is the first time I used all k4p ingredients. A little different than our usual version, but still tasty.

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Cast of characters for tonight's dinner:
K4P Meal Mart beef kielbasa
K4P Ba-Tempte New Kraut
K4P C&H Brown Sugar
Onion
Apple
Dill seed

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The sauerkraut drained and placed in to the crockery, which has been brushed with extra light olive oil.

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Brown sugar added.

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1 large onion, chopped.

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1 appled, peeled, cored, and chopped.

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Dried cranberries to taste. For K4P one will need to dehydrate their own. Unless there's a brand out there I'm unaware of. Or, one can use raisins.

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Dill seed. The recipe calls for caraway seed. But according to the OU, caraway is kitnyot. I searched for a substitute for caraway, and the Internet said dill seed was acceptable, both in flavor and for Passover.

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Everything tossed together until the brown sugar made it all a light brown.

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Kielbasa laid on top. I had to shape the links to the crockpot to get them to fit.

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After cooking on Low for six hours.

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My dinner plate.
Last edited by Menolly on Tue Apr 06, 2021 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Menolly »

Third day Passover lunch was a classic:

My version of
Matzah Pizza

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The cast of characters for lunch:
1 board of matzah
1 can of tomato sauce
Enough freshly shredded mozzarella to cover the matzah board
1mushroom, sliced (feel free to use any topping you like)

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I season the tomato sauce with some garlic powder and Italian herbs.

(I don't have a photo for this next step. I posted a video to Facebook of it, but I don't think a link to it will work)
Quickly run the matzah board through running water. You do not want to soak it. Just dampen it. Allow excess water to drip off.

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The lightly dampened matzah board.

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Seasoned tomato sauce spread to cover the matzah. Try to cover the entire top of the board. Any matzah not covered will become crunchy.

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Shredded mozzarella to cover.

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Sliced raw mushroom over the mozzarella.

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Place under a high broiler about 3" from heat source. Broil until starting to brown and bubble.

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Cut in to quarters.

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Perfectly foldable!
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Post by Menolly »

This one is again based on a recipe I've been making for years, but modified for my level of keeping Passover. Penzeys garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dill weed used in the mashed potatoes.

Russian Chicken

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The planned cast of characters for this dinner. We had to punt at the last minute, as you shall later see.
4 chicken thighs
Homemade Russian salad dressing, made from SD's homemade garlic aioli since except for k4p jarred mayonnaise, which IMO is terrible, commercial mayonnaise contains kitnyot in the form of soybean oil and occasionally corn syrup
K4P apricot preserves
Goodman's K4P onion soup mix
Pineapple tidbits
Potatoes
Garlic
Meal Mart broccoli kugel

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The Russian salad dressing awaiting being made in to marinade/gravy.

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Full jar of apricot preserves added to the Russian salad dressing.

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Onion soup mix going in.

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Marinade/gravy ready to go.

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Four chicken thighs placed in crockery.

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Pineapple tidbits added.

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Marinade/gravy poured over all..

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Crock pot covered and set to low for eight hours. Six probably would have been plenty.

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Finished dish after the eight hours.

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Mashed potatoes made with the potatoes and garlic, as well as Penzeys garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dill weed.

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My dinner plate.
You'll notice the broccoli kugel was switched out for chopped broccoli. When the kugel packaging was opened, there was growth on top of both kugels. So we punted and quickly steamed some frozen chopped broccoli.
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Post by Menolly »

When I made the Russian Chicken, I used four very large chicken thighs. The thighs did not come skinless, but I'm not a fan of chicken skin cooked in the crockpot. So before proceeding, I skinned and took off as much fat as I could to make schmaltz, gribbenes, and onions.

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Beginning the process of skinning and defatting the thighs to make schmaltz.

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The four thighs yielded a lot of skin and fat!

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I used to make schmaltz by simmering the chicken fat, skin, and sliced onion in water to cover until all of the water evaporates and the resultant schmaltz then crisps up the gribbenes and onions. SD taught me to simply put the skin and fat in the pot, turn the warming burner on to high, and allow it to sit for as long as it takes. I found the resultant schmaltz to be even richer.
This was started Wednesday morning.

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Thirty six hours in (Thursday night), the gribbenes is starting to brown, but is still not crispy. Time to add some sliced onion and allow to sit on the very low heat overnight.

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After 48 hours (Friday morning) the schmaltz and gribbenes is ready.

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After straining out the gribbenes and onions, I salted and seasoned with granulated garlic.
For those who have never had gribbenes, it is similar to chicarrones, although not as airy. Most likely it is an acquired taste, but I do love it.

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Golden lusciousness to be used in egg dishes, chopped liver, or other treats. I store it in a Tupperware or similar container in the refrigerator, where it basically keeps forever.
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Post by Menolly »

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Ah, backtracking a bit. Monday's lunch was a kosher salami sandwich on matzah.
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Post by Menolly »

I was ready for matzah brei by the 5th day of Passover. So my version of savory matzah brei was my lunch on Thursday.

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I forgot to take a picture of the ingredients, so we'll jump right in. This is my version of a traditional savory matzah brei.
A couple of hours before planning to serve, carmelize some onion. This is a large onion starting to wilt in some melted homemade schmaltz on very low heat.

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After the onion starts to turn translucent, add a tiny pinch of kosher sea salt and a similar amount of white granulated sugar. Toss, cover the pan, and cook on low until the onions turn dark and jammy. Remove the lid and stir the onions around every 15 minutes to start. You can stretch it out to stirring every half an hour after about an hour.
Remove the lid after 90 minutes and allow some of the moisture to evaporate.

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For true carmelized onions, these could have gone a little longer. But, they're cooked enough for our purposes.

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During the last 15 minutes of caramelizing the onions, whisk 3 medium or 2 large eggs per person. Add a pinch of salt and allow to sit until the onions finish caramelizing.

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After the 15 minutes, you'll notice the color of the eggs starting to change, becoming a little more orange. According to J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, this is a good thing.

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Add a splash of tepid water and whisk well until slightly foamy.

(I don't have a photo of this step, as I took video which I posted on Facebook. I don't think liking to the video on Facebook will work)
You need to dampen the matzah boards before breaking them in to the eggs. Don't soak them, as they'll fall apart. Use one matzah board per person. Quickly pass through running tap water and allow the excess to drip off.

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Break the matzah board in to bite size pieces and drop in to the egg mixture.

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I season my matzah brei with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, and dill weed. I love dill weed with eggs!

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Add the carmelized onions and mix everything together.

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Put some more schmaltz in to your pan on medium heat and allow to melt.

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When melted and glossy, the pan is ready to cook.

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I prefer my matzah brei in pieces, rather than pancake style. But I start it like a pancake to get one side cooked before breaking it up.

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Wait for the edges to start to set...

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Use the spatula to push the set edges towards the middle and spread more of the uncooked mixture out towards the edges to set up some more.

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Once more of the uncooked mixture starts to set, flip it over in pieces. The underside should be turning a light brown.

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Continue to toss in pieces until the mixture dries out and the pieces are golden brown in spots. This is basically finished.

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A serving for one.

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My preferred method for eating matzah brei is with unsweetened apple sauce and a sprinkling of Ceylon cinnamon. But choices are endless. I've seen people use spice mixtures like Creole seasoning. Beorn likes it with ketchup.
You do you.
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Post by Menolly »

Even though I had just made Matzah Pizza for lunch the day before, by the 6th night I was craving "pasta."

Thursday night's dinner:
Matzah Lasagna

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Cast of characters for this dinner:
Matzah boards
Onion
Garlic
Carrot
Celery
Mushrooms
Tomato sauce
Ricotta
Mozzarella
Parmigiano
Eggs
Frozen spinach
Fresh parsley

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I needed to thin the sauce, and add some more flavor, so I added some Manischewitz.

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After the wine, the sauce was a touch too sweet, but some k4p balsamic vinegar brought it in to balance.

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Mise en place to doctor up the sauce.

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Vegetables sautéed and ready to bring flavor to the sauce.

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I felt the sauce was too thick after simmering with the vegetables, so this is when I added the wine and balsamic vinegar.

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Much better!

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I prefer to add additional spices to prepared sauce. This time I added salt, pepper, granulated garlic, Italian herb seasoning, and a couple of bay leaves.

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The cheese mixture consists of ricotta, shredded mozzarella, grated parmigiano, a couple of eggs, fresh parsley, and thawed frozen chopped spinach squeezed dry. I think I'm going to add an additional egg in future.

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Ready to layer!
Begin by spreading a cup worth of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.

(I don't have a photo of this step. I took a video and posted it on Facebook, but I don't think linking it will work here.)
You need to dampen the matzah boards before layering them in the baking dish. Don't soak them, as they'll fall apart. The Lasagna takes eight matzah boards. Quickly pass through running tap water and allow the excess to drip off.

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Dampen two matzah boards and put them in a single layer on top of the sauce.

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A third of the cheese mixture put on top of the first layer of matzah.

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A cup of sauce layered on top of the cheese mixture. It needs to be spread out so every bit of matzah is covered, or the unsauced matzah will be crunchy.

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Two more matzahs which were first dampened.

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Repeat with a third of the cheese mixture...

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...and another cup of sauce.

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I forgot to snap a photo of the third layer of dampened matzah, but they get layered first, followed by the last third of the cheese mixture.

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Another cup of sauce to cover completely.

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The last two matzahs, also dampened.

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The final cup of sauce to completely cover the matzah.

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Topped with a cup of shredded mozzarella.

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Tent with foil. I brushed some extra light olive oil on the foil to help prevent the top cheese layer from sticking. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven on the center rack for 45 minutes.

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Remove the foil and return to the oven uncovered for 15 minutes.

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Remove from the oven and allow to rest for another 15 minutes before cutting.

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Interior view.

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A single serving.

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Buon appetito!
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Post by Menolly »

*cross posted*

As the 7th night and Erev Shabbes approached, which SD committed to preparing dinner for, I got a little adventurous, and went outside my comfort zone. Although I decided to indulge in my homemade carby Passover meals, I did not buy any premade Passover treats. Which means I didn't buy any canisters of the various flavored coconut macaroons. I kept hearing how easy they are to make, and that fresh made are much better than the ones in the canister. I decided to give them a try.
Sucralose and saccharine are available as kosher for Passover sweeteners, but neither are really acceptable for me.. However, birch xylitol is also available as k4p, and that is acceptable for the way I eat. While I'm enjoying having matzah and potatoes during the festival, I really didn't want to add sugar where I could avoid it, such as in my coffee. Plus, birch xylitol is a 1:1 substitute for white sugar, so birch xylitol it is.
I could not find k4p sugar free chocolate chips, as the sweeteners used are not k4p, so I adapted an online recipe for ganache using unsweetened chocolate, subbing the xylitol for the sugar to sweeten the chocolate. I found a coconut macaroon recipe which uses unsweetened shredded coconut, egg whites, powdered sugar, and various extract. I adapted that to xylitol as well.
Here is what I came up with:

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

For the macaroons:
3 egg whites, medium not large
3/4 cup powdered xylitol
2 and 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
I tsp extract, various flavors (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F (160C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites and powdered sugar until foamy. Add extract, if using and mix in.
Add in the shredded coconut and stir gently with a spatula. Try to make a ball with your hand, squeezing the ball a little. If you think it is too dry and doesn't hold together, add one small egg white. If you think it is too moist, add a little extra coconut.
Using an ice cream scoop or a measuring tablespoon, drop macaroons on the parchment paper. You can make balls using your hands too.
Bake for 20 minutes. Open the oven and place them on the top shelf. Bake for another 2-3 minutes or until their top gets golden.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Dip in to ganache and set on parchment to dry. Pipe ganache over top.
Keep them in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

For the ganache:
100 grams (3.5 oz) 100% dark chocolate
50 grams (1/4 cup) xylitol
1/3 cup whipping cream (any heavy cream will do)
1 tsp extract (optional)

Chop the chocolate into 1/2 inch cubes, or use chips and place in a medium bowl (use microwavable safe just in case you need help getting the chocolate to melt).
Pour your cream into a small saucepan and place on an element on the stove top. Heat on medium high. Add the sugar and stir, heating and stirring until it dissolves. If using, add the vanilla, mint or coffee extract.
Do not let the cream boil, just bring it to nearly a simmer then immediately pour half of the cream over the chocolate. Stir until you get a smooth and dark chocolaty-looking mixture, but with large lumps of chocolate in it.
Then reheat your remaining cream and pour into the mixture. Stir until smooth. If lumps still remain, microwave for five seconds (not more!) and stir again until the mixture is smooth.

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Cast of characters for the coconut macaroons. I forgot to put out my homemade vanilla flavoring I make for Passover using potato vodka. You'll see the jar I store it in later.
The chocolate chips are 100% dark chocolate with no sugar or sweetener from Trader Joe's. They're not certified k4p, but as it has nothing but chocolate, it works for me.

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I could not find confectioners birch xylitol, not even online. Instead, I use my spice grinder to powder my own. I found a half a cup of granular birch xylitol came to about the 3/4s cup of powdered birch xylitol I needed. Sweetness worked out perfectly.

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A quarter cup of the birch xylitol after being "blitzed" in my spice grinder. You can see the expansion. I did this twice to get about 3/4s cup of powdered birch xylitol.

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The macaroon ingredients, minus the vanilla: egg whites, shredded coconut (actually, I used flaked coconut, which gave me some issues), and the powdered birch xylitol.

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The egg whites and powdered birch xylitol whisked until foamy,  and then homemade vanilla flavoring stirred in. I tried to whisk by hand. First lesson learned: use the whisk attachment for my hand mixer in future.

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Shredded (actually flaked) coconut gently folded in. Second lesson learned: the texture of the flaked coconut may look more elegant, but it does not absorb the liquid mixture well and is very difficult to shape. Be certain to get shredded unsweetened coconut in future.

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Macaroons shaped using an ice cream scoop and pressing to mold and extrude liquid.

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The recipe made an even dozen macaroons.

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I forgot to take a photo after the initial 20 minutes. This is after browning on the top rack.

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Cast of characters for the chocolate ganache:
100% dark chocolate chips
Heavy cream (Internet recipe called for a quarter cup, but that resulted in a thick spreadable ganache. I heated more cream to thin it out for dipping and piping, but am uncertain as to how much more I added. I adjusted the recipe above to say a third of a cup, but that may need to be adjusted yet again)
Xylitol
Homemade vanilla flavoring made from potato vodka (Regular extracts are made using alcohol derived from one of the five forbidden grains, so is considered "chametz." Of course use any extract if not observing Passover strictures.)

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The ganache was made so quickly I didn't get any photos of the process. Here are the macaroons after the bottoms were dipped in the ganache.

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The rest of the ganache put in to a zipper bag. The corner was then snipped for piping.

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I'm terrible at piping. But, I'm still happy with how they look.

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Xylitol that is corn derived is not k4p and is known for causing tummy issues. Birch xylitol is k4p and is not known to cause tummy issues as much, but SD seems to react negatively to it, possibly due to surgery years ago on his digestive track. So, I recommend having one at a time. At least until one sees how one personally reacts to it.

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I'm really happy with the flavor, level of sweetness, and the texture. Far superior to the cannister ones!
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Post by Menolly »

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SD prepared the 7th night of Passover and Erev Shabbes dinner. Simple, basic, and keto friendly. I'm enjoying the carb indulgence for two more days, but this was a refreshing break.
Steak almost medium (I prefer extra rare, but it was still tasty) - seasoned with Creole seasoning, granulated garlic, and sweet paprika. Pressure cooked artichoke, and what looks like scrambled eggs is homemade garlic aioli. We learned not to take Kenji's reliable mayonnaise method and try to alter it using only egg yolks. It was still really tasty, though!
For those interested, here's Kenji's reliable mayonnaise method. Add several cloves of fresh garlic to make it garlic ailoi.
https://youtu.be/9TnIeYc2CWU
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Post by Menolly »

Neither sederim (the two ritual festive meals) I attended at the start of Passover served soup, much less matzah ball soup. I decided it was time to have it. Every year I try to make fluffy floaters, and every year something else goes wrong. Here is this year's attempt.
(Hang on to your hats, folks. This step-by-step breakdown is going to be long...)

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The cast of characters for the matzah balls:
Eggs
Homemade schmaltz
Kosher sea salt
Ground white pepper
Finely minced dill and parsley
Seltzer
Matzah meal

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Two whole eggs and two egg yolks

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Schmaltz, kosher sea salt, and ground white pepper added to the eggs.

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The egg mixture whipped together, then set aside for the salt to work its magic.

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Two egg whites getting beaten to stiff peaks.

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Pretty sure that's stiff enough.

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The egg mixture after sitting while the whites were beaten.

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The chopped dill and parsley added and stirred in to the egg mixture.

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Half a cup of seltzer.

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Look at the reaction when the seltzer is added to the egg mixture!

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Matzah meal going in.

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The matzah meal and egg mixture combined.

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The beaten egg whites added to the matzah meal mixture...

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...and gently folded in.

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The matzah ball mixture covered and placed in the refrigerator to chill out.

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The matzah ball mixture after two hours of chilling in the refrigerator.

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My work station for forming the matzah balls:
A wide pan to simmer the matzah balls in
A bowl of water with a teaspoon sitting in the water
The matzah ball mixture

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This is where I think I typically screw up. I either put the matzah balls in to water which is boiling too hard, or I don't cook them long enough on a gentle simmer. In either case, they generally fall apart in to mush. Here is what I tried tonight:
Bring the wide pan of water to a rapid boil and add a pinch or two of kosher sea salt.

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Once the water is salted, turn it down to the barest simmer.

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Using the wet spoon, scoop out the matzah meal mixture to roll in to the size matzah ball you want without over handling it. I aim for the size of a ping pong ball while raw.

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Wet your hands with water and gently form the raw mix in to a ball.

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Carefully place the matzah balls in the gently simmering water in the wide pan. At this point, do not worry if the water stops simmering as you add the matzah balls. As long as it's hot, it's currently good.

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Cover and slowly raise the heat until the water is gently simmering again. Once it is at a gentle simmer, cook for 40 minutes without lifting the cover. The slow rise in temperature appears to slowly cook the matzah balls enough so they don't fall apart once a gentle simmer is reached.

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Success! The matzah balls cooked through for the 40 minutes covered, and did not fall apart. At this point I turned the heat down to the lowest level and allowed them to bathe in the warm water while I finished up the soup.

(I decided to break this in to two posts. At this point, the matzah balls are ready. Next will be making and finishing the soup for service.)
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Post by Menolly »

Continuing on with the making and serving of the soup.

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The vegetables to be added to the soup to cook until tender and to be served:
Onion
Carrot
Parsnip
Celery

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I started with my homemade chicken bone broth made in the Instant Pot.

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I wanted some fresh chicken added to the soup, not chicken which had already been boiled to death to make soup, as I find such chicken to be tough and stringy. Here's a beautiful boneless/skinless chicken breast.

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Since I was going to partially poach the chicken in the bone broth before cutting in to bite size pieces, I split it horizontally to aid the cooking.

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I poached the chicken in the bone broth for about five minutes. Then I removed it to be cubed.

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The partially poached chicken, cubed and ready to be added back to the pot closer to service.

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The cut vegetables go in about half an hour before service to become tender without getting mushy.

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My matzah ball soup always has noodles, even if they're k4p noodles for the holiday. They go in about 7 minutes before service.

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The vegetables are getting tender and the noodles are in.

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I like to add about a third of this bunch of fresh dill at the last minute for a burst of freshness.

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Almost there!

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The matzah balls, after sitting covered on the lowest heat setting after being fully cooked, just before being added to the soup.

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The finished product!

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A single serving.

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Yes, I finally did it! Light, fluffy floaters!

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Mustn't forget to show off the veg and chicken.
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Post by Menolly »

This will be my last Passover themed step-by-step cooking post until next year.

*crossposted*

To honor those celebrating Easter, such as Dam-sel, I fixed a brunch on Sunday morning which still fit within the Passover strictures I follow, since this year Easter fell on the last day of Passover.

Easter brunch:
Banana and Peach Matzah Brei Bake

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Cast of characters for brunch:
Matzah
Bananas
Sliced peaches with juice
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
K4P Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
Eggs, room temperature
Milk
Vanilla flavoring made with potato vodka
Lemon zest

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I forgot to take individual photos after each step for the first layer. I started for the second, and then forgot a step or two. It's easy to figure out.
The night before serving, spray or lightly oil a 9"×13" baking dish. Place two matzah boards on the bottom in a single layer. The boards do not need to be dampened for this recipe.
Slice one of the bananas and space evenly on the matzah. Cut half of the peaches in to smaller pieces and space them evenly over the matzah.

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Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of brown sugar over the fruit, depending on how sweet you want the matzah brei to turn out. Follow that with a sprinkle of 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon.

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Start the next layer with two matzah boards in a single layer over the first.

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Space the slices from the second banana over the matzah.

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I forgot to take a photo of the bananas and peaches on the second layer before adding the brown sugar and cinnamon. It basically looks like the second photo above, only on the second layer.
Repeat with the same amount of brown sugar and cinnamon you used on the first layer.

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A one pound block of k4p cream cheese that was softened, cubed and put in a large mixing bowl.

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Add one egg and beat until smooth. Add seven more eggs, one at a time, beating until fully incorporated after each one.

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The cream cheese and egg mixture, after all of the eggs are added and incorporated.

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Add milk, vanilla flavoring, and lemon zest.

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The egg and milk mixture with everything mixed in.

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Gently pour over the matzah and fruit; you don't want to disturb the fruit if you can help it. If you were able to layer the matzah boards so they didn't overlap, they should be completely submerged. Mine poked up a little bit, but everything still cooked fine.

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Cover with cling wrap and put in to the refrigerator overnight. Similar to an overnight French toast! Be careful carrying it to the refrigerator; the liquid is very full and sloshy!

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Fresh out of the refrigerator the next morning. The liquid really thickened up!
The recipe does not call for doing so, but I let the brei rest at room temperature for 45 minutes before putting in to a preheated 350°F oven for 50 minutes.

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The baked results.

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Interior view.

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A close up of the layers.

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I put some maple syrup on the table as the recipe suggested. Dam-sel had the very clever idea of topping her piece with cinnamon sugar. It made the brei prettier, and the maple syrup was not needed after that.
Next time, I think I'll top the brei with cinnamon sugar during the last 15 minutes in the oven.

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SD tends to like end pieces with crispy bits, so he suggested I photograph the crispy end of the pretty cinnamon sugar piece for those who would like to see the cook.
Overall, we enjoyed it. We did feel it could have used more fruit, and half of the brei was enough for the three of us. I think next time I'll make it in an 8"×8" square pan, or whichever size will hold a single board of matzah. Halve everything, except for the fruit.
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Passover Success!!

Post by Menolly »

Passover is a week away! I pulled my turkey yesterday to defrost before dry brining for three days next week.

I'm going to finally give the frog method a try. Similar to spatchcocked, which I've also never tried, but easier to do. If the weather here in the Pacific Northwet cooperates, we'll smoke the turkey on the Weber kettle.

We tend to only do turkey twice a year, and Thanksgiving tends to be too nasty weather wise for smoking for us (we're not die-hard regardless-of-weather grillers), so it's been awhile since we had a smoked turkey.

But, preparation is the same for the bird, regardless of if we're oven roasting or smoking, so we can pivot if we have to do so.

The rest of the Seder menu will depend on what I find at the kosher QFC and Safeway, as well as what I receive at Hopelink and INSP.

What are y'all's plans for either Easter or Passover?
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Passover Success!!

Post by Menolly »

I had to get a new-to-me phone, so I was unable to post photos during Passover and Easter.

First night Seder I went to CHABAD, but I prepared second night. I made both Ashkenazi and Sefardi charoses. The Askenazi consisted of apples, chopped walnuts, ground Ceylon cinnamon, and Manischewitz. The Sefardi had dates, apricots, craisins, chopped walnuts, ground cloves, and Manischewitz. Both were good.

We started the meal with hard boiled egg in salt water and then my homemade matzah ball soup. It has taken 60 of my 63 year old life, but I have finally attained the perfect balance between a sinker and a floater for us without the matzah ball disintegrating into the chicken soup.

Next up was jarred gefilte fish with strong ground white Passover horseradish; I adore that stuff but can only find it at Passover.

The main meal was leaping frog roasted turkey with homemade garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. It was my first time doing a frogged turkey; the butchering of the whole defrosted and dried brined bird was very easy. I had never done spatchcock either, so the just under 12 lb. bird being done in 2-1/2 hours really took me by surprise. The meat had cooled off considerably by the time we got to the bird, but thankfully I made Alex Guarnaschelli’s turkey gravy recipe which warmed it up just fine. That recipe is wonderful for Passover and low carbers, as it uses no starches to thicken it but the roasted onion and garlic used to flavor the stock and drippings.

SD did not try smoking the bird; he felt frogged it was too large to be able to build an effective indirect fire in the Weber kettle. So oven roasted it was.

I seasoned the bird with a homemade garlic and sage compound butter. Next time I’ll make double the amount and let the bird sit at room temperature longer before applying it. The compound butter was softened, but it seized up and refused to spread as soon as I applied it to the bird. I suspect the bird was still too cold.

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The skin didn’t brown as much as I hoped. I had followed Alton Brown’s method for spatchcock turkey, although I set it on a rack rather than directly on the oven grates as AB suggests. Next time I’ll try Kenji’s method, as he roasts the bird longer at a higher temperature.

I also made several sweets to enjoy during the Festival.

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Homemade Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

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Matzah Caramel Crunch

I couldn’t find KLP white chocolate this year, so I chopped up a KLP white chocolate bar with a nougat filling and made the ganache from that. It turned out a lovely light tan for the piped lattice design.

Saturday night SD made a lovely steak dinner.

For Easter I did a spiral sliced ham with a pineapple and brown sugar glaze. We had steamed artichoke with it.

I did a couple of crockpot meals during the intermediate days. Kielbasa and kraut with apples, onion, and craisins one night, and Russian Chicken the next. The kielbasa and kraut is a full meal for us, but I made a matzah farfel pilaf for the extra sauce of the Russian Chicken, for which SD made homemade aoli, as jarred mayonnaise is usually made with oil processed from kitnyot, such as soybean or canola oil.

For the last night on Wednesday I made Matzah Lasagna.
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