Preparing the Seder meal requires several hours of work. I strongly recommend that the main cook gets other members of the house to help, so that the meal will be completed before the Seder would begin at sunset. It is best to prepare all the seder foods before the onset of the Holiday in order to avoid pre-meal chaos or halachic questions.
The Passover meal allow the family to think and reflect and has plenty of meaning and allusion. The Seder plate has six items on it, arranged in a special order. The plate is placed on top of the covering of the three matzo and is placed in front of the head of the household.
The foods of the Seder plate are listed below, with the reason each is included, the method of preparing it, and its role in the Seder meal.
This is the latest article from Renaissance Magazine. It offers a great recipe for a side dish that is perfect for Thanksgiving that can be altered for the vegetarian family members. Don’t let the name fool you, the vegetarian version is just as tasty.
Autumn is in full swing and soon the weather will cool and summon winter to come forth. The fall and winter months herald several holidays that celebrate family, togetherness, and love. The holidays also bring forth family feasts that help solidify relationships with family and friends.
As a child, my family’s holiday dinners usually consisted of the standard roast turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and stuffing. As an adult who likes to show off their culinary skills, I tend to cook less 20th century traditional recipes and cook more historical dishes; one of which is Sausage Hash.
Food image is credited to: Bill Moss, Moss Fotografica
This particular dish is a favorite among my family and friends and is extremely versatile and easy to make. It can be used as a breakfast dish, a side item for a holiday dinner, or as an entrée. During the holidays, I have been known to prepare this dish in mass quantities, package them up, and give them as gifts to my close friends, one of whom has been known to eat several pounds of this tasty treat in one setting.
This dish can also be altered for vegetarians or those who keep Kosher or Halal, as you will see from the recipe.
Ingredients:
Approximately 2 lbs of course ground country-style pork sausage or vegetarian sausage crumbles (Morning Star Farms has a great product – if using the vegetarian sausage, 3 TB of olive oil will be needed)
1 large onion or 3 leeks (a mild onion flavored vegetable), diced
2 lbs of carrots, thick julienned (size of twig or finger, but not matchstick sized)
1 lb of sweet potatoes, peeled and thick julienned
3 lbs of red potatoes, thick julienned
4 gloved of garlic, minced
2 sprigs of rosemary
Fistful of fresh chives, minced and divided
Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
Using a large pot, begin to sauté the sausage on medium heat to brown. While sautéing, break the sausage up into smaller pieces and add the onions and the garlic. The higher end sausage such as farm made, Amish made, or home made sausage is best, but standard course ground sausage may be used as well. Avoid using Italian or spicy sausage blends as it alters the flavor. Additional spices or hot sauces can be added after serving to suit individual tastes. Instead of the pork-based sausage, vegetarians or those trying to cut back the fat content, can sauté the vegetarian sausage in the olive oil to brown.
When the sausage with the onions and garlic has begun to brown, add the carrots and potatoes, stirring occasionally. If you notice the pan has a low fat content, add a cup of water to assist in the cooking process. When the potatoes and the carrots are nearly tender, remove the rosemary from the stems and add half of the chives. Continue stirring to blend the ingredients. Add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper to taste. It is important that table salt is not used in this dish and only sea or Kosher salt is used.
When the vegetables are fork tender, pull off the heat while continuing to stir. The left over chives should be used as a garnish sprinkled on top of the hash after serving.
This recipe can be duplicated as a vegetable hash by leaving out the meat or vegetarian sausage, and sautéing the same vegetables in the olive oil until fork tender. This makes a colorful side dish for any family dinner or special event.
Cast Iron has been used for several centuries in providing meals to others. Ideally, they were to be used and handed down to the offspring, who would hand it down to their offspring. If “hand me down” cast iron is not available, finding used well-seasoned cast iron at garage sales and/or estate sales are the best way to go. Cast Iron pots include fry pans, griddles, dutch ovens, cauldrons, sauce pots, and grills in all different sizes.
Cast iron cookware, in my humble opinion, is great. Once seasoned, cooks can use less oil and they are easy to clean and maintain. Sometimes, it is difficult to buy used cast iron and it becomes necessary to buy new (pre-seasoned) cookware. Pre-seasoned does not mean it is seasoned as it should be. Things will still stick to the “pre-seasoned” new cookware. Below are some steps I can offer on how to season your own cast iron cookware. Remember: Pot lids need to be seasoned as well.
1. If you have a fire pit or barbecue pit, that is ideal. The heat is intense, but it will get the job done efficiently without smoking up your house.
A. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, use olive oil. This will take longer (about 10 times) as the fats will take longer to caramelize.
B. If you eat meat, use lard. Three seasonings should do the trick.
2. Using the fire pit or barbecue, coat the interior and exterior of the pot with oil/lard and put onto the fire. The oils may catch fire and this is expected. After 10 minutes, turn the pot over so the inside may be done as well; after 10 minutes, pull off of the heat.
3. Coat again and repeat (3 times for lard or 10 times for olive oil)
4. Once cool after the final firing, wash with water and cloth only. Do not scrub your pot and do not use soap. After you use it for cooking, only light scrubbing with a cloth or natural fiber scrubber with water should be used. You don’t want to remove the carbons that have been used to season your pot.
If you are one of the unfortunate people who do not have access to fire and can only use a stove, I will warn you that this can be a smelling and messy project.
Preheat the oven for 450 degrees. Once hot, coat your pot in the oil of your choice (olive oil or lard). Keep in the oven for 45 minutes and pull out to re-coat the pot. Repeat for steps 3 and 4, skipping steps 1 and 2.
Today, it was so cold it snowed where I live. The absence of the autumn reminds me of the importance of richly traditional soups. One of my favorites that my paternal grandfather used to make was the Dublin Coddle. It was served with crusty French or soad bread with fresh butter. Apologies to my vegetarian and vegan fans as this dish cannot be altered for the non-meat eaters.
Dublin Coddle Ingredients 8 1/4-inch thick slices of ham or bacon (I perfer bacon)
8 pork sausages or 1 lb of course ground sausage
1 quart of boiling water
4 large onions
2 lbs of potatoes (red potatoes perferred)
4 rounded TB of freshly chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Serves 4 generously or 8 normal portions
Cut the ham or bacon into large chunks and cook with the sausages in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain but reserve the liquid. Peel and thinly slice the onion and potatoes.
Put the meat into a large pot with the onion, potatoes and parsley. Season to tasted and add enough of the stock to barely cover.
Lay a piece of parchment paper on top of pot and then put on the lid and simmer gently for about an hour or until liquid is reduced by half and all the ingredients are cooked but not mushy.
This past season and year have been amazing. First, I became the official food writer for “Renaissance Magazine.”
Second, despite the weather, the appearance at Siouxland was well worth it between the demonstrations and cookbook sales. The cold and rainy weather did not diminish our spirits!
Third, we experienced some amazing weather at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. There was no rain until final weekend. The demos went well, fed an average of 100 people each day, amd sold more cookbooks. Also, the community kitchen in which we help feed the cast members, were nominated and received the “Best Group Award” in 2009 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. We were touched by everyone’s generosity and kindness; we couldn’t have done it without your help.
I almost forgot to add that I also won a $100 gift certificate for my website as part of a Passion and Quality campaign.
If you are one of the unfortunate people who do not have access to fire and can only use a stove, I will warn you that this can be a smelling and messy project.
orth it between the demonstrations and cookbook sales. The cold and rainy weather did not diminish our spirits!