Passover Meat Thing

Wow!  Thank you!  With all of the preparations you have for Pesach you actually took the time to read koshereveryday.com this week…thanks so much!!!

I’m going to share one of our family’s all-time favorite Pesach recipes:  Passover Meat Thing.  The recipe started out years ago as a sort of Passover, matzoh, meat lasagna-ish type dish.  Not really lasagna (no cheese or noodles), it didn’t really earn the right to be called lasagna – so we had to come up with another creative name.  Although we failed miserably at the name (Passover Meat Thing?), after many iterations of trying to make the perfect “Thing”, it’s one of the most requested dishes in our house on Pesach.  Aside from the fact that they like the way it tastes, I think it might have something to do with the fact that my family likes to ask for the “Meat Thing” with a distinctly Southern twanged accent pronouncing it “Meat Thang”.  This recipe is one of my favorites because it’s actually better rewarmed after being stored in the fridge for a while…a definite bonus when getting the cooking done (in advance?) for the Holiday! 

In my early trials of the recipe, I simply slapped the lean ground beef between the layers of matzoh, covered it with sauce, baked it, and then served it. The problem I found was that although there was some fat in the meat to moisten the matzoh, the matzoh layers didn’t have any real flavor and they weren’t moist after baking – so you ended up basically eating a baked multi-layer hamburger matzoh sandwich.  That’s fine, but not really what I was looking for.  The solution came to me while making my huge vat of chicken soup one year.  I simply ladled some of the soup from the pot over each layer of matzoh before covering it with the ground beef.  It resulted in giving the matzoh great flavor, and a much softer “pastalike” matzoh layer between the meat layers.  You could also add additional pasta sauce between the layers, but I don’t – when the Meat Thing is cut, it’s prettier when the matzoh layers are white.

I won't plague you with the
details...ribbit....

Sadly, I am not one of those people who cook for Pesach two months in advance.  My cooking is generally a marathon event taking place the week prior to the Holiday.  I may start a little earlier, but not by much.  So, at this moment in time – no Passover Meat Thing photos….sorry! When I do make it closer to Pesach I’ll add the photos – really, I will.  However, I will leave you with a teaser photo though of one of the recipes in my aish.com article coming out this week (link will be right in this spot when it posts).  Can you guess what it is??

You can also refer to some of my previous Pesach articles and recipes to help with your menu preparations.   We’ll get through this together…really, we will!

My Gluten Free Passover article at www.kosherscoop.com: Broccoli Kugel and Passover Stuffing

Passover Cholent

Roasted Turkey with Matzoh Stuffing

Coca Cola Roast

Sharon Matten’s Passover Desserts TV program

And if you’re not ready for Pesach yet and need to still get rid of your chametz:

The Pesach Chametz Cabinet Cleaning Blog #1

The Pesach Chametz Cabinet Cleaning Blog #2

Hope this helps!  More to come…

Passover Meat Thing (“Thang”)

1                    26 ounce jar                   pasta sauce

1                    box                                matzoh, around 8 matzohs

2                    pounds                           extra lean ground beef

                                                            additional spices (optional)

2                    large                               eggs

6-8                cups                                chicken stock

                                                             non-stick vegetable spray or oil

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray a tall 9”x13” pan with non-stick vegetable spray or grease with oil.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, eggs, and any additional spices you prefer.  Set aside

Ladle a half ladleful (around ½ cup) of stock into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Place a matzoh in the pan.  Ladle a half ladleful (around ½ cup) of stock over the matzoh until moistened, adding additional stock if necessary.  Some of the stock may drizzle over the sides of the matzoh, don’t worry, it will be absorbed during baking.  Spread an approximately ½ - ¾ inch layer of ground beef mixture over the moistened matzoh.  Top with another matzoh, and repeat the ladling and layering process until all the ground beef is used, finishing with a matzoh on top.  Ladle a half ladleful (around ½ cup) of stock over the final matzoh until moistened.  Pour the entire jar of pasta sauce over the matzoh, spreading to evenly cover.  Some of the sauce may drizzle over the sides.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 60 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.  Cut into squares.  I usually serve it as a cut whole.

Notes:

1.       To reheat:  Bake covered for 30-45 minutes in a 350° F oven.

2.       You can make the Meat Thing with fewer, thicker meat layers, for a delicious alternative to the “regular” recipe.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!

KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 

2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!! 

Passover Cholent

The Bat Mtizvah Cake!

Thank G-d we were blessed with having my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah last weekend.  We were so proud (Kenayna Hara) of her efforts in learning for her Bat Mitzvah and the wonderful d’var torah she gave at her party on Sunday.  Her mom (me!) had a lot to do too!  The most special part was being able to put together a photo montage showing her growing up, and speaking to her publicly about her namesakes and about how proud we are of the young woman she has become (I know…we all teared up at the Bat Mitzvah too!).  Aside from the fun of putting together the décor (m&m themed – her initials are MM), menu, and great projects and activities for her classmates, I got to do one of my all-time favorite things – bake!  For weeks I stocked the freezer with French Macarons, cake pops, devil dogs (whoopee pies to the uninitiated), cupcakes, and other treats – SO fun!  I also got to let loose and make some cakes that I would normally never make.  I’m posting some of the pictures so you can vicariously share in the simcha with us!

Although it was an awesome Bat Mitzvah weekend, now that it’s over, we’re trying to dig out from all the Purim mishloach manot, and all the remnants from the Bat Mitzvah – ugh. And we all know what looms in the near future after Purim…the P holiday.  Every year I use my favorite Pre-Pesach (yes I used the “P” word!) planning tool, Mastercook, to plan my shopping and menus for the holiday.  It’s what actually helps me maintain the façade of normalcy during this crazy time.  I’m going back to my old tried and true menus and recipes (for example my favorite Sharon Matten’s Famous Matzoh Balls – I have a whole wheat version!) because sometimes you just need to do what’s easiest and guaranteed to work.   In my last post, I promised to share with you some of my favorite Pesach. They are all easy, fast, and feed a lot of people (bonus!).   This week’s recipe is my version of Passover Cholent, and is based upon the recipe from “The Complete Passover Cookbook” by Frances R. AvRutick.  Published in 1981, it is a 420 page tome of exclusively Passover recipes.  It’s a great encyclopedia of Passover information and recipes – obviously a labor of love by the author.

You can also refer to some of my previous Pesach articles and recipes to help with your menu preparations.   We’ll get through this together…really, we will!

Roasted Turkey with Matzoh Stuffing

Coca Cola Roast

Sharon Matten’s Passover Desserts TV program

And if you’re not ready for Pesach yet and need to still get rid of your chametz:

The Pesach Chametz Cabinet Cleaning Blog #1

The Pesach Chametz Cabinet Cleaning Blog #2

Hope this helps!  More to come…

Passover Cholent

2             large                     onions, quartered

1 ½         pounds                  cholent meat

5-6          large                     potatoes, peeled and halved

1             pound                  kosher for Passover kishke (you can add a second if you like)

½            cup                      ketchup

3             tablespoons         onion soup mix

                                           oil or non-stick vegetable spray

                                           boiling water

Knaidel:

4              large                    eggs

¼             cup                      oil

¼             cup                      water

1              teaspoon              salt

¼             teaspoon              black pepper

1              cup                      matzoh meal

Preheat oven to 225° or 250° F. 

Spray a large oven-safe pot or large roasting pan (or if using a crock pot grease the insert pot)  with non-stick vegetable spray or grease with oil.  Set aside.

To make the knaidel:  Whisk the eggs, oil , water, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the matzoh meal and stir until all the ingredients are incorporated.  Set aside while preparing the cholent.  The knaidel can be made in advance and refrigerated for a few hours until you are ready to prepare the cholent.

Layer the onions, meat, potatoes, and kishke in the prepared pan.  Cover with the ketchup and onion soup mix.  Form golf-ball sized balls out of the knaidel mixture and place over the cholent.  Cover the entire cholent with boiling water.  Seal the cholent tightly with aluminum foil or a snug fitting lid.  Place in the oven and allow to cook overnight. 

Notes:

• You can also theoretically put this cholent on a blech or in a crock pot overnight, although I’ve always used the oven method.
• I usually remove the casing from the kishke and place it in the pan – I find it gives the cholent a great flavor.  You can leave the casing on if you like and slice it when serving the cholent.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!

KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 

2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!! 

Sharon Matten's Famous Matzoh Ball Recipe

Sometimes you just need to punt.  Between writing articles for Purim for three publications, being one of the hostesses for a shower for my dear friend’s future daughter-in-law, getting ready for my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah right after Purim (K”IH), filling orders for customers for Purim, and getting ready for my own family’s Purim celebration, I just can’t do one more thing (ok, so maybe one more thing – but no more than that!).  I know that you all are expecting some awesome Purim recipes from koshereveryday.com, but I’m going to punt and give you my absolutely famous Matzoh Ball recipe that you can use at your Purim Seuda instead.  The recipe originated many years ago when my then freshman in high school son came home two days before Pesach saying that his Rebbe decided to have the students put together a last minute Pesach cookbook for the class.  Really?  Considering that I had nothing better to do than start searching for a great recipe two days before Pesach, then typing it up so that it was acceptable, I decided I was going to come up with some of my more “creative wise guy” recipes for the book.  I pulled out my Passover cookbooks and came up with recipes for Tongue Polonaise (we are not big tongue fans here), Passover Cholent, and Sharon Matten’s Famous Matzoh Ball Recipe (they come out great every time!).  Well the joke was on me, because I ended up making the cholent recipe for Pesach that year and it was fabulous (who knew?!!) Stay tuned…I’ll share it with you before Pesach. People came up to me and commented on how great the Tongue recipe was (really, they did), and they loved my Matzo ball recipe because it was SO easy and they loved the fact even a foodie sometimes takes the easy way out.

So during this time of Purim turnabout, this recipe writer is sharing my “non-recipe” recipe for Matzoh Balls that you can make for your own Seuda.  If you’re feeling particularly creative maybe you can even make them triangle shaped!  That I’d love to see!!

Happy Purim Everyone!!

Sharon Matten’s Famous Matzoh Ball Recipe

Go to the store, buy your favorite matzoh ball mix, follow the package directions.  Serve with your favorite Chicken soup or Chicken Leek Soup.

Note: When I’m feeling like making the matzoh balls a little lower in fat, I use 2 tablespoons of water instead of 2 of the tablespoons of oil in the package recipe.

For more Kosher Everyday Purim Recipes go to:

Grilled Hamburger Cake

Aish.com –Innovative Purim 2012 recipes

Chicago Tribune Syndication – Hat’s off to Purim Wontons 2012

All the ingredients!

 Here are the directions!

(Just don't pack the matzoh balls like

a good snowball...)

 They're even good for you too!

More pictures to follow...

Here are some of the cookies I made

for today's bridal shower.

Mazel Tov Ari and Miriam!

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!

KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 

2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!!