Pesach Hits and Misses

September June

Fri, Mar 29 2013, 2:30 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

yo'ma wrote:

chocolate moose wrote:

The Pesach coffee is terrible trrrible terrible, and I don't know how many times I keep buying it, that I don't remember that.

You should put it on your list for next year Wink

I know - I've done it twice already.

I make the Bas HInda torte without vanilla and it's fine. I think you could even skip the coffee. I might next year.

I left out the vanilla and the coffee. It was fine.

ra_mom

Fri, Mar 29 2013, 5:49 pm

OOTBubby wrote:

cbsmommy wrote:

Misses:
1) Bas Hinda Cake - I've made that cake a number of times during the year and it's never flopped. Batch #1 flopped. I'm pretty sure it's the Pesach coffee and vanilla (I always add a bit for extra flavor even though it's not called for). The water in the vanilla caused the Pesachdik chocolate to seize. I was left with a gloppy, horrible mess instead of a lovely goey batter.

If you want vanilla flavor, use vanilla sugar instead of extract and it will be fine. In general, I don't use the Pesach vanilla extract since it is imitation vanilla and doesn't have such a good flavor; I always use vanilla sugar instead.

Glad you enjoyed so many of the recipes I've posted.

I buy the pure vanilla extract for Pesach every year and really enjoy it!
Lieber's makes it, Kosher Parve for Passover.

OOTBubby

Sun, Mar 31 2013, 11:06 am

ra_mom wrote:

I buy the pure vanilla extract for Pesach every year and really enjoy it!
Lieber's makes it, Kosher Parve for Passover.

Good to know. I've only seen imitation vanilla extract here; I'll have to look for it.

OOTBubby

Sun, Mar 31 2013, 5:57 pm

chocolate moose wrote:

I never use imitation vanilla.

Same here. I would leave it out all together before using it. Only real vanilla and/or vanilla sugar here.

Zus

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 6:35 am

I don't think I had any real hits or misses, I think I'm starting to get the hang of Pesach and I'm able to anticipate my family's needs very well Smile

Super hits were:
* MILs charoset, as usual. I think we need an even bigger box next year Smile

* Soup with kneidlach. It's almost not necessary to cook anything else for yom tov. I do anyway of course LOL

I'm also proud of myself that I packed away the Pesach stuff in a super neat and orderly way with extra space to boot, that I got rid of all the things I'm not using and that I have all the things that I do need, in good working order. And that I made a list of things to buy/replace next year Smile

cbsmommy

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 9:14 am

OOTBubby wrote:

ra_mom wrote:

I buy the pure vanilla extract for Pesach every year and really enjoy it!
Lieber's makes it, Kosher Parve for Passover.

Good to know. I've only seen imitation vanilla extract here; I'll have to look for it.

I apologize for the delay in responding, but I didn't buy the imitation vanilla, I bought the Lieber's pure vanilla extract. While not as good as the Tones/McCormick throughout the year, it's stronger than the vanilla sugar.

And I think in hindsight that the issue with the cake was the lack of soy/dairy in the Pesach chocolate. Lecithin (or dairy) stabilizes chocolate and prevents seizing. I've learned that even a little bit of steam can cause Pesach chocolate to steam; the vanilla extract didn't stand a chance.

Barbara

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 10:21 am

chocolate moose wrote:

The Pesach coffee is terrible trrrible terrible, and I don't know how many times I keep buying it, that I don't remember that.

Tsimess was more work than necessary to serve with meatballs, boiled mashed potatoes woujld have been fine and on that note - a thick sweet and sour sauce was also overkill. a tomato sauce would have been dayeinu.

Most non-flavored coffee, regular or instant, are inherently kosher for Passover. No need to use a specialty product.

celestial

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 10:32 am

Barbara wrote:

chocolate moose wrote:

Most non-flavored coffee, regular or instant, are inherently kosher for Passover. No need to use a specialty product.

The Fairway kosher for Pesach coffee is wonderful!

EmesOrNT

Wed, Apr 03 2013, 12:34 pm

celestial wrote:

Barbara wrote:

chocolate moose wrote:

Most non-flavored coffee, regular or instant, are inherently kosher for Passover. No need to use a specialty product.

The Fairway kosher for Pesach coffee is wonderful!

I guess I had gotten used to my Keurig so much, that the instant tasted like mud. I don't remember it tasting like that. Maybe it was the pesach one? Bad batch? Anyway, I am enjoying my perked cup of coffee now. Haven't had any chametz yet though.

ra_mom

Fri, Apr 04 2014, 12:03 am

OOTBubby wrote:

Good to know. I've only seen imitation vanilla extract here; I'll have to look for it.

OOTBubby, I found Prima pure vanilla extract on the shelves this year. Really glad because of their quality.

imasinger

Fri, Apr 04 2014, 3:46 am

I'm going to add one already.

As a BT, in the beginning, cleaning for pesach meant asking DH what to do and blindly doing it.

I always hated how much extra got spent on sealed food that DH said we needed to get rid of, including anything with vinegar in it (think a large box of salad dressings, sauces, ketchup, etc that he had overbought and stored in the pantry). Then, there were the 15-20 open bottles that he said had to get thrown out.

This year, after 13 years of marriage, I finally asked shailas. (Thanks to chanie8 for telling me last year that these might not be chametz.)

Guess what? The dressings and sauces are not chametz. Neither are the expensive flavorings with alcohol (like vanilla). Nor pearl barley. All can be kept and stored with kitniyot. And we can seal away the opened ones in a container in the fridge and keep those, too.

I am both glad to see how much we will save, and sorry to think of how much we wasted.

momaleh

Fri, Apr 04 2014, 4:28 am

Just stating that everyone must ask their own shaila we were told the vanilla with alcohol was questionable, and I even called the company to find out what alcohol was used, and we endd up selling it for pesach.

imasinger

Fri, Apr 04 2014, 6:58 am

momaleh wrote:

Absolutely! Circumstances and brands both factor in. Our big botttle of Costco vanilla was certified by the OU, and our rav told us to call them and speak to the rav in charge of our products. We told him that we do not sell chametz, but (this, too, was OUR psak for OUR situation) get rid of it. He said we could keep all the flavorings. YMMV.

sky

Wed, Apr 23 2014, 11:52 am

Hit:
- Chocolate Bomb Cookies, Chocolate cake with vinegar, 123 coconut cookies, coconut biscotti, potato kneidlach
- Pesach Cabinet
- Braun food processor
- Yapchik and cholent baked in the oven. I loved the make and forget feel and easy cleanup. I may just do it all year long.
- Meatballs - I need to make a lot more next year.

Misses:
- Carrot Walnut Cloud Cookies
- Cheese blintzes - my filling was way to sweet and watery

imasinger

Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:08 pm

Hit - whole chicken in crockpot for Shabbos instead of yapchik. Tasty, and so easy!

Hit - making mayo for Pesach. Bigger hit, avoiding cottonseed oil.

Miss - not checking labels carefully enough at grocery store's post seder sale during ch"h. Why would they include sour stix, and for those that don't normally eat that junk, who knew they had chometz?

Simple1

Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:27 pm

Major hit - Pesach poppers. Cut chicken cutlets in pieces. Dip in egg, then in potato starch. Fry. Put in baking dish or pan with hot and spicy bbq sauce. Heat and serve.

cbsmommy

Wed, Apr 23 2014, 12:38 pm

Doughless potato knishes were a resounding hit.
Other hits:
- chocolate mousse
- 123 cookies
- bas hinda cake
- flanken with sweet potatoes
- potato vegetable kugel
- almond torte
- cheese blintzes

Misses:
- lemon mousse - recipe wasn't great, the mousse was sickly sweet.
- blondies - they were fantastic last year, but this year they were made with safflower (needed hazelnut oil) and I couldn't get ground almonds. Ground filberts don't taste as nice as ground almonds in blondies. Additionally they accidentally didn't cook at the right temperature b/c my new oven had a thermosat problem. My oven SAID it was 350, but seeing as how I didn't need oven mitts, I'm pretty sure it was closer to 250.
- brownies - This was another one where it wasn't my recipe that was the problem. They accidentally overbaked in the improperly calibrated oven. Overbaked brownies = major flop.
- apple blintzes - major flop. Recipe to blame.