Looking to stay home for Pesach, 1st time, ISO advice

little_mage

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 11:48 am

Before you go outlay a lot of money, check to see what you can kasher, Our meat pots are all stainless steel, and our meat knifes are all one piece, so we just kasher several of them each year. We're the crazy people who look like we're bringing our entire kitchen to the shul, but hey, it works. Otherwise we use disposables. I wish we could have real dishes, but we don't have the storage space. That is of course something else to think about-this is equipment that you're only going to use for one week out of the year. Do you have somewhere to put it for the other 51 weeks?

Isramom8

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 11:55 am

I second mixing bowls, which I forgot to mention. Buying and toveling utensils now seems like a very smart idea too. Wrap them well afterwards so that they stay clean. I can't begin to tell you how our stuff looked after seven years of being stored in dusty Israel. I had to soak everything in the bathtub for a while.

Keep an accessible, updated list of what you have and what you need.

greenfire

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 12:23 pm

my [probably less than $10] hand mixer does me just fine ... sure it would take a lot less time to whip the egg whites for sponge cakes ... but it's only like twice during pesach rather than 365 days a year

have bowls to mix things in & if they have covers you can double them up as storage containers for the fridge ...

if you can order a second pair of oven grates - it makes life so much easier than cleaning them [mine are enamel coated so they cannot be kashered anyways]

lots of disposables - till you get what you really need

2 peelers for someone to help or when one gets lost & knives to cut things

you certainly need something to grind the morror ... it doesn't have to be expensive

wine goblets - also simple basic [so if any break you don't feel bad] - people will need them for arba kosos ... ditto to the wine cork screw - you don't want to end up not being able to drink the wine you bought

a matzah cover in case it wasn't already mentioned & mini glass bowls for all the kearah items

very important to make a list of the things for the seder so you don't leave anything out ...

lkwdmommy

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 2:23 pm

Did not read all the great advice here - but this is mine:

The three things you need to buy top quality are peelers, knives and a food processor. They will be getting heavy duty usage for the 2 weeks you will be using them, and if you buy cheap, you are setting yourself up for frustration.

My first Pesach, I bought a $10 mixer and baked very little - like only brownies or cookies, which did not need a snow.

ChutzPAh

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 2:33 pm

If you are in the US, you can get great deals on expensive pots and small appliances like mixers now, as there are huge pre-holiday sale. You can look online at Macy's and amazon for starters.

Get a good mixer. It will save you a lot of time because if you don't use matzah meal you will likely be separating a lot of eggs. Also, if you buy good quality, it should last you for years on end.

smiledr

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 6:20 pm

I also made a menu then thought about what I needed. I got a good set of meat pots and knives and got the color coded meat dairy utensils ie ladles spatulas I got a dairy frying pan and a set if mixing bowls. We ate on plastic only used all disposable pans . We had a protien veg and starch every meal (it was just us) and I kept it simple . I bought dessert fruit and snacks yogurts cheese etc. it was simple and really nice - was the only pesach I didn't feel like a pig after and my husbands been begging me to do it again . As I spend more pesach time at home I'll invest in more equipment ie an urn instead if kettle, mixer and good processor but truthfully I kept it so simple I didn't need any if that. The schick cake from Costco was a great dessert. If I ever have the room for dishes I may buy those.

a1mom

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 7:08 pm

I made pesach for the first time last year, but I wasn't home for the seder.

what I bought and found invaluable
1) a set of pyrex mixing bowls with lids- these also work as containers for salads and the like so I got a lot of use out of them, they are glass so you can serve straight out of the container

2) peeler, spatula, wooden spoons, swiss knives

3) fleishing pots and and 2 milching frying pans one large for blintze shells and one small for omelettes

4) a hand mixer ( cheap type)

5) an urn because I like coffee multiple times a day.

6) a cheap immersion blender for soup and dressings

7) one set each milchig and fleishig correle- I like to serve on dishes- the milchigs didn't get used much.
8) fleishig silverware and a cheap set from amazing savings for milchigs
9) sink insert and counter covering stuff.

what I pushed off buying and didn't miss-
a food processor- we didn't have kugel and where just fine, I did various potato and sweet potato dishes and roasted veggies, mashed my broccoli and potatoes by hand, we where only 4 people with company one meal and I didn't miss it

a stand mixer- I love to bake and would love to buy one but we where fine without it.

I used disposable pans because I don't have alot of year round pesach storage.

what I plan on adding next:

a good chef's knife- I really missed mine

another set of pyrex bowls

dish racks so I don't have to dry everything right away.

SingALong

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 9:37 pm

I'm also making Pesach for the first time this year.

just a warning about toiveling so early.

I purchased a bunch of things from a store that offers a toiveling service, they would do it for me. I wanted that done. they told me not to since their workers often use the area near the mikvah as a lunch spot and my dishes/pots/items may touch chometz once toiveled if they put it down onto crumbs or something.(closer to pesach they don't allow that but since I bought my stuff now fo rthe sales, it didn't really help me... Sad

also, if toiveling it needs to be rinsed and dried that day. as I do not yet have my sink kashered or any pesach towels yet, I'm waiting till I have that to toivel. and I may just go myself to ensure my dishes get put down on a chometz free spot that I'll line with plastic or something.

will keep watching this thread for more advice!!!