Special Passover Recipe: My Mother-in-Law's Meatballs!

This is a re-post from my "regular" blog; My Mother-in-Law's Meatballs!

These meatballs are even better on day 2!  Put entire pot in fridge.
Skim off fat before reheating.

Special Passover Review: Flourless Chocolate Cake With Dark Chocolate Glaze (dairy or pareve)

For our seders, I wanted a flourless, matzo-meal/cake meal free recipe for chocolate cake.  I love chocolate.  Here is the one I settled on because it was straight forward without any silliness of adding almond flour or cinnamon or espresso (all of which sounded great, I just really didn't have time).  I didn't do the glaze, but I'm sure it would be fabulous!

Here's my ONLY recommendation: FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!  I didn't do the parchment paper on the bottom and both cakes I made (one for seder and one for the next two final days of Passover) broke in half because a portion stuck to the bottom of my pan (I'm not lucky enough to have a springform pan for Passover... or I'm too cheap/frugal/thrifty).

I'm definitely making this cake again after Passover, though I'd like to try it with Earth Balance or Imperial Margarine rather than the K for P stuff.  It's so rich and fudgy and great with berries of any kind!

Happy Passover!

Special Passover Recipe: Broccoli Potato Kugel

It's Passover here at the Challah Blog Bayit, so no luscious, sweet braided hametz for us!  Instead, I bring you a tossed together Broccoli Potato Kugel, which we basically made because we had a bunch of broccoli in the house!

Ingredients
Florets (crowns) of 2-3 broccoli (you can save the stems for something else, the Hazz likes to eat the raw)
3-4 small-ish red potatoes, quartered
1 onion, diced
2 eggs, lightly beaten
About a quarter to a third cup matzah meal
A healthy dollop of Passover mayonaise (I made my own using this recipe, it was surprisingly easy)
Small amount of passover margarine (I used salted because that's what I had)
Salt to taste
Garlic powder to taste
Pepper (black or white) to taste

Method
I wasn't incredibly careful when I was doing this method, but here's what I did... Chop the Broccoli into small pieces (not too small to be manageable).  Boil or steam until soft (I used the microwave).  Blend in food processor or mash with a fork (this was quite a feat because our Passover Food Processor is only a 3 cupper... I had to do several loads).

Mix broccoli with beaten eggs.  Cut potatoes in chunks leaving skins on.  Boil until soft and roughly mix with margarine.  While potatoes are boiling, you can saute the onion (you could probably skip this step).

Mix the whole shebang together, adding the mayo, matzah meal, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Put in you desired kugel pan.  I actually used an 8x8 and then added the leftover into a glass pie pan so I could sample this.  Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes until top is browned (my oven is terrible, and I never know if the temperature is really accurate).  My plan is to reheat and serve during 7th day for lunch!  Yum.

Hag Pesah Same'ah!

I kid (get it?) you not, I had to cut 3 pieces before I actually managed to take a sample photo because I kept getting distracted and eating my model piece!

View of Shabbat - April 8th

This past Shabbat, I made a "regular" with honey and gave another go at Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, this time with smooth peanut butter and quite a lot of it.  It was great!  Very happy with the result.

Eggless Challah

This week, we're having dairy Shabbat and guests.  Several are vegetarian and one is vegan.  So, what better time to try out an eggless challah.  I'm making one with egg and one without.

Here's the egg-less ingredient list...

3 C flour
1/4 cup plus 1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 C natural oil (vegetable or canola)
1 1/4 C Water
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp (1 packet) to 1 Tbsp dry yeast
Optional: Maple Syrup for an egg-free shine

Place warm water in mixing bowl.  Add yeast and 1/4 tsp sugar, mixing gently.  Let yeast proof for about 10 minutes.

Add vegetable oil and mix with wood spoon.   Add flour, sugar, and salt and beat with dough hook on a stand mixer or knead by hand.

If the dough is not holding together as a ball, add a bit more oil or water.  If the dough is very sticky, add more flour.  Turn the ball out onto a floured work surface and punch a few times until very smooth.

Place in oiled bowl and cover in plastic wrap or a towel.  Allow to rise at least one hour, preferrably more, until dough has doubled in size.

Punch down the ball in the bowl and remove.  Punch out all air bubbles.  Braid in your preferred method.  Allow to rise 20-30 minutes.  Eggless Wash: I just used maple syrup.  I read it somewhere online, and it works really well.  I totally recommend it if you run out of eggs and just need a shine.  It's not too sweet at all!

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.  (You can read about my oven temperature methods here.)

Enjoy!  Do YOU have a preferred method for eggless challah?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!  This challah is a bit on the lighter, fluffier side.