Every year, just as spring is springing, Jewish families worldwide tell the story of the Israelites" exodus from Egypt at a special family meal called the Seder. Jude and Marc Sloter and their three children are one such Fort Worth family. For them, this dinner, held on the first or second night of the 8-day festival of Passover, is not only about the special foods. It's also about fun and meaningful traditions, such as hiding matzo crackers for the kids to find and making a special place setting for Elijah, the prophet of old, and sometimes pretending he is really there.
At the Sloter house, everyone gets involved in the preparations. Grandmother's china and silver are brought out, and the girls, Mollie, 13, and Caroline, 11, help set the table. Stewart, 8, helps arrange the appetizer plates that hold one of his favorites: gefilte fish cakes. Appetizers also include Charoset, a delicious mix including apples, pecans, and cinnamon, symbolizing the mortar the Israelites used while building for the Egyptians. Mollie tops each plate's piece of matzo with a spoonful. Each of the children made a special pouch for the hide-and-seek matzo cracker that Mom and Dad hide around the house.
When it's time to roll matzo balls for the requisite Matzo Ball Soup, everyone gets in on the action. The one question in this household is whose matzo balls are going to be served: Jude's grandmother's or Marc's mom's. It seems every family has its own recipe, and since these are eaten from infancy, they become a taste you don't want to give up. Or trade for another family's. To make everyone happy, the Sloters will serve both varieties.
During the meal, a special text, the Haggadah, is read. This book provides the Seder's ceremonial outline and sets the order for the meal. The most central theme of the ceremony is brought out when the youngest person at the table asks the Four Questions, each a variation of, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" The answers, all of which refer to the symbolic foods being served, describe specific events in the Passover story, the night when the Jewish nation was delivered from slavery. It is at this point that the various symbols of the Seder plate are discussed.
After the ceremony, when dinner is finally served, a luscious brisket takes center stage. Jude's Roasted Rosemary Potatoes and a tossed green salad round out the meal. Oh yes, and all the gefilte fish you care to eat.
We hope you enjoy the Sloter's Seder recipes. L"Chayim!
Jude Sloter's Slow-Cooked Brisket
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Bake brisket a day or two ahead.
• One brisket approximately 4 - 5 pounds, trimmed
• 2 large yellow onions, chopped into medium-sized chunks
• 4 gloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 bottles prepared cocktail sauce
• 1-2 cans beer (or chicken stock or water as needed)
• Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 300º. Line a roasting pan with heavy foil (on bottom of pan and coming up the sides), which will create a "tent" for meat.
2. Pour 1 bottle cocktail sauce to cover bottom of foil-lined pan.Top with half the onions and minced garlic. Place brisket, lean side down, onto onions.Top with remaining cocktail sauce, onion, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste.Pour beer along side until about halfway point of brisket.Fold foil over brisket to create a tent, making sure sides are well sealed.
3. Bake brisket 6 to 8 hours. Remove from oven and cool. Refrigerate overnight or up to two days. The day of serving, remove from refrigerator and slice thinly while cold. Place back into roasting pan, and reheat in 330º oven for 30 minutes or until hot. Serve with juices.
Roasted Red Potatoes
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
• 4 – 5 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
• Olive oil to coat
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Minced fresh rosemary to taste
• Preheat oven to 350º.
Chop potatoes into bite-size pieces. Place on large baking sheet and toss with enough olive oil to coat evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 30 – 40 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven; toss with rosemary.
Charoset
Yield: 8 – 10 servings
• 6 - 8 sweet apples, such as Gala, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, peeled, cored, chopped
• 2 - 3 cups chopped pecans (walnuts or almonds can be substituted)
• Cinnamon to taste
• Honey to taste
• Passover red wine or grape juice, to taste
• Splash of orange juice
In a large bowl, toss apples and pecans with cinnamon, honey, wine, and orange juice.Mixture should be moist and well combined.Allow to sit in refrigerator several hours or overnight.
Jude's Matzo Balls
Yield: about 100 small matzo balls
• 6 matzo crackers
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 5 eggs
• 9 stalks of green onion, minced (Jude uses a food processer)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• A splash or two of Tabasco
• 8 tablespoons matzo meal
Break matzo into smaller pieces and soak in warm water until soft.Drain and squeeze dry.Melt butter in skillet and sauté onions until tender.Add squeezed matzo, stirring until mixture leaves skillet clean.Set aside.
In large bowl, beat eggs. Add salt, pepper, and Tabasco.Slowly add warm matzo/onion mixture to beaten egg mixture.Stir and mix until all matzo is incorporated into egg.Add matzo meal until mixture forms soft dough.Refrigerate until dough is chilled.
Roll chilled dough into quarter-sized balls.*Drop into boiling chicken soup and cook until balls rise to top, about 10 minutes.
*Matzo balls may be frozen at this point and boiled later.
Matzo Ball Soup
Yield: 8 – 10 servings
• 1 whole chicken, cleaned
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 gloves of garlic
• 10 to 12 carrots, sliced
• 10 to 12 stalks of celery, sliced
• 6 quarts water
• Salt and pepper to taste
The day before serving:
In a large soup pot (at least 12 quarts), place chicken, onions, garlic, carrots, celery and water. Add salt and pepper.Bring to boil, turn down heat and let cook until chicken falls apart, about 1 hour. Remove from heat.
When cool enough to handle, remove and discard all bones and skin, leaving the meat in the soup.Refrigerate.
To serve:
Bring soup to a boil. Drop in matzo balls and let them cook in soup.(If more liquid is needed, add boxed chicken stock.)
