Even before I was in an interfaith relationship, the liturgical world felt right when Passover and Easter overlapped as they do this year. But gosh, it’s a lot of cooking in a short time. The first seder is over, tonight’s is someone else’s responsibility and tomorrow is Good Friday, a day I fast. That leaves time to think about what to make for Easter dinner.
Most of the menu will come from this blog. Mr. Knife Skills and I like to make our own traditions. He has no Easter tradition and my family was one cemented in tradition when it came to holiday meals. Certain dishes had to appear, year after year, just because they always had. Nothing could be taken away from those menus although from time to time a new dish could be added, auditioned really, but rarely made it into the Tradition. So I’m always open to changing things around.
This year’s soup will be Gingered Carrot Soup, which I’ll make Saturday. I’m a big fan of make-aheads for big meals to avoid the last-minute rush. I’ll also get a leg up with my Par-Baked Crusty Rolls. Veggies will include Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Butter and whatever else looks best at the market, to be steamed and dressed simply. That asparagus pairs well with Creole Glazed Ham but we’ll probably have rack of lamb instead. I always have a cheese course with fruit for a special meal, so dessert will be light or not served at all.
For anyone wondering how Mr. Knife Skills can deviate from the dietary laws of Passover, the simple answer is he cheats. (You ought to see him at Scrabble.) He says it doesn’t count when Passover and Easter overlap. Good luck finding a rabbi who agrees with that, I told him once. As far as I know, he’s still looking. But not very hard.
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Ha, we usually have Easter dinner at my sister’s, and she likes to make a ham. My husband feels that if she goes to the trouble, he will eat it.
Over the whole Passover time, I’m sort of a Gaijin / Shiksha so we may be Japanese, or Sephardic, or Other in terms of eating rice. I do try not to break the major kosher laws (ham, crab, mixing milk and meat, pasta) during the holiday, though.
tess’s last blog post..Joan Nathan The Jewish Holiday Kitchen
Oh, that’s delicious, tess. Gaijin/Shiksa indeed!
I’m actually more diligent about Passover restrictions than he is. After the denials of Lent, what’s a little leavening?
And right now I’m so hungry I’d devour not just matzah but the box too. Even the wrapping.
Yes, isn’t that funny. I think he relied on his grandmother to determine the menu, and later—when we married, I spent time learning the dietary rules. He learned the Torah as a boy, but just ate what was in front of him.
Of course it is more complicated, and more simple…
Anyway, happy Easter to you!
tess’s last blog post..Happy Easter!
Thank you, Tess, and the same to you.
Complicated and simple indeed. I’ve had Don McLean’s music bouncing around my brain since I dug out Jerusalem for the ‘toon and he has a song that opens, It started out quite simply, as complex things can do. How true that can be.