With Passover and Easter coming up fast, many of my students have been asking me after class what they should make for the holidays and the timing of it all.  Timing, timing, timing!!  It seems to be the reason for so much anxiety and I completely understand why.  Timing is everything! For those of you celebrating Easter, I just cooked a beautiful Easter brunch with Jenni Kayne and she will post that menu on her blog around April 10th.

This is my second time doing Passover, but I have plenty of experience preparing Thanksgiving and multiple other holidays and dinner parties, so Passover shouldn’t be any different.  My husband’s family is traditional and likes to observe two nights, which means two dinners back-to-back.  Two years ago, I did both nights, which was great, but it took A LOT of organization.  This year, I’m doing the first night and my sister-in-law is doing the second night.  So here is the menu that I am doing with the corresponding timeline.  If I have a recipe posted, I have linked to it.  If there’s no link, I’m winging it or I just haven’t posted it.

Feel free to leave any questions down below and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible!

Monday, April 10th

1. Charoset (my husband will prepare this and I think he makes it up as he goes along – 2 types of apples, cinnamon, walnuts, sweet kosher wine)
2. Chicken and matzoh ball soup (My mother-in-law brings the matzoh balls and I make the soup)
3. Passover Popovers (everyone goes wild for these!)
4. Roasted Wild Salmon with a Sweet and Spicy Glaze and Fresh Herbs
5. Onion-braised brisket
6. Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
7. Roasted asparagus (I wanted to add some crumbled hard boiled eggs on top like this recipe, but my husband nixed it.)
8. Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leeks with Roasted Garlic Dressing
9. Salad with oranges, radishes, avocado

Desserts:

1. Lemon Ice Torte x 2
2. Paleo Chocolate Cake with frosting
3. Grain-free Carrot Cake (but this recipe for Banana carrot almond flour muffins made into 2 9-inch cakes with cashew cream frosting or traditional cream cheese frosting is my usual )
4. Coconut macaroons x 2 (half dipped in chocolate)
5. Cashew cheesecake
6. Fruit salad (my friend is bringing)

Some recipes I made two years ago included:

• Baked chicken with artichokes
• Roasted rutabagas with balsamic
• Asparagus Salad with Mint Vinaigrette
• Sweet Potato Casserole (I subbed flaked coconut for the cornflakes)
• Puree of broccoli
• Potato kugel (I tried this recipe, but if anyone has a great one, please share!)
• Perfect Spring salad

Other recipes I like for Passover:

• Dairy-free Creamy Asparagus Soup (sub potatoes for the oats)
• Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup 
• Easy No-fail Whole Roasted Chicken
• Orange-rosemary Glazed Chicken (use coconut aminos in place of shoyu/tamari)
• Poached Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
• Maple-Mustard Roasted Vegetables
• Asparagus Salad with Mint Dressing
• Quinoa and Spinach Salad with Feta and Dill
• Zesty Lemon Quinoa
• Flourless Chocolate Cake
• Healthy Chocolate Fudge 

Up to a week in advance:

Ask my mother-in-law to bring matzoh balls the day of the seder

Make stock and freeze (homemade chicken stock recipe here)

Make coconut macaroons batter and refrigerate

Make cashew frosting and refrigerate

Make salad dressing

Make Paleo chocolate cake and freeze

Friday:

Call the fish market to order fish

Segment citrus (how to segment citrus here)

Make dressing for salad

Make base for lemon ice (for torte)

Saturday:

Make lemon ice in ice cream maker

Assemble lemon ice tortes and freeze

Bake macaroons, dip half in chocolate, store in airtight container

Prep cauliflower into florets for mash

Make carrot cakes, cool, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate

Set the table

Arrange flowers

Sunday:

Wash lettuce

Wash microgreens

Slice radishes for salad

Wash and slice leeks

Defrost chocolate cake

Defrost stock for soup

Wash and prep berries for torte

Prep veggies and chicken for matzoh soup

Make chocolate whipped cream and ganache for cake, ice cake, and refrigerate

Make brisket and refrigerate

Prep asparagus and refrigerate

Hubby makes charoset

Roast lamb bone for seder plate

Hard boil eggs for each place setting

Monday (day of):

Pick up fish from the fish market

Make the popovers

Make garlic dressing for sweet potatoes

Peel and cube potatoes for cauli-mash, place in water

Frost carrot cakes

2-3 hours in advance: Remove chocolate cake from fridge and let sit at room temp

4:00 pm: Make cauliflower mashed potatoes and place in bowl over simmering water to keep warm.

Remove cashew cheesecake from freezer, garnish with berries, put in refrigerator

Prepare salmon

Slice brisket and reheat on stove

6:00 pm:  Place soup and matzoh balls on stove on warm

Roast asparagus at 400 degrees for 12 minutes and leave at room temp

Roast sweet potatoes and leeks

Slice avocado

Assemble salad

Roast salmon at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Other recipes I like for Passover:

Dairy-free Creamy Asparagus Soup (sub potatoes for the oats)

Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup 

Easy No-fail Whole Roasted Chicken

Orange-rosemary Glazed Chicken (use coconut aminos in place of shoyu/tamari)

Poached Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Maple-Mustard Roasted Vegetables

Asparagus Salad with Mint Dressing

Quinoa and Spinach Salad with Feta and Dill

Zesty Lemon Quinoa

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Healthy Chocolate Fudge