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 everything.  Timing, timing, timing!!  It seems to be the reason for so much anxiety and for good reason.  Timing is everything!  This is my first year doing Passover, but I’ve plenty of experience preparing Thanksgiving and multiple other holidays and dinner parties, so Passover shouldn’t be any different.  Although my husband’s family is traditional and likes to observe two nights, which means two dinners back-to-back!  So here are the two menus 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.

I have actually gotten a few things done already because I still have to teach classes this week and post recipes to the blog, so I need to be uber organized!  Feel free to post any questions down below and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as possible!

Friday, April 3^rd

1. Chicken and matzoh ball soup
2. Fish with caramelized leeks
3. Onion-braised brisket
4. Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
5. Roasted asparagus
6. Sweet potato casserole (with nut topping instead of cornflake topping)
7. Salad with endive, oranges, radishes, avocado

Desserts:

1. Lemon Ice Torte x 2
2. Paleo Chocolate Cake with frosting
3. Banana carrot almond flour muffins made into 2 9-inch cakes with cashew cream frosting
4. Coconut macaroons x 2 (half dipped in chocolate)
5. Cashew cheesecake

Fruit salad (my friend is bringing)

Saturday, April 4^th

1. Chicken and Matzoh Ball Soup
2. Braised chicken with artichokes
3. Onion-braised brisket
4. Roasted rutabagas with balsamic
5. Puree of broccoli
6. Potato kugel (I’m trying this recipe for the first time, but if anyone has a great one, please share!)
7. Spring salad

Leftover desserts from night before

Up to a week in advance:

Mother-in-law asked to bring matzoh balls on Friday

Make stock and freeze (homemade chicken stock recipe here)

Make coconut macaroons batter and refrigerate

Make Banana carrot almond flour cakes and freeze

Make cashew frosting and refrigerate

Make salad dressing for spring salad

Make Paleo chocolate cake and freeze

 

Tuesday March 31st:

Prep cauliflower into florets for mash

Segment citrus (how to segment citrus here)

Make dressing for endive orange salad

Make base for lemon ice (for torte)

 

Wednesday:

Make lemon ice in ice cream maker

Assemble lemon ice tortes and freeze

Wash broccoli and cut into florets for puree

Slice cabbage for spring salad

Chop fresh parsley for garnish for chicken

Make nut topping for sweet potato casserole

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

 

 

Thursday:

Salt chicken (the secret to great tasting chicken article and how to season ahead here)

Wash lettuce

Wash microgreens

Slice radishes for both salads and carrots for spring salad, cover with water to keep fresh

Wash and slice leeks

Defrost desserts (banana-carrot cakes, chocolate cake)

Defrost stock for soup

Defrost fish

Wash and prep berries for torte

Make sweet potato casserole minus topping and refrigerate

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

 

Friday:

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

Frost banana carrot almond flour cakes

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

4 hours in advance: Top sweet potato casserole with topping, bake at 350 degrees for 40 min

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

Remove lemon torte from freezer, garnish with berries

Caramelize leeks and let sit off heat until ready to serve fish

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

Slice endive and avocado

Assemble Endive orange salad and dressing

 

Saturday Morning:

Make broccoli puree and refrigerate

Peel potatoes for kugel and place in water

Peel and cut onions into wedges for kugel

Peel and cube rutabagas

Slice onions and garlic for chicken

Measure out artichokes, stock, bay leaves, mustard, capers in same bowl

Wash and chop chives for salad

Tear lettuce into pieces and assemble salad

Slice brisket and reheat on stove

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

When serving soup, bake fish for 12 minutes

Make potato kugel and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min in small oven with Broccoli Puree 350 degrees for 45 min to reheat

Brown chicken, saute veggies and deglaze pan, meanwhile roast rutabagas 425 degrees for 40 min in big oven.

Braised Chicken 375 30-35 minutes in big oven, pull out to rest and turn up big oven to 450 to finish rutabagas

Dress 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