WATCH! 7 Secrets to a Splendid Seder

By Liza Schoenfein April 2, 2017

7 Secrets to a Splendid Seder* from* the Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo.

From our archives, terrific secrets and tips that are as relevant today as they were when we produced them two years ago.

Five years ago, I became the keeper of our family Seder. As the self-appointed repository of the recipes and traditions my sister and I grew up with, it was important to me to get it “right” — to incorporate enough of the familiar foods and rituals so that the experience would feel deeply rooted in our personal history.

I would use the pile of beautiful-if-dog-eared haggadot, underlined and scribbled in, with the names of my relatives — first in my dad’s handwriting, then in my mother’s — next to the passages each of us was assigned by them to read year after year. As the older generation dwindled, sons-in-law entered the mix, then my boys and my sister’s girls. Old names were crossed out; new ones added. I still hear my grandmother Lillian’s voice reading lines from the Song of Songs, “Arise my beloved…” — though for years now they have been recited by my sister, Karen.

Liza setting her table. Photographs by Martyna Starosta

I always make the sweet, bright-green spring peas my mom pureed every year to accompany her main course — there would be a mutiny if I didn’t — and, among other desserts, I serve the chocolate-dipped coconut macaroons, brought every year by a family friend, on my grandmother’s two-tiered china tray.

Over the past few years, I’ve taken great joy not only in preserving our memories, but also in putting my own imprint on the holiday. Whereas the first year I used my grandparents’ fine, heavy linens to cover the dining table I inherited from them, I now love to mix it up, perhaps using their napkins mixed with a new, modern cloth that’s lighter and more springlike (and easier to wash). I’ve introduced a number of new recipes, and a few new practices that feel fun and fresh.

Here are my seven secrets to a splendid Seder. As you prepare your own celebration, consider incorporating whichever of these ideas you like as a way of staying rooted in your history while embracing whatever tweaks on tradition you find appealing.

1) Take the Shortcut

You don’t have to make everything from scratch! In our house, my mom would buy the matzo-ball soup, so I do too, from the same terrific place. It’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. You may love making the soup, or feel it’s sacrilege not to, in which case think about what else you could buy to make your life easier: maybe dessert, or ready-made charoset. Don’t feel guilty. Feel smart and relaxed.

2) Skip the Manischewitz

I have a soft spot in my heart for Manischewitz, the Kosher wine served at so many Sabbath dinners and Seders, because it was the first wine I ever tasted. Being allowed this wine at Passover when I was a little girl made me feel very grownup, sweet (and probably diluted) as it was.

So it is with love that I say that kosher-for-Passover wine doesn’t have to be Manischewitz. There are so many ones out there! Click here for a few of my favorites.

3) Reheat the Meat

Make the main course the day before. This is a particularly good idea if you’re braising meat such as brisket or lamb.

Here are four advantages to making it ahead:

• It will actually taste better the second or third day because the flavors have a chance to come out and to meld.

• All the fat rises to the top and solidifies and you can easily remove it. So it’s a bit heathier.

• It’s much easier to slice braised meats cold. The slices won’t fall apart. And then you reheat the slices.

• You don’t have to worry about it the day of the Seder.

(Click here for the video How to Make the Best Boozy Brisket.)

4) You Can Have It Both Ways

You don’t have to choose between Ashkenazi and Sephardic. My family is Ashkenazi but I love to incorporatae Sephardic dishes into my Passover dinner. Two years ago I made a delicious braised lamb with apricots and mint.

Mix it up. If you’re Ashkenazi but prefer Sephardic charoset, by all means, have it. Or do what I do and make both.

5) Lighten Up the Dessert

With the gluten-free trend in full swing, there are suddenly a bunch of great gluten-free cookbooks, and they all have desserts galore. So go ahead and make something other than flourless chocolate cake or macaroons. And remember that not all Passover desserts need to be heavy or include matzo meal. Consider instead a fruit sorbet like the grapefruit one here. It’s terrific at the end of a long, heavy meal.

6) Put It in a glass

Use favorite elements from your family’s more traditional Seder, but intersperse fresh, new ones of your own. For example, introduce a fun Passover-themed cocktail. Click here for the Pesachtini, a Seder Plate in a Glass.

7) And the Last Secret…

Your Seder doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be yours.

Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @LifeDeathDinner. Her personal blog is Life, Death & Dinner.

Liza Schoenfein is a former food editor of the Forward and author of the blog Life, Death & Dinner. Follow her on Instagram @LifeDeathDinner.

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