Passover (Pesach) Prep – Part 3

The first thing I make the morning of the seder is the charoset. Charoset is a yummy mixture of apples, walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, honey, cinnamon, orange juice and sweet wine. The consistency symbolizes the mortar between the bricks that the children of Israel had to make. The sweetness symbolizes the sweetness of freedom from slavery.

This year we slow-cooked a big pot of chicken for several hours. I cooked a big pot of green beans and an even bigger pot of mashed potatoes!

And no seder is complete without chocolate matzah! Melt 1 cup of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar. Boil for 3 minutes. Pour the mixture on 5 or 6 pieces of matzah and spread. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes making sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on the matzah. This year we didn’t have chocolate chips, so I chopped up a couple of chocolate bars. Let the chocolate sit for a few minutes to melt, then spread over the matzah. Put them in the freezer to harden, then break up into smaller pieces and serve! Yum. We forgot to take a pic of the finished product on the platter, but here it is in the freezer.

Jonathan made the salad.

Destiny made the appetizer plate.

Gary printed off the haggada and prepared to lead the seder. And he also made sure that dinner music was loaded on his iPod. (He didn’t know I was taking this picture!)

Then we set the tables, which is not an easy task for a seder. You have to remember fresh water bowls for each table, salt water bowls for each table, parsley sprigs for each person, maror (or horseradish) for each person, bowls of charoset for each table, wine glasses and wine and/or grape juice, stacks of matzah for each table, and on and on.

Everything is ready, and I even have 45 minutes to take a shower. Yay.  Now all we need is for our guests to arrive!