Passover Seder with Steve 4/20/08

I like to give the people what they want. And, if I have my finger on the pulse like I think I do, the people want unleavened bread floating in a sea of broth, slabs of seasoned beef, fried potatos and cake sweet enough to turn Willy Wonka's stomach sour. So, in the spirit of the season I decided that a Jewish Passover Seder would be most appropriate - L'chaim!

Dinner started with potato pancake otherwise known as Latkes by my Hebrew friends. The potatos were sliced, rather than grated, and were cooked in peanut oil. One note for next time to keep in mind is that the potatos oxidize quickly once peeled, so soaking in water would help.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Potato-Latkes-I/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

Next came the Motzah Ball soup. I adapated this recipe from a "vegetarian" motzah ball soup as I chose to serve the balls in a chicken broth instead of the vegetable broth they were simmered in. Note: Matzoh meal can be found at gourmet food sources like Jansen's in Greenville, DE.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/108017

The main course, which spent the better part of 2.5 hours braising in the oven, was a spiced brisket with leeks and dried apricots. Now writing this, I realize I didn't serve the leeks with the beef. But, in my defense, I don't associate leeks with Passover. The interesting thing about a brisket is that due to the high level of connective tissues in the meat, it must be cooked well-done in order for the beef to become tender. Once these connective tissues are broken down, the meat becomes very tender and delicious. Temperature of the brisket at the time removed from the oven was 198 f. There were several herbs & spices in this recipe that are a bit uncommon, including coriander, cinnamon and apricots. I opted to go with an au jus instead of a heavy brown gravy for this dish as I felt I may lose a few diners to sleep shortly thereafter.
http://www.epicurious.com/services/referral?messageKey=b60333dab09f160a4430cddfbda1d4ea

Finally came dessert, and with dessert came subsequent appointments at the dentist's office. Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup was the poison. Although just a small piece would do the trick, we ended up finishing off half of the thing. Next time, I would like to find hazelnuts and use them instead of the almonds as I think the flavor would be fantastic. Also, I would cut the amount of soaking syrup by half, or maybe drizzle with just a little lemon icing.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/109151

As far as libations were concerned, Jef brought a lovely red, a white that went untouched and a bottle of semi-aged blackberry Manischewitz which tasted basically like liquefied rock candy. Mozoltov!