Passover Help!

For the past 10 years I have been going to Passover Seder at my grama-in-laws house. This year due to complicated circumstances we have nowhere to go. So, even though we're not Jewish, my hubby and I would like to cook a classic Passover dinner. We want our daughter to be exposed to the Jewish contingent of the fam.

Grama is not so hot with the cooking instructions. Everything is very vague, so.....
I am looking for a brisket recipe that cooks in the oven for a long time with a tomato-based sauce and where you put cut up potatoes in with it to soak up the juice. Any help out there?!

You're making me hungry already. Heres a link to a websitethat has a host of Jewish holiday recipes including at least 5 - 6 different brisket recipes and a bunch of side dishes and desserts.

That website is VERY helpful. I'm going to try it this year and maybe I can bring back Passover to my hubby's family. I think I am more Jewish than they are and I'm Catholic!

JeanneBean, from one little old not-Jewish lady to another , if you have or can get your hands on a copy of Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins' "The New Basics" cookbook, there is a recipe for brisket that is fool-proof and delish. Although it does not specify, you can add some peeled halved potatoes in at the last 45 minutes or so and it will all turn out lovely. And I always add more carrots than they ask for.

Oh look! It is posted online.
brisket recipe

The recipe is called "Nach Waxman's Brisket of Beef" and the little blurb before the recipe includes a sentence that is a wonderful example of great food writing:

"This is a traditional Eastern European dish of the utmost simplicity but with a flavor so distinctive and vigorous that few can believe how elementary it is or how few ingredients it contains."

The trick is to find a big beautiful brisket. Since Happy Foods on Beckwith by Crawford closed, I have had a lttle trouble finding a LARGE nice brisket at a reasonable price. Butcher shops that are specialty meat shops charge thre or four times the amount per pound that I would think is reasonable. Jewel and Dominicks of course are completely useless. Sam's Club is becoming my best source, which irritates me for some reason.

By the way, if you can believe it, Martha Stewart has a fabulous easy recipe for noodle kugel, not for the calorie conscious. People LOVE this kugel, and why wouldn't they with all the luscious cream cheese and sugar. Here is the recipe on the MSO site:

Martha's Kugel recipe

good luck and let us know how it all turns out! --Joy

Joy wrote:The trick is to find a big beautiful brisket. Since Happy Foods on Beckwith by Crawford closed, I have had a lttle trouble finding a LARGE nice brisket at a reasonable price.

Peoria Packing sells them at about 2.00 to 2.20 a lb. They average about 10 plus lbs. I've never bought one there but perhaps someone who has could chime in.

Peoria Packing Butcher Shop
1300 West Lake Street
Chicago, IL 60607
312-738-1800
Monday - Saturday: 6am-5pm
Sunday: 9am-3pm

I know that Grama usually gets her brisket from Hungarian Kosher in Skokie.
I won't be making kugel because we are doing this old school (as Kosher as I can!) so no dairy.

There's a pretty good looking recipe in the Tribune for a small brisket with apricots and prunes this week. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/foodanddrink/sns-fdrecipe-wk3,0,7256529.story

Joy wrote:By the way, if you can believe it, Martha Stewart has a fabulous easy recipe for noodle kugel, not for the calorie conscious. People LOVE this kugel, and why wouldn't they with all the luscious cream cheese and sugar. Here is the recipe on the MSO site:
--Joy

Joy,

Just a reminder, noodles are not eaten during passover. So, as delicious as Martha Stewart's noodle kugel is, it would never served at a passover seder. The one exception being that kosher for passover noodle product that you see in some stores every year around this time, which are probably made from potato starch.

And not to nitpick, but for many families that keep kosher, a dairy kugel could not be served with brisket so JeanneBean, if you're trying to convey a taste of Jewish food culture to your daughter, you might want to do a potato kugel alongside of that brisket. And use plenty of schmaltz!

Well, I made my first Passover meal. One small problem, we did it tonight and there weren't any actual Jews in attendance! My in-laws all had other plans and I have been fighting a nasty cold. So we did it tonight and invited my parents over instead. I must say it turned out very well.

My hubby made matzo ball soup from scratch which we served with egg matzo and margarine spread. (My favorite way to eat matzo!)

Then I made potato latkes from a manischewitz mix and they were way better than I would have thought. I also made crinkle cut carrot coins and the main event was brisket with potatoes. I have to thank Stevez for his recommendation of a great link with a great recipe!

Here is a pic of my brisket.

I know that Grama usually gets her brisket from Hungarian Kosher in Skokie.
I won't be making kugel because we are doing this old school (as Kosher as I can!) so no dairy.

Just for information, Grama's brisket from Hungarian or Jewel on Howard would be between $8 and $12 per pound.

Potato kugel is usually non-dairy.

JeanneBean,

That's a fine looking brisket. Congratulations...or should I say Mazel Tov!

I think it will taste even better today!

I bought the brisket at costco for $3.99/lb.