Last night, as has become traditional (three times makes a tradition, right?), I held a second-night Pesach seder that I bill as the "it takes as long as it takes; you had lunch, right?" seder. In other words, the goal is plenty of good discussion, tangents welcome, and we'll get to the meal when we get there and meanwhile I'll put out some snacks ( Read more... )

Three years ago, we at Mi Yodeya put out our first publication, a Hagada supplement full of questions and answers related to the Passover seder, hand-picked from the thousands of great Jewish Q&As at Mi Yodeya. Seders around the world were enlivened, thanks to people bringing printouts of this booklet ( Read more... )

One of the dishes I made for my seder got compliments from everybody (and requests for how I did it), and it was incredibly easy. I wasn't expecting it to be one of the stars of the night. So, to share this discovery with others:

Vegetable-stuffed peppersDice a large sweet onion (next time I'll use more) and cube about a pound of butternut ( Read more... )

Tuesday night I had assorted friends over for an all-adults, talk-as-long-as-we-want seder. I thought it went quite well. There were ten of us (planned to be eleven but somebody stayed home sick, alas ( Read more... )

Monday night I went to Chabad for the first seder. This was new for me; the only other community seder I've been to was a university Hillel, and the only other time I've been to anything Chabad was a Shabbat dinner when traveling once. The people there were nice, and it turned out I knew one person at my table, someone who was in that class I ( Read more... )

Pesach starts tomorrow night. The kitchen is ready and the grocery shopping is done. I'll be going to Chabad for the first seder Monday night (definitely a new experience for me!), and hosting one for friends on the second night -- this year with guest appearance by Dani. :-) (We were just in Toronto a week ago for a wedding celebration, and he ( Read more... )

I forgot to mention this in my Pesach entry. Because, for my seder, we had a small-enough crowd, I was able to implement an idea that I heard once but have never seen. In the first part of the seder we are supposed to recline -- symbolically in a few places, but, as the haggadah answers, this is because we are no longer slaves and therefore are ( Read more... )

I had two excellent seders this year -- a first!
Monday night I was privileged to be invited to my rabbi's seder. (I have been wanting to experience that for years.) He and his wife hosted ( Read more... )

I had some vegetarian guests at my Pesach seder, so I was looking for something to prepare for a veggie main dish that's kosher for Pesach (duh), can be made ahead (seder logistics), and is also attractive -- a festive dish for a festive meal, in other words. Isaac Moses on Mi Yodeya pointed me to a "veggieducken" recipe created by somebody who ( Read more... )

I did a better job than usual of eating up the chameitz before Pesach, so there was not that much to pack away and sell. The dishwasher is running the last few days' worth of regular dishes; the kitchen is otherwise turned over, and I am about to sit down with the TV, a couple of cats, and the last bottle of beer from the fridge. This afternoon I ( Read more... )