We hope you had a meaningful and memorable first seder. Thanks to our Benveniste cousins for this updated link to Yehoram Gaon singing “Un cavritico”….. one of our seder favorites!
May this be a time of family memories and traditions recalled!
Meringue clouds…..a divine confection of the Gods! A special occasion delicacy passed down by our grandmothers !
Growing up, we knew it was a very special occasion when Grandma made Ashuplados……meringue clouds! Sweet….light as a feather, a light shell on the outside. Texture, sweetness……simply….divine!!!
They look beautiful on a sweet table, and delight young and more mature and sophisticated palettes alike!
These are one of my mom’s signature delicacies. They were prepared this week for my young cousin’s “Banyo di Novia”. They are a superb Pesah treat, as well. Continue reading
Janet Amateau, who grew up in New York, traces her roots to Rhodes and Adalia, Turkey. Currently living in Spain, she is an accomplished culinary writer with a background in international hospitality. I love her writing and follow her blog online. I invite you to visit as well!
To you, Janet……Bendichas Manos!!!!
Try this fun and yummy coconut and chocolate confection for Passover ( or anytime during the year!!!)
My cousin Sally Senzell Isaacs shared this with us a few years back, and it has become a family favorite! Easy to prepare, they freeze well and can be made in advance.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C shredded coconut
(optional: add 3 drops of almond extract)
2 C ( usually 1 pkg) chocolate chips (*we use pareve K for Passover chips)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread with the shredded coconut.
toast cocnut in the oven for 10 minutes….stir often.
Place chips in a microwave safe cup or bowl. Melt in microwave, using 45 second intervals. Stir in between cycles. Should be throughly melted in 2 – 3 cycles. Add coconut to melted chocolate.
Drop on parchment or wax papered lined cookie sheet.
Delicious!
Each holiday has it’s special flavors and textures. One of the special treats we prepare for Pesah is “masa di vino”, a wine cookie with a delightful and unique taste and texture. They are easy to make and freeze well. Give them a try!
Ingredients:
1 C oil
3/4 C sweet wine
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
2 C Passover cake meal
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 C Passover potato starch
Mix sugar, oil and wine well. Add egg and dry ingredients.
Take walnut sized pieces of dough. Roll into a ball. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Flatten by hand. With tines of a fork, press each cookie to produce a design.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
Bendichas Manos!!!!
Ours is a fairly traditional Passover family seder read in English, Hebrew and Ladino. My dad looks for interesting readings and thought provoking questions to add each year. And through the generations ( there are 4 generations around our tables these days – mashala!) some of the favorite moments are those readings in and singing of the Ladino words that are special and unique to our community, our family. My dad, Jack ( “Yaaco Pasha“) Israel, has prepared the words of two of our favorite Pesah songs so I could post them. Perhaps you and your family already do, or this year will, add them to your seder as well.
*words are based on the transliterated version originally supplied to us by Rabbi Shelton Donnell. These are the versions we sing and the words we use. We are aware that other families use different words and phrases and may, perhaps, spell the transliterated words differently. We welcome your addition of different words and phrases and spellings. Add them to the “comments” box so we can share them with all our readers!!!
Looking forward to cooking and preparing more family treats in the days ahead. Let us know what you are making, too!!
“Bendichas Manos!”
************
“WHO KNOWS ONE?” (kien su piense)
Kien su piense y entendiense, alavar al Dio kriense,
In our home, we have always used a variety of nuts in baking……almonds and walnuts, in particular. Moustachudos make a good Pesah dessert. The cloves give them a special “kick”. These treats can be made in advance and freeze well.
Ingredients for Moustachudos:
1 1/2 C pecans or walnuts, coarsely ground
1 1/2 C almonds, coarsely ground
3/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 egg
water – 1/2 eggshell full
Coarsely grind all nuts.
Add other ingredients including 1/2 eggshell filled with water. (folks, that’s how it’s done!!)
Shape into triangle or ball shapes about 1″ in diameter.
Place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 5 or 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven until lightly brown.
Allow to cool and harden before removing from pan. Sprinkle with confectioners’ (powered) sugar.
Marochinos are a favorite for Passover. My mom has taught a class at our synagogue, and several people have adopted these as a special pareve (non-dairy) dessert that they now make throughout the year. Make a batch and enjoy them!!
Ingredients:
2 C blanched almonds
1 C sugar
2 eggs…whites only
Grind blanched almonds to near a fine consistancy. Mix in a bowl with sugar.
Beat egg whites until frothy and add almonds and sugar. Mix until biscuit-dough consistency. Using a tablespoon or metal scoop, drop 1″ apart on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven.
Allow to cool completely before handling. Will harden as they cool.
My boys love being with our whole family for the Passover Seder. They enjoy our special foods, the “agada”, the Passover story we tell, much of it in Ladino….and the songs….”our songs”…..those special Pesah melodies and Ladino words that bind our family and our Sephardic community. All the cousins know the words and joyously join in, proclaiming their membership in this special group…these songs, these traditions that distinguish our family. These are the sounds of “home”.
Yehoram Gaon, one of my all time favorite singers of Hebrew and Ladino songs, has two very special albums of Shabbat and of Pesah tunes in the Ladino tradition. They can be downloaded on iTunes. I highly recommend that you download and enjoy this music!
Go to iTunes; click on the iTunes Store link on the left; type in the name: Yehoram Gaon in the search box. Click on the albumsPiytim Leshabbat and Shirim LePesach. You can listen to a piece of each song before you download. I think you will enjoy them all!
For the upcoming Passover holiday, check out the following from the Ladino Hit Parade: Un Kavritiko.
Sing along…..I’ll post the words, and you and your families can add them to your Seder this year!!!!
Check out this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q5XRpN4_TY
Let us know what you think!!!
My boys love being with our whole family for the Passover Seder. They enjoy our special foods, the “agada”, the Passover story we tell, much of it in Ladino….and the songs….”our songs”…..those special Pesah melodies and Ladino words that bind our family and our Sephardic community. All the cousins know the words and joyously join in, proclaiming their membership in this special group…these songs, these traditions that distinguish our family. These are the sounds of “home”.
Yehoram Gaon, one of my all time favorite singers of Hebrew and Ladino songs, has two very special albums of Shabbat and of Pesah tunes in the Ladino tradition. They can be downloaded on iTunes. I highly recommend that you download and enjoy this music!
Go to iTunes; click on the iTunes Store link on the left; type in the name: Yehoram Gaon in the search box. Click on the albums Piytim Leshabbat and Shirim LePesach. You can listen to a piece of each song before you download. I think you will enjoy them all!
For the upcoming Passover holiday, check out the following from the Ladino Hit Parade: Un Kavritiko.
Sing along…..I’ll post the words, and you and your families can add them to your Seder this year!!!!
Check out this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q5XRpN4_TY
Let us know what you think!!!
BendichasManos.com 
