Seder Plate Challenge

This past weekend I had the fantastic opportunity of attending a Seder over at fellow blogger Cara’s (from Cara’s Cravings) house along with some other fantastic bloggers! It was my first time participating in a Seder and I really enjoyed it!

 

Our Seder Plate

 

If you want to learn more about the Seder plate and what kinds of foods are served during Passover, check out Cara’s post on it. You’ll learn a lot!

My contribution to the Seder plate was the matzo encrusted asparagus and horseradish hollandaise. I was REALLY nervous about making hollandaise especially since I would be making it for the first time EVER at Cara’s house. And it almost turned into a DISASTER!

So here I am, whisking my hollandaise, and it’s looking absolutely BEAUTIFUL, when all of a sudden, it breaks. Panic follows. A quick Google search on my phone on “How to fix hollandaise: advises me to take a tablespoon of cold water and a little bit of the broken hollandaise and whisk until frothy and then continue to add the broken hollandaise until it’s all incorporated.

And well what do you know, it WORKED! We were all amazed. And I was just thankful that I didn’t turn into a loser in front of all my blogger friends. hah

 

The spread. Yum

 

It was really something, all of us coming together, sharing food (and gossip, heh) and learning about a culture that I frankly don’t know much about.

Everyone brought some fantastic food, check it out!

Classic deviled eggs from Megan.

Kale salad with walnuts, goat cheese and beets from Elina.

Crunchy apple slaw from Jen.

Charoset with matzo crackers and beet horseradish from Renee

Amazing Spiced lamb and eggplant matzo crepes from our host, Cara.

Cauliflower latkes from Melissa. These were surprisingly delicious. I’m usually not a fan of cauliflower, but these were awesome!!

And finally dessert!! Those little balls of wonder in the corner are wasabi truffles made by Shannon. A crystallized ginger center, wrapped in white chocolate and covered with wasabi. It was so creative and so awesome! And I believe those meringues in the background( made from almond and chocolate) were made by Cara. I may have eaten at least 8 of them.

And there you have it! I always talk about how blogging has opened so many new doors to me, and this is one of them! I had such a great time and I can’t wait to do it again!

Matzoh Encrusted Asparagus

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 package matzo crackers
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 425. Snap off the ends of the asparagus.

In a large plate, crack the egg and whisk slightly. Add a little bit of water to the egg and mix again. Set aside.

In a food processor combine the matzo crackers with the oregano and Parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. I had a bunch left over afterwards, so save the remaining mixture and use for something else!!

Dip the asparagus in the egg, making sure to drain excess, and then roll in the matzo mixture. Place on a wire rimmed baking sheet. Continue with all remaining asparagus.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.

Horseradish Hollandaise

Adapted from here

• 2 sticks butter, melted
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup horseradish, drained
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp light cream
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/2 kosher salt

First prepare the horseradish puree. Combine horseradish, cream, and vinegar in a food processor (or blender) to combine. Set aside.

Place egg yolks in a sauce pan and add water and salt. Whisk to combine. Place over medium low heat. Slowly pour in the butter, whisking constantly.

Once all the butter is incorporated, whisk until doubled in size. Immediately remove from heat and keep whisking until cooled. Add the horseradish puree. And if your hollandaise breaks at any point, just follow my instructions as stated above 😉