Camberville Cuisine

… is not kosher for Passover if you’re an Ashkenazi Jew. Just sayin’. :)

It’s been gorgeous here all weekend. Hyoun woke me up Saturday morning with:

Hyoun: THERE IS SUN. Let’s go to the Valley! I want Judie’s for lunch!
Lynne: Ooh! … wait, we have to be in Allston at 5 pm for Seder. That’s only like six hours from now …
Hyoun: I drive fast.

We drive out anyway. Viva Pioneer Valley Food Runs for popovers and certain questions being popped:

After this, of course, I am bouncy and squeeish and we make record time on our drive back from Amherst to Allston, where Laura is graciously hosting the first Seder, and boy howdy did she reset the bar for food rather high. Of course, she used to be a professional chef, so she has an excuse ;)

It was all delicious, but I was so giddy I only remembered the following:

- There weren’t enough yarmulkes; thank goodness for the presence of two rabbi’s sons to declare the roof a blessed head-covering for all of us.
- Liane made horseradish jelly, which was pretty darned good. I’d eat it on all other nights.
- Apparently, Manischevitz Jello shots bounce. Next year, we’ll go one better – make them in Star-of-David cookie cutter molds, so we’ll have properly Jewish Jello Jigglers for Pesach Time.
- Amanda was the only newbie this year and thus the only one required to eat the gefilte fish, but it was so popular we actually didn’t have enough for everyone. Buh?
- I managed to mostly contain my squee until after dinner, when Hyoun and I made our announcement. Well-planned that I’d see so many of my local friends immediately after we got engaged. Good job, honey! ;)

Reporting back on the second Seder at Craigie Street Bistrot: YUM. When local asparagus comes in, I am so duplicating the asparagus dish I had last night; I’ll just need to learn how to make gribenes. Which tasted rather like chicharrón (fried pork skin, about as nonkosher as you can get!) to me, so, um.

First Seder plans have been made (with local friends, per tradition and space constraints). So have second Seder plans – Craigie Street Bistrot is doing a special Passover dinner this year, so Hyoun and I booked a table and will be consuming the following yummies then:

Marrow and Matzo Ball Soup: with traditional accompaniments
House-Cured Salmon Salad: parsley, grapes, white asparagus, pistachio vinaigrette
Baba Hannah’s Split Pea Soup: crispy confit of Vermont lamb, green almonds, currants
Asparagus à la Schmaltz: gribines, farm-fresh egg, Vidalia onions
Moroccan Haroseth-Stuffed Vermont Organic Quail: fava leaves, prune and foie gras purée
Olive Oil-Poached Dayboat Halibut: horseradish, fresh Georgia peas, borscht jus
Braised Kobe Beef Brisket: green olives, paprika, sherry jus
Chocolate Mousse
Poached Pears à la Beaujolais

Plans may be astir for a sixth/seventh/eighth Seder as well among a different local friends group; sheesh, at this rate I’d be halfway to keeping kosher for Passover already!

It’s been awhile since I updated, but readers of this blog should also take note: the gnocchi at Radius are awesome little things, and worth any detour you have to take to get there.