Sunday Brunch: Passover

When I was little, my mom always had me bring a driedel to December show-and-tell sessions.  We were living in North Carolina at the time, and I'm sure most kids in our area had never met a Jew before.  I remember feeling like a strange, exotic animal on display at the zoo.  My classmates would run home and tell their parents about this weird thing that they learned; almost instantly, I'd receive phone calls from my 7-year-old friends inviting me to church to save me.  Now that I'm all grown up, I've learned that most Christians are kind and nonjudgmental (in fact, I married one).  Religion has turned into an interesting topic of adult conversation, and talking about customs and beliefs is a wonderful way to learn about different cultures.

On that note, I'd like to spend this Easter Sunday morning sharing a bit of my culture with you.  Today also falls during the days of the Jewish holiday, Passover.  It's basically the story of Exodus from the Old Testament.  Watch The Ten Commandments or Prince of Egypt; I'm not gonna bore you with the nitty gritty.  We were slaves in Egypt, and now we're free.  It's a time of celebration, most of which involves lots of wine, food, and family.  Oh, and eating these nasty crackers called matzo.

Matzo is unleavened bread.  The reason we eat matzo on Passover is to signify the sacrifice our ancestors made to get the hell out of Egypt stat before the pharaoh changed his mind.  They didn't have time to bake bread, so they put the dough on their backs and fled.  The harsh desert sun cooked the bread, but it was flat.  We're supposed to eat this, and get rid of our leavened bread (or if you're a laid back Jew like I am, you just feed it to your gentile husband).

The good news is that even though matzo is kind of dull, there's a lot you can do with it!  I'm sure you've heard of matzo ball soup, but did you know it also makes a pretty good sandwich?  I'm a big fan of the fancy PB&J: almond butter and TJ's pumpkin butter.  It can also be used to make french toast...which brings us to...

Imagine for a moment that you have invited some folks over for Passover Brunch.  You're dressed to the nines in your fabulous springtime hostess gear:

 

{1-4} Anthropologie

Then, you wow them with some serious Kosher nosh:

Matzo Brie (or Matzo French Toast)

Ingredients

• 3 matzo
• 2 large eggs
• 1 T skim milk
• 1.5 T butter
• Maple syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit, or all of the above

Directions

Lightly beat the eggs and milk in a large bowl.  Well, the bowl doesn't really have to be that large, but it does have to be deep.  You'll see.

Crush the matzo into 1-2 inch pieces and throw it in the bowl.  Toss to coat (this is where you'll thank me for using a deep bowl.  Let it sit there and soak for at least 40 minutes.

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Add the matzo with tongs.  Cook for about 3-5 minutes on one side, then flip with tongs and cook another 3-5 minutes.

When it's done, it should look and smell like french toast.  The texture will be slightly more chewy.  Plate it up pretty and you're good to go!

What's your favorite Passover or Easter Brunch dish?  Got any good entertaining recipes to share?