Appetizers & Sides

This recipe is handy for Pesach, when you don’t want to have to use the typical kosher l’pesach yogurt full of guar gum, pectin, modified food starch and other low quality ingredients. You can make this directly in the metal instapot lining pot, or you can choose to use containers placed inside the instapot lining on a rack. I have come to prefer the latter. I use quart mason jars, and can get 3 into a pot at once on the rack and still close the lid. I know this looks like a wall of text, but it really takes more effort to explain than to do.

From the Boston Sunday Globe magazine section.

From the Columbus OH Dispatch

Vicky was my aunt’s aunt, so related to me by marriage. My aunt’s family always treated me as their own… I did not realize until I was in my teens that I was not a blood relative, so kind were they. My grandparents were great friends with my aunt’s parents, and socialized with them whenever possible. My aunt is of Sephardi heritage, and the two families exchanged recipes often, each mystified by the other’s flavor palette. I was not surprised to find an “Aunt Vicky Recipe” in my grandma’s recipe box.

This is the charoset I make every year. I always hear "I don't like Ashkenazi charoset, but I like your charoset," which... I don't understand because this really is bog standard for it as far as I know. Anyway, knock yourself out.

Most years I just do a variation on the charoset instructions found in AvRutick's classic Passover cookbook. But 2020 was different, and for a variety of reasons, I wound up deciding to make a charoset that I could can in jars. I had gotten the idea from a canning cookbook, but their version was very underseasoned in my opinion. This has all the flavor of my usual charoset, retains most of its texture, and can last 18 months. Which turned out to be handy for 2021, which was another unusual year. Anyway, this charoset is delicious year round, so you could consider making it and then using the jars throughout the year.

This is more of a technique than a recipe - it's one of the best ways to prepare mushrooms, be they chanterelles, trumpets or portabellos. But you have to know... it's not intuitive. Mushrooms feel dry to the touch but when heated they release water. While it's tempting to put a splash of wine in the pan, you will wind up with sogginess if you do. Save the wine to make a separate sauce if you want that flavor. You'll get the best flavor out of the mushrooms if you don't add any additional liquid (other than butter at the end). Do use a timer to get the timing right until you have gotten this down pat. Note that times are approximate - different mushrooms hold different amounts of water. Chanterelles hold more than trumpets, for example. But trumpets can hold up to browning very well.