Letters
My Balabusta Is Busted
Dear Ann,
Last night was the first seder meal of Passover. It’s possible that I work harder on Passover preparations than I did studying for the bar exam. And this is my stripped-down, older-and-wiser, crock-pot-brisket version of the festive meal. I always convince myself beforehand that it’s going to be a piece of (flourless) cake, and then on the Day Of, I freak out and realize how much time is needed to pull it all together. Nothing is hard, there’s just a lot of it.
Sometimes I ask myself, whom am I trying to impress? Am I trying to communicate an obligation to the next generation: you Must Knock Yourself Out Like This Or Our People Will Disappear? Am I still trying to convince my late mother-in-law of my worthiness? Nah. I just really like a Big To-Do, and I like it to be my to-do. And I do want the kids to remember it fondly enough to create some version of these gatherings in their lives, when it’s their to-do.
Here’s the before: you wouldn’t know it, but a lot of steaming and polishing went into these photos.
Here’s the during:
Here’s the after.
My first, enormous, pavlova. I started with a Nigella Lawson recipe, subbed in homemade lemon curd for passion fruit and peaches, added raspberry sauce. Kind of a lifetime-achievement dessert. And totally kosher-for-Passover! Come at me, balabustas!
Back in the day, I used to also do Easter after Passover, just so I could make cheese potatoes and my grandma’s lime Jello salad (which tastes like springtime, I swear). But once this mess gets cleaned up, I’m not going in the kitchen on Sunday except to make coffee.
The second seder is tonight–but I’m not hosting. I’ll be leaning back on my cushion and enjoying the four cups of wine. I’ll also be knitting on the trip there and back.
Love,
Kay
That’s a great looking pav! I made one for DH’s birthday a couple of years ago. It’s taken on legendary status. lol I moved to NC from Australia just under three years ago and married a Local. I can whip up a cake of corn bread, pinto beans banana pudding and a jug of sweet tea with the best of them, but there’s nothing like a bit of good old Aussie cooking to feel that connection with where I came from.
Pavlova! I BOW DOWN.
You can’t go wrong with a Pavlova. I am in a suburb of Chicago. We have a local company called Rare Bird Preserves. They make Passion Fruit Curd that is amazing. If you can get your hands on it, try it. You will not be disappointed. I have two jars waiting for Easter. One will be used for mini pavlovas, the other for Rosemary shortbread cookies.
“You done good, sister.” I especially relate to the steaming, polishing, and dessert. I hope that when you finally sat down, you felt the joy of celebrating spring and freedom. Keep hope alive.
The table and the goodies look awesome. I hope you have some leftovers to share. You are definitely a Balabusta extraordinaire.
I once made a giant meringue with pears and chocolate sauce. Is Pavlova a giant meringue with stuff? So delish.
Beautiful! And I am so glad to hear you say it takes time to pull together. I, too, always think it will be nothing. And then the day of, I am exhausted before the festivities even begin. But what a beautiful holiday, a celebration of freedom. And how appropriate. Thank you for sharing.
Kay, I love the stories, recipes, and pics about your family gatherings. Wishing you and yours a Joyous Passover.
I am off to put up my second night briscuit. I love the variety of Haggadah’s on your table … and somewhere, doesn’t everyone have that Maxwell House edition (we use the Elie Weisel version).
a pavlova … hmm …
and yes, this holiday is exhausting. Did you see the piece in the Times Sunday Review about “Passover – too easy?”. I wanted to say – and do – somethiing very not nice to the man who wrote that essay.
have a zizzzeh pesach.
Chag sameach! Beautiful Seder over there !
I once attended a feminist seder, with a mimeographed Haggadah, at which we declared freedom from, among other things, pantyhose. It was a happier, gentler time. We should have had your wonderful Pavlova for dessert–what a dreamy ending.
I will giggle about the pantyhose reference all day!
Chag sameach! Thank you for sharing your Passover with us, and your beautiful, joyous expression of Workable Judaism. That pavlova is amazing! Since our school district keeps scheduling Spring Break right over Passover, we’re hosting our seder in a few weeks, which is now our tradition of Late Passover… I gotta make that brisket! Going to try yours in addition to my usual Brisket with 36 Cloves of Garlic. Yum!
Kay, you beautifully capture my own feelings about the prep and the event. I love the Seder, but in some ways I love the feeling of being enmeshed in the prep even more. As you say, “Nothing is hard, there’s just a lot of it.” As I was chopping apples and nuts, and running my mind over my internal checklist–I haven’t had to look it up or make an actual list in years–I was channeling the past. I’m 54 and I may have planned and prepped upward of 40 Seders over the years, what with one thing and another. I once made Seder in a hotel room in Sicily, to the bemusement of a boyfriend who had not thought to program it into the trip, and once in Berlin the year the wall fell, with curious but awkward German friends in attendance. My oldest is leaving for college next year and I think, I think, that he’s got it internalized. . .in which case all the chopping, and rushing to and fro with boiled eggs, and annoying people by forcing them to stay at the table and to sing, will have been worth while. But I have NEVER made anything as gorgeous as that dessert!
I think your sharing here was just as gorgeous. Thanks.
Beautiful! And that dessert looks amazing. I recently discovered Harbs on the East Side. How was that kept from. E all these years. Happy Paaover!
A Pavlova is my go-to dessert. Easy to make, light to eat (if you make it plain, no lemon curd!), and always looks fancy. And no chocolate or nuts, which my husband can’t have.
Happy Passover! Your table is beautiful and I love your description of the prep for these celebratory meals. I’ve only ever tackled Easter. I love the story and symbolism of Passover. You honor its beauty.
Thank you for the joyous post, Kay.
I’m a Midwestern Lutheran. Please share the lime gelatin salad recipe. I need something that tastes like spring! I may also make that pavlova. It looks amazing. Zissen Pesach!
Wishing you and your family a joyous Passover, Kay. Your celebration looks perfect!
What a beautiful pavlova, and a lovely table! But it’s the lime jello reference that pulled me in. There’s a meme going around on Facebook mocking shredded carrots in orange jello. That’s a grandma jello recipe to me, and I may need to make it this weekend. But Mom used to put canned pears in lime jello – that was yummy, too! And then there were the fancy jello salads, the ones with cream cheese, or cottage cheese, in them, so they weren’t transparent anymore. Gosh, I need to go buy some jello….
I just sent MaggyD the lime Jello recipe. It’s here: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/pineapple-cream-cheese-jell-o-salad-148473.aspx
The only change we make is to omit the Cool Whip and the extra fruit–which make it more of a dessert than a side dish. My own grandma used to serve a square of this (we always make it in a rectangular casserole dish) on a leaf of iceberg lettuce, with a dollop of Miracle Whip lightened with a little lemon juice & sugar. GOOD EATING. I will fight anybody who mocks fruit in Jello. (I do draw the line at meat or fish in Jello.)
As a picky-eater child, sometimes the only thing I could eat from the school cafeteria was the fruit cocktail suspended in red “Jello.” (The school didn’t use real Jello. They used some kind of lesser “artificially flavored gelatin dessert.”) Grandma always used the good stuff, and it was always the food of the gods.
Wlll you Really be able to knit on the way back after the 4 glasses of wine? Might want to give that project a good inspection the next morning, haha!
your Pavlova is awe inspiring. Great looking seder table. I made second night and was exhausted.