Mother Wofchuck's Matzo Balls

The recipe for the most delectable Matzo Balls, as mentioned in Nosheteria:

3 eggs, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons schmaltz, or melted shortening
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
dash pepper
3/4 cup matzo meal, unsalted
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons finely chopped parley
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

In a bowl combine eggs, fat, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir in the matzo meal, until blended. Add the water, parsley, and onions, and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. In a medium size soup pot, or dutch oven, bring water (approximately 2 quarts), and remaining salt to a boil. By rounded spoonful drop matzo meal mixture into boiling water. Matzo balls should be about 1 1/2-2 inches in diameter, they will plump additionally when you cook them. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. When matzo balls are ready, remove them with a slotted spoon, and add into heated chicken soup. Enjoy!

Passover Charoses

This is the recipe for Charoses, as mentioned on Nosheteria. It is adapted a bit from the original recipe which is by Vi Wernick circa 1974. The recipe comes from one of those spiral bound community cookbooks; a true through-back from the not so distant past. I usually double the recipe. Thanks Vi.

1 cup finely chopped apple, a mix of sweet and tart
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons honey
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon red wine (approximately)

Mix all of the ingredients. Add enough wine to bind the mixture. Charoses can be served immediately, or hold in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Springtime Scrambled Eggs on Toast

A delightful meal for brunch or a lite weekend dinner as mentioned in Nosheteria.

Serves 3-4

6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1 1/2-2 cups asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups wild mushrooms, torn or sliced into bite sized pieces
butter and olive oil
salt and pepper
slices of country bread

Blanch your asparagus, until crisp tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and reserve. In a medium skillet, melt equal parts olive oil and butter. Add the garlic, mushrooms, and green onion, and saute until mushrooms have exuded their juices, and pan is just about dry, about 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms to a dish and reserve. In a bowl, whisk the eggs and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper. In the same skillet, again melt equal parts butter and olive oil, add the eggs and cook over low heat, stirring the contents of the pan constantly, you are looking for very small curds. When eggs are just about dry, about 5 minutes, add the ricotta cheese. Stir well to blend and continue cooking the eggs. Add the asparagus and mushrooms back to the egg, and heat through. Place scrambled eggs on top of slices of toast or grilled bread and enjoy.

Sunday Brunch

Soft-Boiled Eggs
Steamed Asparagus
Grilled Country Bread
Yogurt Parfaits with Greek Yogurt and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
Grapefruit-Pomegranate Mimosas

Sauteed Sunchokes with Bacon

This is simply a rough guideline for the sunchokes as mentioned in Nosheteria. This recipe can easily be adapted; bring the sauteed sunchokes down to room temperature then add frisee sprinkled with some balsamic vinegar for a more complete salad option.

Serves 4

1 1/4-1/2 pound sunchokes, scrubbed clean
4 slices bacon
4-5 shallots, sliced
handful of fresh sage, torn into bite-size pieces
salt and pepper to taste

After sunchokes are scrubbed clean, slice into 1/4 inch disks. Put in boiling, salted water and parboil for 7 minutes, or until just fork tender.

Meanwhile fry bacon until crisp, then remove to a paper towel to drain. Pour off bacon drippings, reserving 1-2 tablespoons in the pan. Add the shallots, sage, and parboiled sunchokes. Season with salt and pepper, continue to sautee until chokes become a golden brown, about 10 minutes. Crumble the bacon, add to the sunchokes, toss and taste again for seasoning. Enjoy!