Another new Passover recipes - matza lasagna!
Because I started my Seder menu with a dairy dessert, I worked backwards to a dairy meal, which I would probably have ended up at anyway thinking of my vegetarian guests.
I came upon the idea from an article on Bon Apetit, but the recipe it linked too was a very confusing list of steps so I just used it as my base point for cooking time and a jumping off point for ingredients.
Wet matza became a great substitute for lasagna noodles. I do love seeing all the creative uses for matza that people come up with. I have made matza grilled cheese, which also uses wet matza, and matza pizza which is just sauce and cheese on matza in the oven until it all melts.
As most my Passover recipes on this blog demonstrate, getting the matza a bit wet can make it very easy to work with. You just want to wet it enough so its not brittle, but not so wet that it gets soggy.
I used fresh mozzarella, cottage cheese, spinach, shredded eggplant, red sauce, vodka sauce, and of course, matza. Here is the article that sort of guided me.
I will make this again next year. It was pretty easy, a warm and cozy filling dish, great reheated, and really cheesy.
I have a feeling this is a new tradition in the making.
Cheesecake has been on my mind for quite some time. You’d think that living in New York I would have miles of perfectly creamy cheesecake at my fingertips at all time, but I honestly don’t find it much here. Juniors supposedly has a great slice, but I’m never near either location. I actually really like the frozen Trader Joe’s kind, but that is not a safe item for me to have in the house. It would be gone in a day. For that same reason, it was not a good idea for me to make a cheesecake on a regular weekend just for myself, I needed to have a party to go to or friends coming over.
Thinking about making a cheesecake I quickly realized that there is no flour in the center of the pie, making it an ideal Passover dessert. I decided to work from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe and use ground up macaroons instead of graham crackers for the crust. I thought this was a brilliant never-been-done idea, until I opened my Passover Philadelphia cream cheese and the recipe inside the box had the same directions. I will venture to say that mine was better than Philly’s and that even if I wasn’t first, it was still a good idea.
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Sushi is hands down one of my favorite foods. If I had to only eat three things for the rest of my life, sushi would be on my list. Jason and I disagree on whether or not I could choose a sushi platter as one item (I think that still counts one food) or if I’d have to narrow it down to salmon avocado hand rolls. I guess it’s a good ice-breaker question because it can lead to that type of a discussion, and who really cares because I will never have to choose three items only to eat for the rest of my life. For the record, my list would also include plain soft serve frozen yogurt with strawberries on top (this also counts as one item in my mind) and the last item would have to be something with cheese. I could go for wood oven Margarita pizza, classic grilled cheese, or an egg and cheese sandwich like my mom makes. Maybe it needs to be something with cheese and avocado. Clearly I have not thought as hard about item number three.
As I was saying, I love sushi and it’s great being in New York where it is easy to find good affordable sushi. Sometimes when I am out and I need a quick snack I pick up a box of Macro Vegetarian sushi instead of a street hot dog.
It seemed like an easier endeavor to make vegetable sushi at home than it did to deal with raw fish as a beginner. Jason and I got some beautiful sushi dishes and supplies for Christmas, including a rice paddle shaped like a fish and ceramic origami crane chopstick rests.
So, armed with our new tools, plenty of YouTube instructional videos, and using Macro Vegetarian as our inspiration, we began.
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![Dear Friends,
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This is my 101st post!
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I decided not to celebrate on post 100, because I am having mixed feelings about hitting triple digits, and 101 for whatever arbitrary reason I could make up seems less monumental that 100. Also 101 is a nice looking symmetrical number.
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Writing this blog and cooking more than I thought I had the heart for over that last nine months, has been quite a task, but also a rewarding one. As was my original goal, I have become far more comfortable in the kitchen, and I am not afraid to try my hand at a recipe that may seem daunting (for example Hollandaise sauce…). I have made some fun recipe that I may not ever make again (carrots in carrot sauce) and I have found new favorites that I have made again and again.
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Cooking has become a part of my routine. I have read that you need to do something every day for a month before it will become a habit, and I think that there is a lot of truth to that. While there were weeks that I tried a new recipe almost every night (which I found was just too much to fit in with the rest of my life, while maintaining a level of sanity and serenity), even just cooking one meal or one dish per week has helped make cooking feel less like a daunting task, and more just like what I do. The past few weekends I have been making cucumber salad to eat with romaine, olives, hummus and Parmesan, and it feels really great to have something fresh and homemade ready to eat in the fridge. J and I still order in and make pasta with red sauce on nights when we are tired, lazy or out of groceries, and I am okay with that (We have also been really into Mama Rao’s and Mario Batali’s vodka sauces lately). I have a lot of respect and awe for Cathy of Not Eating Out In New York, its just not something I could ever do.
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While cooking has become more routine for me, writing about it has not been at the forefront of my mind. I have four drafts write now of recipes I have made, that I have just not felt like sitting down and writing about. That was also the case with this post, and with the sushi post I finally finished writing last week I’m. not sure why I feel so blah about writing. I don’t feel particularly triumphant anymore when a recipe turns out, and more often than not after cooking and washing the dishes I usually just want to go to bed (or watch X-files on Netflix and then go to bed). I don’t really want to sit down and write about it. I have also been pushing cooking to the side to make way for other things. I have been doing more arts and crafts and I have begun training for a half-marathon which demands three running days and two cross-training days a week. I also just feel like being out more. Life is getting bigger, and time for extracurriculars is shifting to make room.
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I don’t intend to stop cooking. My Pinterest food board for food to make and food to eat has been steadily growing as have the post-its sticking out of the pages of all my cookbooks. I just might only post pictures. Or post really sporadically. I’m going to play it by ear. [I actually have a few post drafts that I still need to finish…]
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I am thinking of having my own Lemon Tart-off, baking the tarts from What To Cook and How To Cook It and Tartine on the same day. A girl can never have too much lemon tart. My stepmom also suggested cooking from Tartine cover to cover, which sounds like an endeavor well worth the effort (does being a runner now mean I can eat as much butter and sugar as I want?). Passover is also right around the corner, and I always cook up a storm because there is not much else to eat and because it is my absolute favorite holiday and deserves some of the blog spotlight. [Speaking of drafts that never get posted, I write this draft a week ago. As of posting time, Passover begins tomorrow… grocery delivery between 8 and 10 am]
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Before I get to a list of some of my favorite recipes so far, I need to give a shout out so some of the helpful friends and family members who have been extra helpful over the past 100 posts. In addition to all those who have shared recipes with me and helped in other ways, I need to name a few of you individually. Jason has eaten everything and not complained one bit, even when things didn’t turn out great. He has also been an indispensable dishwasher, sous chef, and complimenter. My dear Naomi has been a great buddy to brave the Union Square Whole Foods with - shopping with a friend takes the stress out of fighting through that monster of a grocery store. Auntie Betty has been a great help answering many food questions, especially the family recipes, from just a phone call away. Andrew has slaved away with me over many of my more ambitious projects and contributed a great post about his brisket a few months ago. Lastly, Stevie Nicks has been a great help by adding just the right amount of cat hair to each of my creations and gracing some of my photos with her presence.
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Thanks for reading.
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xoMadeline
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Blog Favorites and Recipes I Keep Going Back To: Breakfast QuinoaOatmeal Beakfast BarsIsraeli Cucumber SaladShakshukaAvocado Kale SaladWatermelon and Tomato SaladHaricot Vert with ShallotsQuinoa with Thai FlavorsAsparagus and Pistachio QuinoaBroiled Figs with Goat Cheese and HoneyFennel and Pomegranate SaladLemon Custard (the inside of the lemon tart recipe)Red Wine Spaghetti with BroccoliPeach Butter and BiscuitsCaramelized Honey Baked Pears Blintze Souffle with Blackberry Sauce, especially the blackberry sauce](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m20xrzzbWo1qlvafoo1_1280.jpg)
