My Shiksa Seder

In our interfaith household, we celebrate everything! Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter and Passover – we do it all. I’ve hosted Passover at our home since two weeks before our wedding when my now mother-in-law had broken her wrist. Luckily it was a small event because I had a few other things on my mind!

To help me impress my soon-to-be in-laws, I turned to a book my dear friend Vikki Weiss Goldman wrote with Jennifer Block, What To Do When You are Dating a Jew. It’s a humorous guide to learning everything about Judaism for non-Jews who are dating or married to one. It also contains excellent recipes for every holiday. 

I bought this book long before I met Mike Sachs to help Vikki’s Amazon sales, but I highly recommend it if you know someone who may be starting an interfaith family. I use it during all of the Jewish holidays.

Below are a two of my favorite recipes from What To Do When You are Dating a Jew for anyone who might be hosting a Seder next week. I made the Almond Macaroon for my first Rosh Hashanah with the Sachs family and everyone was very impressed!

Almond Macaroons

Yields 40

½ teaspoon of almond extract

4 egg whites, at room temperature, beaten stiff but not dry

½ pound finely ground blanched almonds

½ cup sugar

toasted slivered almonds for garnish

Add almond extract to beaten whites. Mix almonds with sugar and slowly fold into whites. Pipe or spoon onto oiled wax paper-lined baking sheets. Top with slivered almonds. Bake at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Matzah and Cheese Kugel

Serves 6 as a main dish, 10 as a side dish

 5 eggs

1 cup milk

1 pound cottage cheese

¼ cup honey

salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 matzahs, broken

½ cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Beat eggs with milk. Add cottage cheese, honey, salt and cinnamon. Place half of the matzah pieces in the baking dish. Pour half of the mixture on top and sprinkle with almonds. Cover with remaining matzah pieces and then the cheese mixture. Bake 40 minutes or until slightly browned and crunchy on top.