Passover starts next Monday night and the holidays last until the following
 Tuesday night. The first two nights are Seders, which really are family 
feasts that center on reading the text, The Haggadah, explaining the 
festival. At my home we still use the Maxwell House ones that were used in 
our family for the last 40 years. I have still have 10 so that everyone is 
reading from the same booklet.


Most people understand that you do not eat leaven bread for the week. But 
that is really an understatement of what you can or cannot eat any grains that could be used in leavening. That means no corn, wheat or barely. If your family is from Spain or Sephardic you can eat rice but if you are from Western Europe or Ashkenazi you can’t. We all can eat quinoas that originated in South America and wild rice that originated in North America since these are all seeds from grasses. Where your family comes from and where you live really has a great influence in the meals you can prepare. Each year I try to create new recipes that keep me interested to keep the holiday and not break any of the rules.

That means I have been frantically looking on the web for new recipes and looking at new sites that might add a variety of insights. I was blown away when I read one that had a recipe for challah--that is a big no no. Leaven bread on a holiday that is
 about non-leaven bread. Some one did not do their research.


Bon Appétit gets it when they feature a recipe for fluffy matzo balls.http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/guides/passover. They had some of these
 recipes in this month's mailed issue also but their website gives more
 recipes. Most of the things highlighted were for the Seder and not your 
regular meals. I have come to rely on the New York Times Passover Recipe Cookbook. It is some times my hostess gift if I am invited out during the holiday. But when I got the New York Times today, I was excited to see a new recipe from Melissa Clark for matzo Brie kicked up a notch with lox http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/dining/13appe.html?src=me&ref=style
 . This is exactly what I had been searching
 for. Then I was excited to see Joan Nathan’s article about eating out for
 Seder with a recipe for Prune and Almond Braised Short Ribs. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/dining/13seder.html?_r=1&ref=dining
  For any one who celebrates the holiday will understand prunes are a big favorite. On line you could also see articles from their archives so there were lots
 of choices to increase your menu plan for the week.

If you read the article I want to explain eating out at a restaurant is not that new an idea. My family used to spend the week at hotel on vacation that was Kosher for 
Passover since our family were bakers and the store was closed and that was 
when our family could get away. When she was little, my mother's family went
 to the Jewish Center for Passover Seder for one night. What I love is that
 this holiday has changed over the last thousand years but still holds to its
 core values.

 I wish you all a happy Passover whether you are Jewish or not. May men and women all over the world share the joy of freedom and may we always remember that freedom did not come easily.