An Egg-cellent Passover Brunch Recipe

I don't know about you, but I'm in Passover-shopping mode this week. This weekend I'll make a big pot of chicken stock to freeze. With seders on Friday and Saturday nights, I'm bound to have company at my house Sunday morning, so I also have brunch to plan for! Fortunately, Passover brunch happens to be one of the more popular cooking classes I teach, so I've got plenty of recipes.

Here's one of my favorite ways to incorporate a traditional Pesach food--hard-boiled eggs. If you're boiling eggs for the seder, just add another dozen and keep them in the fridge until Sunday morning. Kids love to help with this one!


Deviled Eggs, 3 Ways

12 large hard-boiled eggs
6 Tbs. mayonnaise
3 Tbs. sour cream
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Dash of hot sauce, optional
smoked paprika
cumin
cilantro leaves
1 tsp. chopped fresh chives
½ tsp. chopped fresh tarragon

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and remove yolks. In bowl using fork mash yolks with mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard and, if desired, hot sauce. Fill 16 egg whites with yolk mixture.

For Smokey Deviled Eggs, sprinkle 8 filled eggs with smoked paprika.

For Tex-Mex Deviled Eggs, sprinkle 8 filled eggs with cumin; garnish with cilantro leaves.

For Herbed Deviled Eggs, stir chives and tarragon into remaining yolk mixture; fill remaining egg whites.

*Hint: If your budget's not too tight, you can really impress people and top plain deviled eggs with salmon caviar or sprinkle them with truffle salt!

Shabbat Box

Last week, Noah came home from preschool with a "Shabbat box." It's a shoebox that he painted and filled with objects that he made so that we can celebrate Shabbat together--a cup, candle holders, challah cover and tzedakah box. His teachers added a song book, prayers and a recipe for challah.

He was so excited to show it to us. We used it for the first time last Friday, and he couldn't stop bouncing around as we lit the candles and sipped grape juice. That night, before bed, he asked me, "Do you like my Shabbat box?"

"Yes, honey," I said. "It's perfect. You made our Shabbat so beautiful." His grin said it all. We're going to use it again tonight. And next week. And the week after that.

How to Build an Awesome Purim Basket

Friends of ours gave us the most awesome Purim basket yesterday:

Sweet potato chips, freeze-dried fruit crisps, bubbles, chocolates, sweet-and-tangy tangerines and a mini bar-size bottle of Absolut Vodka, all in a beach bucket my kids will use all summer. I absolutely love it!

What's the best Purim basket you ever got or gave?

What's Your Favorite Purim Costume?

Noah can't decide what he wants to be for Purim. A firefighter? Batman? Temple Sholom's Purim carnival is this Sunday, so he'll have to figure it out.

What do you think he should wear? What's your favorite Purim costume?