One of my favorite holidays in our family is Pesach (Passover), a Jewish spring festival that reminds us of the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.  Every year, my husband David and I, host a (rather large…30 person?!) family Sedar, which is also known as a ritual feast, held during this festival.  So how do we do it? What do we cook? How do we stay sane? Here’s some tips and tricks for hosting your next Sedar or dinner party. So let's get started, I sit down with my notebook, 2 months prior to my dinner party and create visual guides, jot down ideas and themes.  I have a bad habit of allowing my creative juices to jump all over the place, often losing track of my theme ideas, so writing and visualizing my ideas definitely helps me stay on track.  Once I have an idea of my theme or ‘Story Theme’ as I like to call it, I then focus on colour ideas and cute props and or flowers to enhance the dinner table. For Passover this year, I am planning a ‘Woodland Spring’ theme with rich tones of emerald green, ivory white and a sharp gold to accent. I went to my local ‘Michaels’ and found 12 unadorned simple Mason jars, which I am planning to place on the table with white tulips, feathery floral greens, white freesias and twigs.  I plan to dress the table with dollar store tea lights and ‘garden found’ acorns of mixed sizes, along with my fave purchase ever; stunning gold shimmer paper butterflies – SO CUTE – see my inspo picture below, followed by my table picture.

To complete my tablescape, I love to personalize and make guest feel welcome and special by, adding cute little name cards at each plate – side note, name cards are also great to avoid the awkward shuffle to the table ‘So where should I sit…?! Uh uhh’, plus sometimes it is nicer to have a system where certain people are better to be seated, we’ve all had that annoying family argument that could have been avoided if uncle Bill didn’t sit next to uncle Bob…oy!  My go to company for marketing material and dinner party cards is Vistaprint, again another great company offering competitive pricing, fast delivery and great designs – PS they usually always have a sale! 

A tip that I highly recommend for large dinner parties/ gatherings would be hiring dishes, cutlery and serving items from a party rental company.  Although, it is an added cost, the pros are vast; typically party rental companies offer beautiful selections with many dish colours and designs, which will surely add to your tablescape theme or décor.  You don’t have to clean up the dishes…say what?! That’s right, simply scrape off any food, and place the dirty dishes back in their boxes, ready for the company to pickup the next day – this alone is worth it, when you have over 25 people attending.  Another, great reason, you don’t have to go out and buy unnecessary dishware for a ‘once in a blue moon party’.  My go to party rental company in Vancouver is A & B Party Rentals, they offer competitive pricing, excellent customer service, offer tips to help you plan your party as well as have inventory readily available.

 

 

 

So, we have the décor, we have the dishes, your table is practically set, there’s just one last thing…the Menu!  For large family gatherings we like to add meat into our menu, as well as a few of our fave veggie dishes – gotta stick to that Healthy Eating and Lifestyle…wink wink!

A great hearty meat option for large dinner parties, that I highly recommend; Beef Brisket.  I cook my Brisket in a slow cooker, it simple to cook and requires very little prep time or attention, so, you can spend much needed attention prepping for your party.  Check out my go to recipe below:

Beef Brisket and Onions

**This recipe has been modified to serve 12 people (standard dinner party size)

• Chop your onions into thin slices
• Add onions to a pan with Olive Oil and saute, stir frequently
• Take Brisket and pat dry, season generously with Salt and Pepper
• Heat large skillet (turn on your vent!), sear the Brisket on both sides until golden brown crust appears
• Remove and place in Slow Cooker, fatty side up
• Sprinkle the minced Garlic over the meat, then pile the sautéed Onions on top and around the meat.
• Mix the broth, Worcestershire Sauce, and Bragg Sauce, and pour into the Slow Cooker.
• Cover and cook the Brisket on LOW, 6 – 8 hours – we like ours tender, so we cook for 6.5 hours.  Once the time is up, be sure to let the Brisket rest for 20 minutes.  We like to shred our Brisket, so we shred once the Brisket has had time to rest.

Don’t have a Slow Cooker? Not to worry, place the Brisket in a baking dish and cover tightly with foil, cook at 325F for 3 – 4 hours, this will allow for a tender Brisket.

A classic favorite Jewish dish that we always like to serve at all of our family dinners – which is adored and slurped down by all, Matzoh Ball Soup.  This soup is so amaze-balls, I often find my non-Jewish friends craving it – especially when they are sick.  This recipe is a must for all you ‘Head of Households’, I usually like to start cooking this recipe early in the AM, since I have to make enough for 30 people – criiiinge!  Check out my recipe below:

PS I’ve added a super simple Organic Vegetable Broth recipe below along with the Matzoh Ball Soup Recipe.

Matzah Ball Soup with Organic Home Made Broth

**This recipe has been modified to serve 12 people (standard dinner party size)

• Scrub the veggies and chop into 1 inch chunks – a tip my grandma taught me, the greater the surface area, the more quickly vegetables will yield their flavour
• Heat oil in a soup pot, Add Onion, Celery, Carrots, Green Onions, Garlic, Parsley, Thyme and Bay Leaves
• Cook on high for 5 – 10 minutes, stir frequently
• Add Salt and Water and bring to boil
• Lower heat and simmer for uncovered for 30 minutes
• Strain and discard Vegetables

 

...and now for the delicious Soup!!

• Prep the Matzo Ball mix according to the packaging directions (I promise you it’s very easy and tons of fun – get your kids involved!) Basically mix the Matzo meal with 4 eggs and ½ cup of Vegetable Oil, stir and refrigerate for 15 mins – Don’t overmix, it’s also meant to be tacky, so don’t panic!
• Set a large pot of water to boil, once it boils add the Salt
• Using wet hands, gently form Matzo balls into 1 inch balls and carefully drop them into the water.
• Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes, be sure to rotate the balls top to bottom every 5 – 10 minutes
• Bring your ‘ready made’ broth to a boil, in a separate pot
• Add the Carrots and Celery and simmer
• When the Matzo Balls are cooked (soft and fluffy), remove from water pot and add to broth pot with a slotted spoon

The Soup is ready to serve, add the Dill and a few veggies into each bowl. This Soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days

 Another hearty fave dish I like to serve is an ‘oh so yummy’ Kugel…but, since we often have our parents bring both a classic savory and sweet cheese Kugel made from Egg Noodles, we change our Kugel to…wait for it, a ‘Potato Kugel with Matzo Meal’…yes, that’s right…Potatos, and might I add it is bomb af – excuse my French!

This recipe is always loved in our home and is again very easy to make.

Potato Kugel Gratin

**This recipe has been modified to serve 12 people (standard dinner party size)

• Preheat oven to 425 and prepare a baking dish
• Combine 4 tablespoons of Salt and 1 Teaspoon of Pepper
• Sprinkle some of the Salt and Pepper mixture onto bottom of baking dish
• Chop potatoes into 1/8^th inch slices and arrange vertically in the baking dish
• Wedge in shallots between Potatoes
• Brush with Oil and season with rest of Salt and Pepper mixture
• Whisk together Eggs, Broth, ¼ Teaspoon Salt
• Slowly add Matzo Meal and stir
• Pour mixture evenly over Potatoes, ensure the mixture settles through the Potatoes to the bottom of dish
• Cover with parchment, then foil and transfer to oven
• Bake for 45 minutes, remove covers and bake for another 40 minutes
• Broil for last 5 minutes

 Let rest for 20 minutes after and garnish with Thyme.

When hosting large family gatherings, don’t be afraid to ask for help!! I usually always ask my immediate family for ‘food offering’ help, a small salad or two or a tray of fruit 😊

As well as the above dishes, I like to prepare a pan tray of Veggies with Himalayan Pink Salt and Pepper to taste, I always opt for the most colourful, to brighten up the dinner plate; Beets, Artichoke, Carrots, I also try to keep them as whole as possible, I find it gives the dinner plate a fun rustic look.

A kosher Passover dessert I like to make to compliment fresh fruit and my wonderful mother in laws sweet cheese kugel is ‘Matzo Bark’, it’s perfect for all ages and simple to make; enjoy this delicious recipe below, I like to make mine the night before.

Matzah Toffee Bark

**This recipe has been modified to serve 12 people (standard dinner party size)

• Preheat oven to 250F and prep baking tray       
• Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place Matzah in an even layer on baking tray, set aside
• Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in brown Sugar and immediately reduce heat to low

• Continue stirring, until all Sugar has dissolved
• Drizzle Toffee over Matzah and spread evenly with a spatula
• Transfer Toffee covered Matzah to the oven and bake for 10 – 20 minutes, until Toffee has turned to a rich shiny sheen colour
• Remove from oven and immodestly sprinkle with Chocolate Chips, tent the Matzah with aluminium foil, let stand for 20 to 30 minutes
• Remove foil tent and spread the Chocolate over Matzah to cover; sprinkle with Coarse Sea Salt
• Transfer to refrigerator and let sit for 2 hours
• Break the Matzah into chunky pieces and serve

Yum, yum!!! Now that the menu, table and dishes are complete…let’s go back to my handy note book, the last thing I like to think about, is the night as a whole.  What will the flow of the night be? Here’s an example of my flow…

Guests arrive – Guests mingle grab a drink – Guests take their seats – Welcome Speech – Guests enjoy dinner – Perhaps a fun game for mid and apres dinner – Now it’s time for dessert – Dessert to be enjoyed with another game or conversation – Fun game or movie for the kids to let the parents unwind…Guests leave

We usually allow 30 minutes for people to arrive and settle in, grab a drink.  We then start the evenng with a fun speech and any announcements; my husband or father in law are always handy for something witty!  Next we begin our Sedar, starting with prayers and formal religious customs, followed with imaginative play, questions, and reading….yes, we read!  Once the dinner finishes up, we indulge in dessert, with a very cute Karp tradition ‘Rugrats’ a Passover episode – very cute! I love finishing with a light hearted kid friendly option.  Since, we have many young kids in our family, it is important to me, to keep them entertained and interested in their religion.  So often rituals and religious customs become boring and dull, which easily lead to the classic kid eye roll and ‘Ugh do I have to…’.

To give the parents a break, we like to play the famous ‘Karps Magical Affikoman’ game; during the day my husband, jots riddles down on pieces of paper, he then places them around the house as a sort of treasure hunt game, later in the evening, while the parents sip sweet sips, the kids run around the house, searching for hidden clues and riddles, leading to the gold treasure the ‘Karps Magical Affikoman’.  And viola that's a wrap, all in all, the keys to creating a memorable dinner party; keeping all ages engaged, prep great food, plan a darling tablescape and keep yourself calm!