A FAVORITE PASSOVER DELICACY — I’ve just returned from a spring break vacation and I’m extra stressed that the first seder is in four days. I’m still planning for the seder and the rest of the holiday, but the one thing I know for sure is I will make several batches of Matzah Crunch. There are dozens of variations of this recipe. My favorite comes from Marcia Rittmaster, Congregation Beth Torah’s religious school and youth groups director who was featured in Jewish Life Magazine for her fabulous kugel a couple of years ago. When my children were preteens, the congregation used to have a chocolate seder every year. One of the items on the menu was Matzah Crunch and Marcia provided the recipe to all the willing volunteers. Since that chocolate seder many years ago, it has become a family tradition. While many families have their favorite charoset or matzah ball soup recipes, ours is for chocolate matzah and I have Marcia to thank for it. For those of you who want to try it, it’s below. But take my advice, it’s very easy and comes out delicious as long as you follow the recipe exactly.
Matzah Crunch
Matzah
1 cup butter (or margarine if you insist!)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1. Cover cookie sheet and sides with aluminum foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
2. Line up the matzah to fill the pan, breaking extra pieces as required to fit the space.
3. In a saucepan combine butter and brown sugar.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil.
5. Boil for 3 minutes (use a timer; this is important), stirring constantly.
6. Remove from heat and pour over the matzah, covering completely.
7. Place the baking sheet in a preheated 375-degree oven and immediately reduce the heat to 350 degrees.
8. Bake for 15 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure the mixture is not burning (if it seems to be browning too quickly, remove the pan from the oven, lower the heat to 325 degrees and replace the pan).
9. Remove pans from oven and sprinkle immediately with the chocolate chips.
10. Let stand five minutes, then spread the melted chocolate over the matzah. While still warm, break into squares or odd shapes.
11. Place pans in freezer to chill until set.
SHALOM SESAME — Families with young kids might want to set their DVRs for 9 a.m. March 22 and March 26. KCPT will air “Shalom Sesame: It’s Passover Grover!” at 9 a.m. each of those days. In the episode, it’s almost time to celebrate Passover and there is no horseradish to be found. Grover, Anneliese and Avigail put their heads together to track it down, but things get tricky when there is an Oofnik involved!
