How do you serve hot food at a seder? First-time host...
April 3, 2022 7:24 PM Subscribe
How do you keep food warm to serve during a seder? How do you as the host/cook time everything correctly?
I’m hosting a semi-potluck seder. I will be participating in the seder and can’t be in the kitchen the whole time. A friend is bringing brisket and a friend is bringing matzoh ball soup.
I want to make a fish dish and some salad/veggie sides. (Plus, duh, charoseth etc — all the ritual foods are part of it, but those I can just have out on the table.)
But how do you time everything so the food is hot when it’s time to eat? I know the salad can be served cold/room temp, but what about salmon? The brisket? Hot soup! How????
I’m hosting a semi-potluck seder. I will be participating in the seder and can’t be in the kitchen the whole time. A friend is bringing brisket and a friend is bringing matzoh ball soup.
I want to make a fish dish and some salad/veggie sides. (Plus, duh, charoseth etc — all the ritual foods are part of it, but those I can just have out on the table.)
But how do you time everything so the food is hot when it’s time to eat? I know the salad can be served cold/room temp, but what about salmon? The brisket? Hot soup! How????
To elaborate: soup (including matzo balls) is made in advance and the broth is kept warm (on a very low burner). Brisket is done the same way (keep it warm in the oven). You do have to garnish and plate everything but the cooking is done the day before.
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:49 PM on April 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:49 PM on April 3, 2022 [5 favorites]
This is why multi course meals are a thing. Keep the brisket in a covered dish in the oven on a low temperature. The soup can live in a crockpot or in a heavy pot on the stove that you bring to a boil and then leave on the barest simmer with the lid on - a lot of people I know do the matzoh balls separate and pop them in the bowl first, pouring hot soup over the top. That way they don’t soak up all the broth or break apart. Salmon can 100% be served cold or room temperature, but if you must you can keep it warm in a chafing dish or warming drawer. So it’s like, you start with gefilte fish and salad, that’s cold, and you set the matzoh balls and soup boiling while you have that course. Make up the soup, and plate the brisket on a big platter and let it rest to soak up juices, and then have the soup course. Then you do brisket and salmon and vegetable sides.
RobinofFrocksley is right though. If you truly care about being present throughout as a host while also caring about the timing and heat of the dishes, you have to hire help or sacrifice some part of your priorities. You can also have a kitchen that is open to your dining area and chime in from afar while plating stuff. You can also have the different folks responsible for different dishes handle them, so different people are away from the table at different times.
Most things can and should be made in advance. Salmon is great for this, so is brisket. Definitely make the soup ahead, for me it’s a two day process anyway. The only thing I tend to make that day is the matzoh balls, charoset, and my family’s requirement of chopped liver. I even prep the roasted egg and shank bone ahead of time.
posted by Mizu at 7:54 PM on April 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
RobinofFrocksley is right though. If you truly care about being present throughout as a host while also caring about the timing and heat of the dishes, you have to hire help or sacrifice some part of your priorities. You can also have a kitchen that is open to your dining area and chime in from afar while plating stuff. You can also have the different folks responsible for different dishes handle them, so different people are away from the table at different times.
Most things can and should be made in advance. Salmon is great for this, so is brisket. Definitely make the soup ahead, for me it’s a two day process anyway. The only thing I tend to make that day is the matzoh balls, charoset, and my family’s requirement of chopped liver. I even prep the roasted egg and shank bone ahead of time.
posted by Mizu at 7:54 PM on April 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
My version of our haggadah tells me when to put things into the oven and take them out. We eat the same meals every year.
posted by shadygrove at 8:03 PM on April 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by shadygrove at 8:03 PM on April 3, 2022 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Excellent advice above, just want to add: don't forget it is fine to have pauses in the seder while you (and some helpers) go into the kitchen to do plating and so forth. You finish a section of the Haggadah and then people chat at the table while you and a couple of others go into the kitchen. They can wait for you, not treat you like a waiter. In my world it's not a seamless theatrical event with magic happening backstage, but rather a homey ritual with several pauses for the necessities (including a pause to hide the afikomen, to open the door for Elijah,etc.)
posted by nantucket at 9:02 PM on April 3, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by nantucket at 9:02 PM on April 3, 2022 [10 favorites]
Best answer: Back with some more advice after thinking about past large Seders I’ve been a part of.
If you’re doing gefilte fish, homemade or not, you can prep them by placing them each on their own lettuce leaf the morning of the Seder and then stacking them in a container that fits neatly in your fridge. To plate, just grab each one by the leaf to plop on a plate (which you may want to put another fresh leaf on as well) and if desired a dollop of broth or sauce on top from the container they were in previously. Serve with horseradish at the table for folks who want that (I do.) This way you don’t have to fiddle around extracting things from jars or risk flinging slippery gefilte fish all over the kitchen, and don’t need to fit a bunch of appetizer plates of gefilte fish in your fridge.
Make your salt water ahead of time. This might seem silly but I find it is better to boil it so you can get it really truly salty and then store it in a pitcher for easy pouring into dipping bowls. Clearly label the pitcher!
Did you assign someone to bring hard boiled eggs? In my family this is a non-optional part of the meal, your culture may vary. But we always give the egg job to whatever goyim are invited, because who can mess up boiling eggs? Let me tell you, so many people can mess it up! Be sure to specify that you do NOT mean deviled eggs, or soft boiled and we will provide the toast, or special kosher for Passover eggs, etc. Also please don’t bring leftover dyed Easter eggs. Anyway, be clear about this. If you are doing the eggs yourself, you can hard boil them a few days ahead of time and store them back in their carton, just write HB on it so you don’t mix them up with fresh ones.
For brisket, since your friend is bringing it, you can keep it in the oven on a warm setting, or, if you need the oven for something you can also pop it in the oven on full high heat until bubbly and then wrap the whole thing in foil and then a couple layers of towels. If they bring the brisket in one of those disposable roasting pans you can pop the whole thing into a heavier pan of your own that you heat up along with the food so there is that much more thermal energy being held in with it.
The day before, lay out a bunch of parsley and wash it thoroughly, then dry it really well. Stick it in a wide mouthed jar with water in it and pop it in the fridge. Day-of, break the parsley bunch up into smaller clumps and put them in bud vases along the table. People can grab the parsley from there for dipping, it stays fresh and crisp, and it’s a built in table decoration. If you don’t have bud vases you can use lowball glasses or small jam jars, very adorable.
If you’re doing dessert, do it after the post-meal Seder activities. Give people time to digest, have those additional glasses of wine, sing songs, etc. If there are kids involved searching for the afikomen, and they have wandered off, you can summon them back with dessert. Also, be leisurely about getting dessert ready, brew some coffee, take your time.
In fact, take your time for the whole meal. People will wait for you. The Seder is about conversation and story telling and community. Don’t forget that we are literally instructed to have a pillow and be comfy. That applies to the host, too.
posted by Mizu at 11:19 PM on April 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
If you’re doing gefilte fish, homemade or not, you can prep them by placing them each on their own lettuce leaf the morning of the Seder and then stacking them in a container that fits neatly in your fridge. To plate, just grab each one by the leaf to plop on a plate (which you may want to put another fresh leaf on as well) and if desired a dollop of broth or sauce on top from the container they were in previously. Serve with horseradish at the table for folks who want that (I do.) This way you don’t have to fiddle around extracting things from jars or risk flinging slippery gefilte fish all over the kitchen, and don’t need to fit a bunch of appetizer plates of gefilte fish in your fridge.
Make your salt water ahead of time. This might seem silly but I find it is better to boil it so you can get it really truly salty and then store it in a pitcher for easy pouring into dipping bowls. Clearly label the pitcher!
Did you assign someone to bring hard boiled eggs? In my family this is a non-optional part of the meal, your culture may vary. But we always give the egg job to whatever goyim are invited, because who can mess up boiling eggs? Let me tell you, so many people can mess it up! Be sure to specify that you do NOT mean deviled eggs, or soft boiled and we will provide the toast, or special kosher for Passover eggs, etc. Also please don’t bring leftover dyed Easter eggs. Anyway, be clear about this. If you are doing the eggs yourself, you can hard boil them a few days ahead of time and store them back in their carton, just write HB on it so you don’t mix them up with fresh ones.
For brisket, since your friend is bringing it, you can keep it in the oven on a warm setting, or, if you need the oven for something you can also pop it in the oven on full high heat until bubbly and then wrap the whole thing in foil and then a couple layers of towels. If they bring the brisket in one of those disposable roasting pans you can pop the whole thing into a heavier pan of your own that you heat up along with the food so there is that much more thermal energy being held in with it.
The day before, lay out a bunch of parsley and wash it thoroughly, then dry it really well. Stick it in a wide mouthed jar with water in it and pop it in the fridge. Day-of, break the parsley bunch up into smaller clumps and put them in bud vases along the table. People can grab the parsley from there for dipping, it stays fresh and crisp, and it’s a built in table decoration. If you don’t have bud vases you can use lowball glasses or small jam jars, very adorable.
If you’re doing dessert, do it after the post-meal Seder activities. Give people time to digest, have those additional glasses of wine, sing songs, etc. If there are kids involved searching for the afikomen, and they have wandered off, you can summon them back with dessert. Also, be leisurely about getting dessert ready, brew some coffee, take your time.
In fact, take your time for the whole meal. People will wait for you. The Seder is about conversation and story telling and community. Don’t forget that we are literally instructed to have a pillow and be comfy. That applies to the host, too.
posted by Mizu at 11:19 PM on April 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
Everyone is right about keeping soup and brisket on low in the oven, and then serving the whole thing as a multi-course meal. Depending on your fish dish you may be able to finish its cooking while the soup course is being served and eaten, but then you will be cooking, not eating with your guests. I have found that jumping up to check on my food in the oven is a great way to disguise me hiding the afikomen, so don’t feel like people never get up from the table.
posted by you'rerightyou'rerightiknowyou'reright at 11:31 AM on April 4, 2022
posted by you'rerightyou'rerightiknowyou'reright at 11:31 AM on April 4, 2022
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posted by RobinofFrocksley at 7:46 PM on April 3, 2022 [3 favorites]