Evening Edge

When I'm invited for Passover Seder, I am generally asked to bring a side dish or dessert. I've included some of my favorite recipes, which never fail to earn compliments. For myself, I usually prepare a brisket at the beginning of the holiday and enjoy it throughout the entire observance.

Most Seder meals have beef (brisket or prime rib) or poultry (chicken or turkey) as their main course. To honor kosher dietary rules, which do not allow the mixing of dairy and meat dishes, these recipes are made with margarine, though nonkosher homes can certainly make them with butter. The real beauty of them all is that they can be enjoyed year-round. Just use regular margarine where the recipe lists a Passover product and substitute all-purpose flour where matzo meal or matzo cake meal is called for.

Chris Hunt/AJC (ENLARGE)

Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup is a dense cake with hints of citrus and cinnamon. If you like sweet, this fills the bill. Cake baked by the writer, Betty Gordon

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Learn more

Read Betty Gordon's first-person article about Passover, "Serving the Story," on ajc.com.

The recipes

• Passover Honey Nut Cake in Soaking Syrup: This is a very dense, moist cake full of nuts. The eggs act as the leavening agent. As chef Marcy Goldman notes in her book "A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking," the cake will remind you of baklava.
• Passover Peanut Brittle: OK, so this is not great for your teeth, but kids love to help make and eat it, and in the middle of a long Passover week, it is well worth their sugary smiles. If you don't eat peanuts at Passover, substitute walnuts or pecans.
• Crisp Potato Kugel: This is a thick, hash-brown-like dish, good any time of year.
• Noodle Kugel: Kosher for Passover noodles can be overly sticky and tasteless. You won't be able to tell once the sugar, raisins, nuts and margarine are added.
• Sweet and Sour Brisket: You can make this a day or two ahead; put it in the fridge and reheat later.
• Baked Asparagus with Toasted Walnuts: Asparagus is more elegant when sprinkled with walnuts and given a hint of lemon. The baking time of the asparagus will vary with the thickness of the spears.
• More Passover recipes

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