EastOver... Passover meets Easter Feast!

We are so lucky to have Kellie and Ali as neighbors. We take turns hosting dinner parties once or twice a week. They are the best dinner party guests and on nights when I commute to CT and come back exhausted, there is nothing better than going over to their place for a home-cooked meal and some "southern hospitality" (Kellie is from Georgia and lives up to my expectations and more of what a Southern hostess should be like!)

Last week was our turn and it just happened to be Easter Sunday/the second to last night of Passover.

I was brisket-ed out and wasn't feeling the usual Easter fare of lamb/ham. So I settled on this springy menu instead. :

-Thai Style Mussels



-Sweet Potato Encrusted Flounder over Greens and Mango with Creamy Garlic Lime Dressing



-Matzoh Brittle




If you just wanted a "taste" you can stop reading here. If you want to know how it's all done, read on....

Thai Style Mussels
I used this recipe from Allecipes.com.

I bought a 2 lb bag of mussels. Closed mussels are alive and good to go. If they are open just pinch them closed and count to 5. If the stay closed they're good. If not, toss them.

So easy. In a large pot with a top, just mix together:
-1/3 cup of fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
-1/3 cup of white wine
-1 can of unsweetened coconut milk,
-1 1/2 T of thai red curry paste
-2 cloves of garlic
-1 T fish sauce
-1 T sugar



Bring to a boil. Then add mussels. Reduce heat just a bit and cover. In 5-8 minutes they should be open which means that they are done!


I must not have waited 5-8 minutes before taking this picture because the mussels aren't open yet. Clearly I am impatient.


Sweet Potato Encrusted Flounder over Greens and Mango with Creamy Garlic Lime Dressing

I had this dish at Little Moir's Food Shack, a strip mall gem in Jupiter, FL. It blew me away and I immediately scoured the internet for a similar recipe. Luckily was able to find this one on Epicurious which comes out almost exactly like the original dish.

Here is Little Moir's version:


Here is mine... How'd I do?


This isn't terribly difficult but has a lot of components so you have to stay organized. Also, I'd highly recommend grating the sweet potatoes using a food processor (if you don't have one, hopefully you have a fantastic roommate like mine who will lend a hand/an afternoon peeling and grating...Thank you Sarah!)

First assemble the salad. It's just greens, string beans (boiled in hot water, then "shocked" in cold water), and cubed mango.


Again, I was impatient and took the photo before adding the string beans...use your imagination?

Cubing mango is easy. Here's how you do it (I had to YouTube this myself)

Cut it like this...

Then flip it inside out like a porcupine and cut along the skin to release the cubes.


Next make the dressing. Just whisk together:
-1/2 cup mayo
-1 1/2 T sour cream
-1-2 T lime
-1 T lemon
-1 t sugar
-garlic paste





Next, make the fish...

I used flounder, but any fresh, flaky, white fish will do.

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Put a handful of grated sweet potatoes on the pan.

Make an "egg wash" by setting up 1 plate with flour and 1 plate with 2-3 lightly beaten eggs.

Dip fish in flour. Then dip in egg. Place fish atop your sweet potato pile in pan (the fish will stick to the sweet potato because of the egg). Then add another handful/layer of sweet potato on top of the fish. When sweet potato is golden on the bottom, flip the fish very carefully. Cook the other side until golden.

When both sides are golden and fish is cooked through, remove from pan, place atop greens and drizzle with dressing. Repeat with remaining pieces of fish.


Matzoh Brittle
Why are Passover desserts always so lame? Not this one....



I used this recipe from www.noshwithme.com

First preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Then, bring 2 sticks of butter with 1 cup of brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread out 3-4 sheets of matzoh on it.
Pour the brown sugar-butter mixture over the matzoh and bake for 7 minutes.

When you take it out the brown sugar-butter mixture should have formed a nice golden crackly layer over the matzoh. Quickly (white it's still hot!) pour a layer of chocolate chips all over the matzoh and allow to melt. You can get really snazzy and add sprinkles, coconut, slivered almonds and the like...unless of course you are a matzoh brittle purist like me.

Cool in the fridge for a few hours. (Or the freezer if you're impatient like me). Break into bite-sized pieces and enjoy!


And no EastOver can be complete without a little Easter "Peep Show." Yes, very mature...I know.