“Holyland” brand matzah, machine-made in Jerusalem and purchased at Trader Joes in the United States (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Tonight which as you know is unlike any other night or if you don’t, you can check out a previous blog of mine https://pbenjay.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/why-is-this-night-different-from-all-other-nights/. Anyway tonight we are going to my sister-in-law’s home for a Seder dinner. It will of course be a feast, and being the balabusta she is, she is cooking a very traditional meal as well as adding vegetarian dishes for the one or two non-meat eaters in the group. And by group I mean she is seating and serving 11 people tonight!
I asked what I could bring and was assigned an asparagus dish. I’m going to make a room temperature asparagus platter with an egg sauce on top. If I haven’t already posted this recipe previously, I will tomorrow. It was a traditional Easter Sunday dinner side in my family for years.
And then if I can organize myself, I plan to make some Matzo Crack! This is a surprise addition to the meal. Naturally Stacey, our hostess, who is size 2 is planning on serving strawberries and cream for dessert, something light and moderately healthy. I, on the other hand, am hoping for the taste of chocolate and in keeping with the holiday tradition of no leavened bread, I’m going to make chocolate toffee matzoh!
So simple to do (they say) and since I’m posting this prior to actually making it, I can’t attest to that but I do believe this is not going to be difficult at all.
4-5 pieces of matzo
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup bittersweet chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate bits
Toppings as desired
Preheat oven to 375º
Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and/or parchment paper. Place matzo in one layer on baking sheet, breaking it when necessary to fill pan complexly.
In large sauce pan, melt the butter and brown sugar together over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once mixture reaches a boil, continue to cook for additional 3 minutes, still stirring, until thickened and just starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and pour over matzo, spreading evenly with a heat proof spatula.
Put the pan in the oven, then immediately turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t burn. If it looks like it is starting to burn, turn heat down to 325 degrees.
After 15 minutes, the toffee should have bubbled up and turned a rich golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate over the pan. Let sit for 5 minutes and then spread the now-melted chocolate evenly with a spatula.
You can leave as it is or add a topping such as sea salt or toasted nuts. Let cool completely, then break into smaller pieces and store in airtight container.
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