Passover is almost over. Just two more days of Yom Tov and we will be back to our full kitchen and pantry — or at least an empty pantry ready to be filled with fresh chametz. Don’t let your lessons learned from this Passover go to waste. Whether you will host Seder night again next year or don’t want to think about hosting for another five years, making some notes now will help you later.
I have a confession. I am not the most organized person in the world. I am not even the most organized person in my family. So I am writing this action plan to help me at least as much as help you. I remember a few years ago when I was in Florida with family for Pesach, I visited my friend Maxine who always had the best leftovers. They were usually better than whatever I had fresh the night before in my house (no offense to my father’s very good food). Maxine also happens to be my cooking inspiration and she showed me her Passover binder. Organized by year and Seder night, filled with menus and recipes and lots and lots of notes, Maxine is compiling a Passover guide for the perplexed. Every year she writes down her guest list, her menus and her recipes and then comes back to it after the first days are over to rate which recipes were winners and which were best to pass over for next year. Some recipes would be better if only they had some added “fill in the blank” and she even writes which families didn’t get along so well so she would know to invite them to different nights next year. At the end of Passover, Maxine would list all her pots, pans, dishes, and serving utensils that she would want to buy for next year. Maxine would also write down how many boxes of matzo they went through, what spices they used and should buy again, etc.
When I saw this binder I was in awe of the detail and organization. And the best part, it isn’t a lot of work, but will save hours of work down the line. Last year, when I was home and hosting a large Seder for the first time, I was inspired to record my menu mostly to share it with the JoyofKosher community. Since no one can read my handwriting (including me!), I make my binder in a word document. Make sure to back it up, email it to yourself or save it on the cloud and you can have everything at your fingertips for next year… in Jerusalem!
OMG, super impressed, wish you could come and organize me, but not sure how I would keep it up.
I do this every year too. I have so many lists. In my cabinet, I have folders with the holiday written on the lip. I always host Rosh Hashana day two, Seder day 2, Thanksgiving, and a couple of days of Chanukah. Inside the folder I have guest list, menus, recipes, and shopping lists. I have a shopping list by food too. For example: I have all of the ingredients needed for my apple kugel and next to it I wrote apple kugel. Then I go through my pantry and see what I need, hence, a new updated list. Then I go through my recipes that I’m going to use and count how many eggs, sticks of margarine, and matzo products I’ll need. I do this with any products that are used over and over with a tally chart. It makes life easier.
Such good ideas and inspiration. Thanks