We had another loss in our home a month or so ago. Our refrigerator gave up the ghost, with an overflowing freezer. Between our trusty small chest freezer and Constant Companion’s ice runs to the local supermarket to keep the cooler full, much of the good stuff in the freezer was saved.* One of the items that could not be rescued was a small chicken neck, the stand-in for a lamb shank in our annual seder plate.

*In the meantime, some items stored for too long waiting for the perfect use were quickly disposed of. And our departed fridge has since been replaced with a new working model.

With the loss of the chicken neck, shortly before the onset of Passover, the week of matzahs and other yummy food, I excavated a pair of lamb shanks from the chest freezer in the laundry room. To tell the truth, I did not follow a recipe which is a pity because even Daughter liked the outcome, and we had our shank, representative of the lamb sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Braised lamb shanks (in search of the bone). Put some oil into a skillet or large pot. Then put in 2 lamb shanks and sear on all sides, about 5-6 minutes each side, remove. Add 1 or 2 chopped onions, til transluscent. Add some chopped carrots and cook til soft (I would have included celery, but had none). Add soaked, dried apricots, chopped butternut squash, and the rest of a bag of marcona almonds (also survivors of the late fridge, nuts can be refrozen). Add about 1 cup of red wine to deglaze the pan. Return the shanks to the skillet and add water to cover (about 2 cups). Add salt and pepper, I think I used rosemary and oregano. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours. I served is over bowtie pasta.

Our seder. This year’s Passover celebration was a nice quiet time to be together as a family. As usual it was a 2-day cooking affair. Day one was spent preparing two other symbolic items for the seder plate: the hard boiled eggs and the charoset. The eggs start as large white eggs cooked nestled in onion skins to turn them brown and appear as if they were roasted.

The charoset is simply apples, walnuts, raisins (soaked in Passover wine), and wine all finely chopped together in the food processor. I also made the chicken soup and a few other dishes that benefitted from sitting overnight. This year’s soup benefited from a carcass of a COSTCO chicken which was simmered with onions, carrots, 1 parsnip, and celery and lots of fresh dill for about an hour. I added more dill to the packet of matzah ball mix that I assembled on day 2.

Day 2 was for cooking the main meal and the dessert. In the past, I prepared a whole fish for the seder; I roasted two beautiful branzinos for this year’s meal. Sides included mini potato kugels or Potato Latke “muffins” named by cookbook author Faye Levy, roast cauliflower, and a green salad. I prepared the potatoes and cauliflower in the morning. The cauliflower was served room temperature, I returned the “muffins” to the oven when the fish was cooking to reheat.

Potato Latke “muffins.” Preheat the oven at 400 degrees and grease a nonstick 12-muffin tin with a little oil (or spray). Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a heavy nonstick skillet. Add one medium chopped onion and saute over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon paprika; remove from heat. Coarsely grate the potatoes by hand or in a food processor. Put them in a large strainer, and press out excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the onions, 2 lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper. Put about ⅓ cup of the potato mixture in each muffin tin. Smooth the tops lightly, brush with oil and sprinkle with a little paprika. Bake about 40 minutes, until brown at the edges and firm. Remove the muffins and serve at once, or leave in the pans to keep warm for 15 minutes or so.

Salad. I happened across instructions for a spring salad on Facebook that appealed to me. Using a mandolin, thinly slice 1 or 2 cucumbers, 1 fennel, 2 shallots. Torn lettuces were mixed in next. I substituted green and red cabbage, slicing them on the mandolin. Dress with your favorite vinaigrette.

Dessert. Constant Companion is limiting his sugar intake right now and I preferred not to be faced by delicious Passover baked goods for a week, so I decided to make poached pears for dessert.

Poached pears. Peel 4 bosc pears (I do not core them as some recipes call for). Put large pot, 2 cups wine (we had some leftover sweet red wine in the new fridge) and 1 cup of water into a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add a small handful of fresh or dried rosemary. Gently place the pears upright in the liquid and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer the pears until tender, about 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife slips into them with ease. Remove pot from heat and let the pears cool in their liquid at room temperature.

This started with a quest for a shank bone for the annual seder plate. I now have two cleaned and wrapped and stored in a safe place that I remember in the freezer of our new refridgerator.