I labored over a Passover macaroon berry pie recipe for weeks, certain that if I got it just right, my kitchen would be ready in time for the seders. I funneled all my purposefulness into creating flawless Passover recipes, thinking that the sweet salvation of dessert was all I needed. I planned on a pie crust made out of macaroon crumbs and coconut oil, I got together all the ingredients, managed my time sensibly, and then plowed ahead. I eventually kinda-sorta got the crust how I wanted it, but the soupy texture of the cooked berries caused major crust-erosion. And then I couldn’t ignore the unavoidable truth: I really dislike those pop-top cans of macaroons (too sweet, often stale).

Meanwhile, the kitchen renovation was stalled to a standstill. No amount of angry threats, desperate entreaties or sweet bribes made a difference. I could not make it happen faster, or even at all. Nevertheless, I dug in, and kept pushing the macaroon berry pie recipe, trying to make it to work. And like the phone calls I made to the electrician and plumber, it was going nowhere fast.

The belabored Passover dessert remained a hot unappealing mess until I squeezed past my narrow expectations and allowed myself to let go of my pre-conceived notions of how it would turn out. I considered my favorite macaroon recipe: Dark, dense, moist, chocolatey, not too sweet, and best of all—tried and tested! I had a hunch that it would make a perfect bite-sized tart crust when baked in a muffin tray. And then maybe because I had potato starch on my mind, due to the runny berries, I thought: crushed potato chips! I discovered that when folded into the chewy, bittersweet chocolate coconut shreds, they added a salty pop and a pleasing crunch to the macaroon shell.

Next I combined two cups of berries on a stovetop with sugar, lemon, and a pinch of potato starch, and cooked the mixture to a rich, jeweled-toned sauce. Spooned thickly over the macaroon mini-tart shell, it makes for a silky, crispy, juicy, chocolatey dessert! Easy to prepare in separate steps, these Mini Macaroon Berry Tarts can be assembled right before serving, and taste best when served at room temperature. Top them with fresh berries, chocolate shavings, crushed potato chips, extra chopped macaroons, peaks of whipped cream, or drizzles of chocolate sauce—whatever you like. These sweet little treats celebrate the festival of freedom with flexible flavor and an adaptable recipe.

p.s. Kitchen’s still not done, but is it really so bad? A raw-food seder actually sounds authentic, memorable, and quite liberating!

Passover Mini Macaroon Berry Tarts (Pareve/Dairy free)
Yields 12-15 tarts

Ingredients

Macaroon shells:
½ cup pareve chocolate chips or 2 oz. chopped chocolate
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder,
2 egg whites
¼-1/2 cup crushed ridged potato chips

Very Berry Filling:
1 cup of fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon potato starch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium-sized bowl melt chocolate, let cool and set aside.

2. In a large bowl combine shredded coconut, sugar, salt, cocoa powder.

3. Whisk egg whites into bowl of melted chocolate. With a rubber spatula fold melted chocolate mixture into coconut mixture, until well-mixed. Fold in crushed potato chips.

4. Spray the cups of a muffin tray with cooking oil. With moistened hands, pat down a clump of macaroon mixture into the muffin cups so that it forms a shallow mini pie-shell.

5. Place in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until macaroon tart shells are crispy golden around edges. Remove from oven and let cool.

6. To make berry filling: in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine blueberries and raspberries. Thoroughly mix in sugar, lemon juice, and potato starch, breaking down berries as you stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes until a thick and juicy consistency results.

7. Let berry filling cool. Spoon cooled mixture into tart shells and top as desired. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

For a richer, creamier filling: blend ¼ cup almond milk, 2 tablespoons almond meal, and 2 tablespoons maple syrup together with berry sauce.

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While many feel restricted during the leaven-free days of Passover, those of us on gluten-free diets find the holiday culinarily liberating. In fact, Passover is the Jewish holiday that keeps on gluten-free giving now that many companies have naturally gluten-free products or developed a gluten-free line alongside their traditional Passover line. Thanks to these products, we can fulfill the mitzvahs of the holiday while adhering to our dietary restriction—and making sure our palettes are satisfied.

Here are a few of my favorite kosher for Passover gluten-free things (to be sung to “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music, naturally). I hope you find as much joy in them as I do. I also hope you have better self-control than I do with some of these products (see: macaroons).

Matzoh for the Seder Table: Traditional matzoh is off limits since it has gluten. To fulfill the mitzvah of saying the blessing and eating matzoh, those of us who are on gluten-free diets can turn to oat matzoh. Lakewood Matzoh Bakery offers wonderful gluten-free oat matzohs available in Oat Machine Square and Traditional Shmurah, which I found at Fairway. Challah was taken on the matzohs that are made with certified gluten-free oats—oats must be certified gluten-free—and have Gluten-Intolerance Group’s certification seal.

Matzoh for the Breakfast Table: For the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the ‘I need a snack’ kind of matzoh, I like Yehuda’s Gluten-Free Matzoh-Style Squares. The Squares are not intended for use during a seder, but are perfect with a shmear of cream cheese or for matzoh pizza.

I also recommend the newest gluten-free matzoh on the block: Manischewitz’s Gluten Free Matzo-Style Squares. I almost couldn’t believe this product was real when I saw it on the shelf. Then again, the words gluten-free on a Manischewitz box just seem so perfect.

When it comes to matzoh in cracker form, both Yehuda and Manischewitz crackers do the job. If you are like my sister, you might like them with cream cheese and a half sour pick on top.

Gluten-Free Matzoh Balls—Need I Say More? Your soup will thank you (and then your gluten-free guests will also) for using Yehuda’s Gluten-Free Matzoh Meal for the matzoh balls. In other words, if you plan on having chicken soup like I do at seder, make sure to pick up a box or two or even three.

Chicken Cutlet Time: Gluten-free chicken cutlets are just a coating away thanks to Jeff Nathan Creations’ Gluten Free Panko Flakes. The flakes are brand new and are available in plain or seasoned. Any chicken cutlet lucky enough to be made with these flakes is going to be a hit, which mean my chicken cutlets are going to be quite popular this week.

Passover Pasta: Whether you need gluten-free noodles for your kugel or are looking for a bowl of pasta, Manischewitz and Gefen have you covered. I like Manischewitz Gluten-Free Fine Yolk Free Noodles for my kugel and enjoy their spiral and shell-shaped noodles for everyday pasta fun. For a wider noodle, I recommend Gefen’s Gluten Free Egg Free Wide, which are perfect in soup.

Dessert: I love Manischewitz Gluten Free Chocolate and Yellow Cake Mixes. They are a great gluten-free cake and the fact that they are kosher for Passover is just the cherry on top. But my favorite part of the Manischewitz cakes might just be that the pan is included.

Macaroons: Passover hasn’t even started and I have already gone through two containers of Streit’s chocolate chip macaroons. There is just something about these moist treats, whether coconut, chocolate, chocolate chip or toffee crunch. If you’re a red velvet lover like I am, Manischewitz Red Velvet Macaroons are a must, as is the Chocolate Macaroon Dough. I repeat: Chocolate Macaroon Dough. This dough is the mother of all Passover products. Pure genius. It comes in a tub—how fun—and makes 44 macaroons.

And what would Passover be without candy fruit slices? Original Sweet Shoppe offers gluten-free raspberry, orange & lemon fruit slices that are the perfect treat at your seder.

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Macaroons play at 10:30

Featuring The Macaroons live in concert plus Mad Science, storyteller Jordan Hill and authors Karen Fisman (An Adventure in Latkaland: A Hanukkah Story) and Lauri B. Rosen (creator of Children’s Chapter) with illustrator Bill Megenhardt (Pixie & Trixie Bug.)

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CLICK TO ENLARGE

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The Illusion of Redefining Thanksgiving Imagine that Germany won World War II and that a Nazi regime endured for some decades, eventually giving way to a more liberal state with a softer version of German-supremacist ideology. Imagine that a century later, Germans celebrated a holiday offering a whitewashed version of German/Jewish history that ignored that holocaust and the deep anti-Semitism of the culture. Imagine that the holiday provided a welcomed time for families and friends to gather and enjoy food and conversation. Imagine that businesses, schools and government offices closed on this day. What would we say about such a holiday? Would we not question the distortions woven into such a celebration? Would we not demand a more accurate historical account? Would we not, in fact, denounce such a holiday as grotesque? Now, imagine that left/liberal Germans — those who were critical of the power structure that created that distorted history and who in other settings would challenge the political uses of those distortions — put aside their critique and celebrated the holiday with their fellow citizens, claiming to ignore the meaning of the holiday created by the dominant culture. What would we say about such people? Would we not question their commitment to the principles they claim to hold? Would we not demand a more courageous politics? Comparisons to the Nazis are routinely overused and typically hyperbolic, but this is directly analogous. These are fair, albeit painful, questions for all of us. Left/liberals who want to claim they are rejecting that European-supremacist and racist use of Thanksgiving and "redefining" the holiday in private clearly avoid the obvious: We don't define holidays individually — the idea of a holiday is rooted in its collective, shared meaning. When the dominant culture defines a holiday in a certain fashion, one can't pretend to redefine it in private. One either accepts the dominant definition or resists it, publicly and privately. Of course people often struggle for control over the meaning of symbols and holidays, but typically we engage in such battles when we believe there is some positive aspect of the symbol or holiday worth fighting for. For example, Christians — some of whom believe that Christmas should focus on the values of universal love and world peace rather than on orgiastic consumption — may resist that commercialization and argue in public and private for a different approach to the holiday. Those people typically continue to celebrate Christmas, but in ways consistent with those values. In that case, people are trying to recover and/or reinforce something that they believe is positive because of values rooted in a historical tradition. Those folks struggle over the meaning of Christmas because they believe the core of Christianity is experienced through the people we touch, not the products we purchase. In that endeavor, Christians are arguing the culture has gone astray and lost the positive historical grounding of the holiday. But what is positive in the historical events that define Thanksgiving? What tradition are we trying to return to? I have no quarrel with designating a day (or days) that would allow people to take a break from our often manic work routines and appreciate the importance of community, encouraging all of us to be grateful for what we have. But if that is the goal, why yoke it to Thanksgiving Day and a history of celebrating European/white dominance and conquest? Trying to transform Thanksgiving Day into a true day of thanksgiving, it seems to me, is possible only by letting go of this holiday, not by remaining rooted in it. If there were a major shift in the culture and a majority of people could confront these historical realities, perhaps the last Thursday in November could be so transformed. But that shift and transformation are, to say the least, not yet here. For too long, I ignored these troubling questions. To get along, I went along. I buried my concerns to avoid making trouble. But in recent years that has become more difficult. So, this year I want to acknowledge my past failures to raise these issues and commit not only to renouncing Thanksgiving publicly but also to refusing to participate in any celebration of it privately.

Make People Comfortable by Engaging or by Disengaging Obviously there are people in the United States — indigenous and otherwise — who do not celebrate Thanksgiving or who mark it, in private and/or in public, as a day of mourning. Also obvious is that there are people who may not have a family or community with which they celebrate such holidays; it's important to remember that there are people on such holidays who are alone and/or lonely, and to them these political questions may seem irrelevant. But for those of us who do get invited to traditional Thanksgiving Day dinners, how do we remain true to our stated political and moral principles? I think we have two choices. We can go to the Thanksgiving gatherings put on by friends and family, determined to raise these issues and willing to take the risk of alienating those who want to enjoy the day without politics. Or, we can refuse to go to such a gathering and make it known why we're not attending, which means taking the risk of alienating those who want to enjoy the day without politics. This year, I've decided to disengage and explain why to the people who invited me. These are people I love, yet who have made a different decision. My love for them has not diminished, and I trust the conversation with them about this and other political/moral questions will continue. Once I make that decision, of course I also have the option of participating in a public event that resists Thanksgiving. I'm not aware of one happening in my community, and because of commitments to other political projects I didn't feel I could organize an effective event in time for this Thanksgiving Day. But on the assumption that others may feel this way, I have started thinking about what kind of public gathering could make such a political statement effectively, and in the future I hope to find others who are interested in such an event locally. So, what will I do on Thanksgiving Day this year? I'll probably spend part of the day alone. Maybe I'll take a long walk and think about all this. I'll try to be kind and decent to the people I bump into during the day. I'll miss the company of friends and family who are gathering, and I'll try to reflect on why I've made this choice and why this question matters to me. I'll think about why others made the choices they made. But this year, whatever I do, I won't celebrate Thanksgiving. I'm going to let that parade pass me by.

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John Edward After a brief stint as a ballroom dancing instructor, John Edward found his niche as a conduit to the otherworldy on Crossing Over, which ran from 1999 to 2004, and on his new show John Edward Cross Country. We’re inclined to like him because he’s patient, warm, and sympathetic, but we're still not convinced he’s for real. Luckily, 20/20 conducted a hard-hitting investigation into this pressing national issue:

Walter Mercado Looking like an older, whiter Prince, Walter Mercado has been giving Latin Americans their horoscopes on the show Primer Impacto for decades. He is sweet, endearing, and his predictions all carry a grain of truth. We’re also big fans of his unbridled fashion sense. Two definite thumbs up. If you can speak Spanish, check out the clip below. If you can’t, just admire the haircut; he's admitted to spending $60,000 on a single cape. You can find more Mercado—including a video of him making a mystical salad—here.

Sonya Fitzpatrick Sonya Fitzpatrick, the Pet Psychic, diagnoses furry woes on Animal Planet. Her readings are very casual—she barely gives the animal time to, um, speak before launching into its story. But everything is more convincing in a British accent, especially one that sounds like it ought to be narrating a Peter Rabbit audiobook. Since she’s neither fake nor transcendent, we’ll give her one ambivalent thumb up. Here, she discovers that a Las Vegas snake is sick of showbiz:

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My uncle and his boyfriend have a Yom Kippur ritual: First they go to a nice lunch in Manhattan, and then they see a Broadway show. I’ve always loved that story because it’s so Jewish: They could go see The Producers or The Boy From Oz any time, but it wouldn’t be as special on any other day. Even for Jews with no interest in religion, the Day of Atonement has a kind of power.

You can find Broadway tickets here, but if you’re going to try to engage with the holiday on its own terms, you’re better off with our custom events listings. Pick your type—hippie, hipster, Super-Jew, intellectual, alternaparent, swinging single—and follow the links to find a Yom Kippur event tailored to your own needs.

Yom Kippur doesn’t let you get away with sitting passively in an audience, though: You’ve got to suffer. In “Should I Fast for Yom Kippur?” Sarah Goldstein’s ambivalence about fasting leads her to consult rabbis, doctors, and an eating disorder specialist in order to determine whether it really helps to give up food for 24 hours in the name of atonement. And in “My Failed Quest for Forgiveness,” Marty Beckerman humbles himself in front of nine people he’d previously offended, only to find that most had no interest in forgiving him.

If you do want your Yom Kippur filtered through the gentle gauze of pop culture, check out recommendations for atonement movies, music, and books by two Slate critics and a literary blogger. You can crank “If I Could Turn Back Time” whenever you want, but it just won’t mean as much on any other day.

Lastly, visit our atonement forum to tell us—anonymously, of course—about what actions you’re regretting from 5767. If you can confess online, then it’s not such a huge step to making things right with those you’ve wronged.

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Here then are 20 quasi-secular, mostly crypto-Christian pleas for forgiveness and pledges of reform – a perfect soundtrack for a nice Jewish boy or girl's Yom Kippur reckoning. There are two bona fide gospel songs, and one famous Jewish one. But even the secular love songs point toward a larger cosmic soul-cleansing: shut your eyes, maybe don't eat for a day, and Dean Martin's "Pardon (Perdoname)," Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry," and "Kol Nidre" all start sounding like the same song. It's hard to imagine a more succinct vow for the Day of Atonement than Usher's in his 2004 hit "Confessions." "Today," he sings, "is the day that I end all the lying and the playing and the bullshit."

[Note: you can download each song via iTunes. — ed.]

1. Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Forgive Me Lord and Try Me One More Time"

The great gospel singer-guitarist sings a love song to God, accompanying herself with guitar licks that Chuck Berry would make famous a decade later.

2. Lucinda Williams, "Get Right with God"

Williams promises to clean up her act, as hellfire nips at her heels: "I would burn the soles of my feet/Burn the palms of both my hands/If I could learn and be complete/If I could walk righteously again."

3. Solomon Burke, "Don't Give Up On Me"

The most touching song on the list, belted over a stately Memphis soul ballad arrangement by Philadelphia's greatest black chazzan.

4. Usher, "Confessions"

Usher's got a mistress. He bought her "a crib and a ride." He squires her around malls in Los Angeles while his girlfriend is at home in Atlanta. And he hates himself for it. A playa's confession, tinged with violent self-loathing: "I'm mad enough to punch me in my face."

5. Nick Lowe, "A Better Man"

An easygoing country & western ballad with ersatz-mariachi horns tooting gently in the background. But behind the nonchalance there is torment: "I'm in a prison built by my own hands/I pray at last I've found salvation/You make me want to be a better man."

6. Mad Professor, "Atonement Dub"

Psychedelic dub, with a violin lurching beautifully amid the percussion clatter. Up ahead, through the billowing ganja smoke, is that the face of a forgiving God?

7. Dean Martin, "Pardon (Perdoname)"

The melody is lovely, the strings weep and sigh, and silken-voiced Dino — one of history's biggest and most irresistible cads – almost sounds sincere.

8. Aventura, "I'm Sorry"

Girl, the Bronx-based kings of hip-hop-bachata are really, really sorry. In two languages. "I know I played you/I know I messed up/That was retarded/Es la veridad."

9. The Platters, "I'm Sorry" (1957)

In 1957, few wronged lovers could resist this lush appeal for one more chance. Fantastic vocal by lead Platter Cornell Gunter.

10. Brenda Lee, "I'm Sorry" (1960)

The young heartbreakers are the worst. One of the all-time great teenybopper anthems, sung with torchy exuberance by 14-year-old Brenda Lee. There's something almost evil about Lee's drawling, spoken-word bridge. Stay away from that minx!

1. Marshall Crenshaw, "I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)" (1988)

A great meta-pseudo-apology, sung with an audible smirk by power-pop hero Marshall Crenshaw. 12. Josephine Baker, "(What Can I Say) After I Say I'm Sorry"

Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dean Martin all had hits with this roaring 20s anthem. But Jospehine Baker's sprightly recording might have captured the spirit best: one part regret to three parts regret-fatigue. Will you just accept my apology already?

13. Chicago, "Hard To Say I'm Sorry"

Maybe you made out to it at the 8th grade dance. You probably think it's one of the cheesiest songs ever recorded. By just try to resist its heart-tugging power of the money shot moment in the second chorus (2:50): "After all that we've been through/I will make it up to you/I promise to."

14. Akon, "Sorry, Blame It On Me"

Akon apologizes for offenses past, present, and – taking no chances – future. "As life goes on I'm starting to learn more and more about responsibility. And I realize that everything I do is affecting the people around me. So I want to take this time out to apologize for things that I've done – and things that haven't occurred yet."

15. Mickey Gilley, "I'll Make It All Up To You"

No genre s more atonement-obsessed than country. This honky-tonk rumbler, written by the great Charlie Rich, is a classic example of the form.

16. The Pretenders, "When I Change My Life" (Demo)

A brooding, guitar-heavy demo version of a song from The Pretender's 1987 Get Close album. "When I change my life/There'll be no more disgrace/The deeds of my past will be erased."

17. LL Cool J, "Love U Better"

"I'm gon' love you better, my mentality changed/From this day forward, I'll never be the same/I'm-a rub your lower back, share my dreams/I love you, let me show you what I mean."

18. Little Jimmy Scott, "Please Forgive Me"

Angel-voiced androgyne Jimmy Scott sings a torch song apology for the ages.

19. Cher, "If I Could Turn Back Time"

Try to forget the video – the one where Cher straddles a Navy battleship's cannon in a thong and garters– and just concentrate on the words. It's a prayer, people.

20. Johnny Mathis, "Kol Nidre"

The most beautiful of all Jewish sacred melodies, sung in bravura pop-operatic fashion. With accompaniment by forty-five full string orchestras.

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Pickpocket, Robert Bresson, France, 1959. Michel (Martin La Salle), an arrogant young thief just released from prison, trains under a legendary pickpocket after his mother dies. His young neighbor Jeanne (Marika Green) tries to save him from a life of petty crime, but he rebuffs her affections and flees to London to avoid arrest. The famous final scene, in which Jeanne visits a humbled Michel in prison, is one of the most radiantly transformative endings in movie history.

The Child, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium, 2005. All of the Dardenne brothers’ films deal, in one way or another, with betrayal and forgiveness, but L’Enfant is perhaps their rawest parable about the harm human beings inflict on each other. A shiftless, desperately poor young man, Bruno (Jérémie Renier) sells his newborn baby on the black market. When he informs the baby’s mother (Déborah François), she faints dead away—then stands up to inform him in no uncertain terms that he’s getting that baby back, or else. How far Bruno will go to find the child – and whether, even if he does, he will ever understand the moral consequences of his act – are the questions at the heart of this wrenching and rigorously unsentimental film.

The Straight Story, David Lynch, US, 1999. An old man (Richard Farnsworth) travels 300 miles on a tractor to visit the sick brother he hasn’t spoken to in 10 years. Quiet, lyrical and revelatory, this is a David Lynch movie for people who don’t like David Lynch (or have never heard of him.) It’ll also send you straight to the phone to call up everyone you thought you never wanted to speak to again.

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