We already know that there are a lot of "commandments" that govern the Jewish holiday of Passover, which will be starting tomorrow evening. Many of are strict dietary rules. The first two nights of Passover are the most important because Jews hold a religious service in their homes with friends and family around the dinner table called the Seder. The Seder is a time when the Passover story is told from a book called the haggadah, and explains why the holiday even exists.

The word "seder" means "order," indicating that there is an "order" in which 15 things, or steps, take place. If you didn't figure it out by now, the Seder dinner can take a very long time. There are very detailed steps that include blessings, hand washings, asking of questions and recitals of answers, and storytelling.

Though we are not Jewish, my daughter attends a Jewish preschool. This week, in preparation for Passover, her school has been sending home wonderful hand-outs full of activities on how to celebrate and honor this holiday.

My favorite hand-out, of course, was the one with five pages of Passover recipes including these matzah recipes.  These would be fun to do with kids if you've got 'em.

Chocolate Matzah
1 large package chocolate chips
1 tbsp margarine
4 matzah

Melt chocolate and margarine over low heat. Stir to prevent burning. Break matzah into pieces and stir into chocolate. Cover a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Pour chocolate matzah mixture onto waxed paper. Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and flatten with a rolling pin. Refrigerate. When mixture hardens, peel off waxed paper and break chocolate into pieces.

Let's talk about Passover.

First off, technically, I'm not Jewish. However, you might as well call me Sarah J. Gimstein. I spent much of my childhood in a suburb that had a fairly big Jewish population, so most of my friends were Jewish. While my own mother never made matzo ball soup for me at home, I certainly got my fair share of matzo (oh, how I loved matzo smeared with butter) and latkes at friends' houses after school and on the weekends. And holidays? I knew all about the holidays when I would enviously wonder what my Jewish friends were doing on "their" holidays, absent from school. Lucky!

This recipe is taken from the New Jewish Holiday Cookbook by Gloria Kaufer Greene. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the delicious recipes in this book. It's a wonderful addition to my cookbook collection.

Green says one of the best things about this recipce is that "it makes a lot of servings in a minimum of space." It can also be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. It is one of Greene's favorite Seder dishes.

Orange-Glazed Chicken Breasts

Greene's note: Orange marmalade is generally available kosher.

1 1/2 cups matzah meal
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 to 4 extra-large egg whiles or 2 large eggs or 1/2 cup pareve egg substitute
3-4 pounds boned and skinned chicken breast halves (about 12)
1 12 ounce jar orange marmalade
1 cup white table wine (the type is your choice)
3 tablespoons canola or safflower oil