078 A Passover Episode With Challah Champ Marissa Wojcik

Welcome, listeners!

This is a Holy Week for many religions, and I AM so excited that we are sneaking in this Passover episode just two days before the end of Passover. We welcome Marissa Wojcik today, who burst onto the Jewish baking scene at the beginning of Covid by creating and sharing a brand new Challah recipe every week. A few loaves incorporate expected flavors (like Milk, Honey, & Turmeric) but many are wildly adventurous like Porn Star Martini- flavored Challah, which she made to remember special times in London with her cousins.

In today's episode, we discuss the significance of the Sedar meal, Marissa’s two grandmother's - one welcomed at Ellis Island, the other rejected by the U.S. at its borders - plus, another sojourner who was tricked by his brothers, and the way Marissa offended 7 Jewish grandmothers in one fell swoop. We even tackle the question “What does it mean to be Jewish?” (Spoiler alert - It depends!)

This is a great one - my family sat in the car when we pulled into the driveway, just to finish listening!

Highlights

The food items on the Sedar plate and their symbolism
Why Marissa includes the unorthodox orange on her Sedar plate
Marissa's Passover memories
Making brisket for the first time with 6 other friends - and managing to offend all 7 grandmothers!
33 Challah recipes and counting
How her great-great-great uncle ended up in the UK (rather than America)
Reformed, Orthodox, Ashkenazi, Sephardic - What does it mean to be Jewish?
The Holocaust and Reformed Judaism - What do they have to do with one another?