Passover Matzoh Ball Soup

When I make this as a main course, I serve the chicken in sixths with the skin and bone. I will often add kasha (toasted buckwheat groats) or noodles and leave the vegetables in bigger pieces so the dish is more like a poulet pot au feuthan a first course for Passover seder.”Andrew Zimmern
For 40 years I looked high and low for the best matzoh ball recipe, but nothing measured up to my grandmother's until I discovered Susan's, an old family friend. After a Passover seder at her house 20 years ago, I begged for this recipe and finally she gave it to me. It's the perfect balance for a matzoh ball: light enough to float, dense enough to be a good "sinker." I can now die in peace knowing I have achieved what every Jewish man should for his family: a roof over their heads and a nice chicken-soup-and-matzoh-ball recipe. We eat this meal year-round, and we call it chicken-in-the-pot. When I make it as a main course, I serve the chicken in sixths with the skin and bone. I will often add kasha (toasted buckwheat groats) or noodles and leave the vegetables in bigger pieces so the dish is more like a poulet pot au feu than a first course for Passover seder. For the uninformed, the seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is held at sundown on the 14th day of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar and on the 15th by observant Jews living outside Israel. That means late March or April for most of us. The meal involves a retelling of the liberation of the Israelites from their bondage in ancient Egypt. It's basically Thanksgiving for Jews, and it's my favorite holiday of the year.--Andrew Zimmern