20 Modern Passover Recipes For Your Seder Feast (2024)

We love this recipe, because it pressure cooks in 5 minutes and simultaneously steams the rice on top of the tomatoey, spicy chicken. Score! We like buying Trader Joe's naan in the freezer section and toasting it in the oven, slathered with plenty of turmeric-y ghee. You can also spread butter and sprinkle on a little powdered turmeric as well.

Recipe Notes: Use chicken breast or thighs — dark and white meat turn out lovely in this recipe. Specialty spices like Kashmiri red chile powder and fenugreek leaves can be ordered online or found at Indian supermarkets or healthy grocery stores. Sugar, although optional, is recommended as it will cut through the acidity of the tomatoes. We added coconut sugar to our version.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved and patted dry
• 1 cup canned tomato puree
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder or another mild red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup canned coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
• 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Select the high Sauté setting on the Instant Pot and heat the ghee. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot. Add the chicken, tomato puree, water, ginger, garlic, chili powder, salt, garam masala, and turmeric and stir to combine.

To make the rice: In a 1 1/2-quart stainless-steel bowl that will fit in the Instant Pot, stir together the rice, water, and salt. Place a tall steam rack in the pot, making sure its legs are resting on the bottom. Place the bowl of rice on the rack.

Secure the lid and set the Pressure Release to Sealing. Select the Pressure Cook or Manual setting and set the cooking time for 5 minutes at high pressure.

Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then move the Pressure Release to Venting to release any remaining steam. Open the pot. Using heat-resistant mitts, place the bowl of rice on a trivet and remove the tall steam rack.

Add to the pot the coconut cream, tomato paste, fenugreek, and sugar and stir to combine. Select the high Sauté setting and cook until the curry comes to a boil and is heated through, about 2 minutes. Press the Cancel button to turn off the Instant Pot.

Spoon the rice onto plates and ladle the curry over the top. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve the most delicious instant pot butter chicken you've ever made!

Image via Warner Bros. Entertainment

This follow-up to Tim Burton's original Beetlejuice stars Jenna Ortega as Astrid, the daughter of Winona Ryder's iconic character Lydia. We don't have too many plot details about this fall movie, but considering Jenna promises Astrid is weird, it's safe to assume the movie plot will be just as strange as the original.

Beetlejuice 2 hits theaters September 6, 2024 and stars Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Willem Dafoe, and Justin Theroux.

Transformers One — In Theaters September 13, 2024

Image via Paramount Pictures

Given the success of Barbie and the latest Transformers movie (not to mention the fact we're getting Polly Pocket and Sims movies too!), toy-themed films will always be a good idea. This fall movie serves as an origin story between two characters we know and love — Optimus Prime and Megatron — and traces how they went from friends to enemies.

Transformers One is in theaters September 13 and stars Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Jon Hamm, Laurence Fishburne, and Keegan-Michael Key.

​The Wild Robot — In Theaters September 20, 2024

Image via Universal Pictures

Roz is a robot who gets shipwrecked on a deserted island. In an effort to adapt to its surroundings, Roz begins to form relationships with the animals it meets — including an orphaned (and very cute) baby goose. Watch The Wild Robot trailer here.

You can watch The Wild Robot in theaters September 20. The fall movie stars Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Matt Berry, Kit Connor, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, and Ving Rhames.

Joker: Folie à Deux — In theaters October 4, 2024

Image via Warner Bros. Entertainment

Harley Quinn is back, and this time she's played by Lady Gaga (when can we get a reunion with Margot Robbie à la Spiderman: No Way Home?). Lady Gaga will star opposite Joaquin Phoenix's Joker and based on the first shots from the film, I'm going to be on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Joker 2 hits theaters October 4 and stars Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix, Zazie Beetz, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Harry Lawtey.

Venom: The Last Dance—In theaters October 25, 2024

"Venom: Let Their Be Carnage" image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Speaking of Spider-Man, we're getting another chapter in the Venom saga with Venom: The Last Dance. We know (thanks to the end of Venom 2) that this movie series has hopped on the multiverse train — and that Venom now knows about Peter Parker. This does not bode well for our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Venom 3 hits theaters October 25 and stars Tom Hardy, Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Clark Backo.

Gladiator 2 — In Theaters November 22, 2024

Image via Universal Pictures/Paramount Pictures

Paul Mescal headlines this huge blockbuster as Lucius, the son of the late Maximus (played by Russell Crowe in the original 2000 film), opposite Joseph Quinn and Pedro Pascal (who we'll see next year in Fantastic Four). So, I see your iconic "Are you not entertained?" and I raise you, "How are you not entertained?"

Gladiator 2 hits theaters November 22 and stars Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, and Derek Jacobi.

Moana 2 — In Theaters November 27, 2024

Image via Disney

This new Disney movie will see the return of Moana and Maui as they go on a brand new adventure. I didn't know anything could be crazier than returning the Heart of Te Fiti, but Moana 2 will see these beloved characters go on a quest across Oceania — to a part of the ocean.

Moana 2 premieres November 27 and stars Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwane Johnson.

Image via Universal Pictures

One of this year's final fall movies is one of my most-anticipated. Jon M. Chu's follow-up to In The Heights and Crazy Rich Asians follows the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West, and has some majorly important themes about judgement, prejudice, and standing up for what's right. This movie couldn't come at a better time.

You can watch Wicked in theaters November 27, 2024. The movie stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, and Keala Settle.

Though you’d never guess it from the look of her colorful treats, Arlyn didn’t grow up cooking. As she describes it, going all-out for everyday meals wasn’t exactly her parents’ thing.

“Cooking was something that was mostly reserved for special occasions like holidays, birthdays, celebrations, that sort of thing,” she says. “It just wasn't worth the trouble to them. Most of our meals were just fast food or frozen Kids Cuisine dinners.”

Arlyn says her childhood was “dysfunctional,” and this detachment from food was just a small part of the picture. Despite an absence of physical affection and frequent “I love you”s at home, Arlyn let her undying love for Food Network and a strong sweet tooth sweep her away into the culinary world.

After years of working in food styling and production, writing about food, and developing recipes, Arlyn’s using her first cookbook to communicate her passion for cooking and baking, as well as carry on the legacy of Filipino food to ultimately find her place in it all.

“I think over the years, I have become sometimes a little uncomfortable to say some of the things I wish I could say out loud,” she says. “For me, food is the way for me to say those things without actually saying them.”

About The Recipes

Sugarcane: Sweet Recipes from My Half-Filipino Kitchen by Arlyn Osborne

Flipping through the recipes in Sugarcane, you may see a few ingredients that aren’t very common in Western cooking listed – like pandan, tamarind, ube, calamansi, star fruit, mochi, and rambutan – but there’s familiarity in each one of them.

Arlyn wrote Sugarcane for both people who are familiar with Filipino food, and those who are not. Either way, the recipes will guide you to greatness.

“I get that it can be a little intimidating for people to try out ingredients or desserts they've never heard of before, but I do think that people should know that if they're cooking from my cookbook, they’re going to be okay,” she says. “I think everyone’s going to feel that they're personified in each recipe a little bit.”

From The Book: Ube Coconut Cake

Arlyn’s Ube Coconut Cake recipe pulls inspiration from ube cake (the “crown jewel” when it comes to Filipino cake) and lucious coconut cakes from the American South. Ube halaya, which is essentially an ube jam, is the star of the coconut cake recipe, lending a gorgeous purple hue to the tender layers. Everything gets sandwiched in between and smothered in a sweet coconut icing *so* yummy, you’ll quickly see why Arlyn makes it every year for her birthday.

Ingredients for Ube Coconut Cake

Ube Cake

• 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ cup (186 g) ube halaya, at room temperature
• 2 ¼ cups (450 g) granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon ube paste
• 1 ½ cups (360 g) buttermilk
• 1 ½ cups (315 g) neutral oil

Coconut Frosting

• Two 16 oz. (454 g) containers sour cream
• 4 cups (800g) granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 14 cups (700g) unsweetened shredded coconut

How to Make Ube Coconut Cake

For the Ube Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
3. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk, add the ube halaya and beat until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until combined but not creamed. The sugar should look moist, crumbly, and purple.
4. Add the eggs and ube paste and beat on medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the buttermilk and oil and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
5. Sift in half of the flour mixture and whisk by hand until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
7. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Run a small offset spatula around the perimeter to loosen the edges. Invert the cakes onto the wire rack. Remove the parchment and invert again onto wire racks so they sit right side up. Let cool completely.

For the Coconut Frosting

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, add the sour cream, sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed until combined. Add a third of the coconut and beat on low speed until combined. Repeat two more times.

To assemble

1. Place one cake layer (top side up) on a cake plate. Top with 2 cups (450 g) of frosting and spread evenly. Top with the second cake layer (bottom side up).
2. Cover the top evenly with 2 ½ (560 g) cups of frosting. Use the remaining frosting for the sides. Wrapt the cake all over with plastic wrap so it touches the frosting directly and protects the cake from air. Refrigerate overnight. As it sits, both the cake layers and coconut shreds will soak up excess moisture from the frosting.
3. Let the cake sit out at room temperature for 1 hour to take the chill off before serving. Due to the nature of the frosting, it's best to use a serrated knife to “saw” through the cake into slices.

When is Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) coming out?

Image via Haley Sprankle/Brit + Co

At one of her recent Eras Tour shows, Taylor Swift made a joke that she was going to play a song from her discography that was "175 years old." Swifties immediately began doing the math, and there are two particular dates this number could point to: May 17 and August 2. Let me explain.

Taylor doesn't mess around when it comes to numbers, so fans plugged the potential Easter egg into the calendar and realized that August 2 was 175 days from that particular concert date. Since Taylor played "The Outside," a song off the album, I think this could be a clue to when we're getting the rerecording of Taylor Swift's first album.

As @13tywilson points out, May 17 is also a viable option for the Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) release because in some areas of the world, you write the date as 17/5 instead of 5/17 like we do in America. May 17, 2007 is the date Taylor was awarded her first gold record for Debut (TV) *and* when she sang her surprise songs (in a green dress — the color for the Debut era!), she chose "Come In With The Rain" (track 17 off Fearless (TV)) and "You're On Your Own Kid" (track 5 from Midnights).

It might seem crazy to read that much into surprise songs, but remember when she announced Joey King and Taylor Lautner were in her new music video after singing "A Place In This World" and "Today Was A Fairytale" (which were featured in their respective movies?) I don't put anything past Taylor at this point.

Will there be a Taylor's version of her debut album?

Image via Evan Agostini/Getty Images

Yes, we're getting a Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)! Taylor Swift has said she's rerecording all her old albums, and her debut album is one I've really been looking forward to. While Red (TV) paints a picture of romanticism and heartbreak and 1989 (TV) captures the freedom of being young, Debut is all about connecting with your roots and looking back on first loves. And with songs like "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No," it's clear Taylor had no patience for men who wasted her time, even in 2006!

What songs will Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) have?

Image via Big Machine Records

We don't know how many bonus tracks Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) will have, but here's the tracklist from the original deluxe album. I'm really hoping we get "Crazier (Taylor's Version)" and maybe "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home (Taylor's Version)." Both of these songs were in Hannah Montana: The Movie and I unashamedly love them.

1. "Tim McGraw"
2. "Picture to Burn"
3. "Teardrops on My Guitar"
4. "A Place in This World"
5. "Cold as You"
6. "The Outside"
7. "Tied Together with a Smile"
8. "Stay Beautiful"
9. "Should've Said No"
10. "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)"
11. "Our Song"
12. "I'm Only Me When I'm with You"
13. "Invisible"
14. "A Perfectly Good Heart"
15. Taylor Swift's 1st Phone Call with Tim McGraw

What will debut Taylor's version be called?

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Considering all of Taylor Swift's rerecordings have the same name as the original album, it's safe to assume the Debut rerecording will be called Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version). Another piece of evidence supporting this is the fact that she named the Speak Now rerecording Speak Now (Taylor's Version).

It's widely thought that Taylor originally wanted the album to be called Enchanted, so some Swifties wondered whether the rerecording would be called Enchanted (TV). But since Taylor went with Speak Now (TV), it's clear she's making the new versions of her albums as close to the original as she can.

Why does Taylor Swift have a Taylor's version?

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After Scooter Braun sold her music catalogue to Shamrock Holdings for $405 million, Taylor Swift decided to rerecord her first five albums so she'd be able to own her music. So, anything with (Taylor's Version) beside it means that Taylor Swift owns it! That includes the songs on Fearless (Taylor's Version), Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version), 1989 (Taylor's Version), and soon, Reputation (Taylor's Version) and Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version).