As a wife with four children, her first thoughts on entertaining at Passover are of encouragement for busy people, and advice on family gatherings:

"There are likely to be children of all ages at the Seder. So, thinking of decor — this is not an occasion for your fine crystal and china."

The Seder tends to run late, too, another reason to de-emphasize the elaborateness of the setting, she says. "It's a night for being part of the family, not to end up in the kitchen with piles of dishes to wash."

In fact, she notes, there are some beautiful paper plates and disposable utensils available that would be a very acceptable way to go.

"This holiday is about so much more than the food, but you can still find creative ways to be informally elegant," she says. In her earlier book she suggested simple rose and ivy topiaries as table centerpieces, and she still recommends them. They last well, she points out: you can keep such a topiary on the table for the eight days of Passover, perhaps just replacing a rose or two as needed.

As she spoke from her New Jersey home, she was audibly in the midst of preparing a dinner party, setting her table.

"The idea for this new book came to me because, as I went around the country on book tours and talking to people, I found people's faces would light up when they described how they used my recipes for special occasions, when they had people in," she recalls. "They recounted this with such joy.

"It got me thinking — people really do like to open up their homes. When you're talking of occasions, there's nothing like doing it at home."

Her reassuring advice for hosts: Don't think you need to produce a 16-course meal. Just plan a simple menu and let casualness become the tone of the evening. "People arrive dressed up but then the jackets come off and it's just about who's in this room, once they sit down at the table and eat together. That's what makes it so special."

"Kosher by Design Entertains" offers recipes, advice and settings for a variety of occasions, from an engagement party to a picnic or a "just for guys" event. The book includes plenty of color photos.

Among its recipes is the following soup — a spring-like, low-pressure dish that you can make ahead — which Fishbein suggests for Seder menus:

Carrot coconut Vichyssoise
(meat, pareve or dairy)

• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 medium Idaho or russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 16 ounces baby carrots, or 2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 leek, sliced, white and pale-green parts only
• 1 shallot, diced
• Dash ground white pepper
• 2/3 cup coconut milk (see note)
• 1/2 cup soy milk or light cream (see note)

Balsamic garnish:

• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark molasses

Prepare the soup: Place the stock, potatoes, carrots, leek and shallot into a medium soup pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until vegetables are very tender.

Season with white pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes longer. Add the coconut milk. Remove from heat. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender right in the pot and puree for a full 3 minutes. Stir in the soy milk or light cream (or nondairy substitute).

Cool in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.

Prepare the garnish: Place the balsamic vinegar and molasses in a small pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low for 6 to 8 minutes, until reduced by half. Place in refrigerator; it will get thicker as it cools.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Then with the tip of a spoon, or a squirt bottle, add a swirl of the balsamic to each bowl.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

• Per serving: 200 calories, 8 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 700 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 5 g protein.

Note: Coconut milk, a thick, creamy mixture of coconut meat and water, is pareve, and kosher brands are available. Coconut milk is sold in cans and is different from cream of coconut, which is very sweet and used mostly for drinks. (The clear liquid inside a coconut is not coconut milk; it is called coconut juice.)

If you cannot find canned coconut milk, and are up to the task, you can make your own by cutting the meat of a small coconut into small chunks and pureeing them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over and let it sit for a half hour. Process again until smooth. Pour into a cheesecloth-lined bowl, squeezing out the milk into a bowl. (Use this within a few days or it will spoil.)

To make soup kosher for Passover, substitute a nondairy creamer.

This beet salad will win over people who don't like beets, Fishbein promises. The roasted beets become almost like beet chips, and an unusual aspect to this recipe is that you don't need to peel the beets. Cutting the beets on newspaper keeps the red from dyeing your kitchen pink, gloves keep it off your hands. If you can't find golden beets just double the amount of red beets.

Roasted beet salad
(pareve or dairy)

• 2 medium to large red beets, scrubbed but not peeled
• 2 medium to large golden beets, scrubbed but not peeled
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• 2 ounce frisee lettuce
• 3 ounces red leaf lettuce
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 ounces blue or gorgonzola cheese (optional for dairy meals)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice off the top and bottom of each beet. Slice into rounds as thin as possible, 1/4-inch thick or less. Drizzle each beet slice with olive oil, brushing it to evenly coat. Sprinkle with coarse salt and thyme. Place on prepared baking sheet. Roast 18 to 22 minutes, until the beets are soft, and slightly shrunken. The smaller or thinner beets will need to come out of the oven first so they don't burn. Set aside. Keep the colors separate as they will bleed otherwise.

Prepare the dressing: Using an immersion blender or with a whisk, combine the honey, mustard, orange juice, olive oil and balsamic or apple cider vinegar. Blend or whisk until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the frisee and red leaf lettuce leaves into a bowl and lightly dress, tossing to combine, reserving 6 teaspoons of the dressing.

Arrange the roasted beet slices in alternating colors in a single layer on each plate. Drizzle a scant teaspoon of the dressing over the beets. Place a tall mound of the greens in the center of each plate, allowing the beets to peek out. Sprinkle walnuts evenly over each plate. If using cheese, crumble over each mound of lettuce.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

• Per serving (not including olive oil and salt to taste): 320 calories, 26 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 8 g protein.

You can prepare the following dish with chicken parts as well. Lay the orange slices and sprigs of rosemary in your baking pan. Place the stuffed chicken pieces on top. Bake uncovered for one hour.

Roasted garlic chicken stuffed with dried fruits and nuts
(meat)

• 1 head garlic
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 10 to 12 dried apricots
• 5 dried mission figs
• 1/2 cup shelled, raw, unsalted pistachio nuts
• 1 whole (3- to 5-pound) chicken or pullet, washed and patted dry
• 1/2 orange, unpeeled, sliced
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• Kitchen twine
• 3 tablespoons margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Holding the head of garlic on its side, cut the top 1 or 2 inches off the top of the bulb to expose the cloves. Place the head in the center of a square of foil, on a small baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close the foil packet. Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, chop the apricots, dried figs and pistachios into very small pieces.

Loosen the skin of the chicken with your finger, going under the breasts, thighs and legs. Massage the fruit mixture under the skin, getting it into the cavities where the skin was loosened. Stuff the orange slices and the rosemary into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs closed with twine. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan; try not to let too much of the fruit and nuts drip out into the pan; they will burn.

When the garlic is soft and caramelized, remove it from the oven and squeeze the roasted garlic out of the skin. Rub it all over the outside of the chicken. Drizzle the margarine over the top of the chicken, letting it run down the sides.

Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting 2 or 3 times with the pan juices.

Makes 4 servings.

• Per serving (including 1 tablespoon olive oil but no salt to taste): 850 calories, 51 g total fat, 12 g saturated fat, 240 mg cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrates, 6 g fiber, 26 g sugar, 64 g protein.

For the following recipe for dressing up a plain baked potato, Fishbein offers "a neat trick for cutting the potatoes so that you cut even slices but don't cut through to the bottom. Place the potato into a wooden spoon. The sides of the spoon will keep you from cutting through."

Hasselback potatoes
(pareve)

• 8 small Idaho baking potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes
• 8 garlic cloves, sliced into thin slivers
• Sea salt
• Coarse black pepper
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using a sharp or electric knife starting at one end and going to the other end, cut deep slits (about 3/4 of the way through the potato) on top of each potato, 1/8 inch apart, being careful not to cut all the way to the bottom. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Place a garlic sliver into each slit. Sprinkle each potato with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake 1 hour, baste with the pan oil and then bake for another 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft.

Makes 8 servings.

• Per serving (including 1 tablespoon olive oil per potato and 1 teaspoon salt): 260 calories, 14 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 3 g protein.

These pretty little yellow truffles are a nice way to end a meal.

Pineapple truffles
(pareve)

• 1 1/4 cup firmly packed sweetened flaked coconut
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 medium pineapple, ripe
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 4 large egg yolks

In a blender or food processor fitted with a metal blade, process 1/4 cup coconut with 1/4 cup sugar. Remove to a bowl or ziplock bag. Set aside.

Cut the pineapple out of the shell. Discard core and cut the flesh into chunks. Puree pineapple in blender or food processor. Transfer the pureed pineapple to a medium pot. Mix in 1 cup coconut, 1/2 cup sugar, and the confectioner's sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook until all the liquid evaporates, about 30 to 35 minutes, stirring often to make sure the mixture is not browning on the bottom. If the mixture is starting to brown, lower heat slightly and stir more often. The mixture will turn a dark golden color. Turn off the heat.

Remove 1/2 cup of the pineapple mixture and mix it into the egg yolks to temper them. Add the tempered yolks to the pot and mix, back on the heat, until dry and pulling away from the sides of the pot, about 5 minutes.

Place the pot in the freezer and chill completely.

Remove the pineapple mixture from the freezer. Using a tiny melon baller or ¥-teaspoon measure, make balls. Roll balls in the coconut-sugar that was blended in the first step. If the truffles get too sticky to roll, place the mixture back in the freezer for a few minutes.

Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and place in freezer. Once frozen, store in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper. Return truffles to freezer.

Serve right from the freezer or place in little paper candy cups or on a platter 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 50 to 60 truffles.

• Per serving: 40 calories, 1 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrates, 0 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 0 g protein.