Not Your Grandma’s Honey Cake
September 2, 2004
Conventional wisdom on the subject maintains that if honey cakes are removed from the oven at exactly the right time –whatever that is — the dreaded dryness will be avoided.
Linda Morel
Sorrel Helps Liven Up Neglected Schav
May 6, 2004
\”Mother used to leave jars full of schav in the refrigerator,\” says a friend of mine. \”Because the stuff looked like seaweed, I would run from the kitchen in horror.\”
Thanksgiving’s Sukkot Roots
November 20, 2003
Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday?
Getting Stuffed on Sukkot
October 9, 2003
\”The most common Sukkot dishes are filled foods, particularly stuffed vegetables and pastries, symbolizing the bounty of the harvest,\” wrote chef Rabbi Gil Marks in his cookbook, \”The World of Jewish Entertaining\” (Simon & Schuster, 1998).
Over the centuries, Jewish cooks have gutted and chopped nearly every edible plant species, mixing the pulp with onions, breadcrumbs, matzah meal, meat, spices and assorted vegetables and fruit. They then stuffed these aromatic concoctions inside the vegetables\’ cavities, roasting them to create heavenly results.
During the weeklong celebration of Sukkot, people eat their meals in a sukkah, or temporary hut, and holiday recipes call for seasonal produce.
It’s Passover Time Down Under, Mate
April 3, 2003
Because Australia is situated below the equator, its seasons rebel against the Jewish calendar. Our winter is their summer; our spring their fall. Although Passover\’s rituals and symbols resonate spring, the holiday is celebrated in autumn Down Under.
\”Passover begins just as the temperature drops, days grow shorter, and grapevines lose their leaves,\” said Jenni Neumann, a New Yorker who grew up in Sydney. \”It\’s rather odd, if you\’re not used to it, I guess.\”
A Great Party Happened Here
November 28, 2002
"Entertaining is a lot like gardening," Linda Burghardt said. "You can\’t make mistakes."
Kindle Lights, Rekindle Traditions
November 28, 2002
>"The sizzle of latkes in the kitchen, the glow of Chanukah candles in the window, the sounds of children playing with dreidels," these are what most of us associate with Chanukah celebrations, said Linda Burghardt, the author of "Jewish Holiday Traditions" (Citadel Press, 2001).
Leftovers Just the Dish for Chanukah
November 21, 2002
\”I was searching for Chanukah on my calendar and couldn\’t find it in the month of December,\” said Jennifer Felicia Abadi, author of \”A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes From Grandma Fritzie\’s Kitchen\” (Harvard Common, $24.95)
Who could have guessed that this year Chanukah starts in November — the day after Thanksgiving?
\”Can\’t we spread these holidays out a bit?\” Abadi said. \”It\’s not fair,\”
This merging of secular and religious holidays leaves many Jewish families in a quandary. Should they skip Thanksgiving in favor of Chanukah? Should they gather for celebrations two nights in a row? Because Thanksgiving comes first, will it overshadow the Festival of Lights? Because the first night of Chanukah falls on a Shabbat, doesn\’t it deserve special attention?
When Everything Goes to Pot
September 12, 2002
In America, the land of excess calories, boiled chicken has a bad reputation. People much prefer their chicken fried, barbecued or sautéed.
A Feast From Jewish Tunisia
August 29, 2002
magine a Rosh Hashana table adorned with fruits and vegetables galore. Ruby-red pomegranates beckon; their jellied seeds symbolize your good deeds in the coming year. A bowl of crunchy sesame seeds promises that your virtues will be as numerous as the seeds themselves. You partake of pumpkins and squash for protection; you nibble on olives and fava beans, too. To keep enemies away, you sample spinach and beet greens. You taste tantalizing dishes seasoned with garlic and leeks, believed to cancel your bad deeds. And to guarantee a sweet year, you delight in figs, quince, dates — and apples soaked in honey.
[authorpage]
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.