My, my, my - it has been really quiet around here lately! That can happen when the primary writers for a blog are paid to do a job that isn’t to write about food. (Oh, how I wish I had that job!) On behalf of Jabbett and myself, I’d like to apologize for the lack of new posts. We’re hoping that circumstances will allow us to be more involved in the near future. Moving on….

Pesach 5768 was an interesting one, wasn’t it? Let’s see…

• Early on, Manischewitz announced that there weren’t going to be any KFP Tam-Tams this year. Riots were narrowly averted.
• In parts of the US, there were Matzah shortages. Even if there wasn’t a shortage in your area, the rising price of wheat probably affected your Matzah purchase.
• MargarineGate ‘08! KFP stick margarine became a rare commodity, as Mother’s brand decided not to produce any this year, leaving Haolam 1 lb. blocks as the only option. Pesach bakers frantically searched for supplies of the treasured trans-fat. (I found a source, and immediately bought 14 pounds of margarine, which was shared among my family. 5 pounds are going in the freezer for next year.)
• As with every year, KFP Coke flies off the shelves, since soda aficionados believe that cane sugar sweetened soda tastes better. I’m a die-hard diet-cola drinker, so I can’t say.
• The Susie Fishbein Empire grows larger, as (possibly) the most popular Pesach cookbook ever, hits the shelves. 100+ reformulated recipes, 30 new recipes. More on that later. The NY Times interviews her. Non-KFP Celiacs buy the book for the wheat-free recipes.
• I’m saying that Quinoa for Pesach has hit the mainstream, as Ms. Fishbein included 2 recipes with it in her book. I’ve had it on Pesach for a few years now. This year I tried to make Quinoa Sushi, but couldn’t get it to hold together. But Hadar brand KFP soy sauce (and teriyaki) was available to season it right. Naturally, it had no soy in it whatsover.
• Chef Hung cooked for the Pesach Seders at Solo. Did anyone hear how that went?

And, looking forward…

• This is the weekend to bake your Shlissel-Challah.
• Arthur Schwartz’s Jewish Home Cooking is a great cookbook. I hope to have a full review up soon.
• Speaking of reviews, I have a lot to say about the aforementioned Passover by Design, and Susie Fishbein.
• September 7th, 2008 is the date for the 20th annual ASBEE/Kroger Kosher BBQ Competition.

Hopefully, I’ll be writing more in the near future. Until then, feel free to contribute your Pesach stories…

As per usual, the Wall Street Journal (link) and New York Times (link) featured kosher wines in their wine pages recently. I will let them speak for themselves, for the most part, but I am happy that these columns left the usual refrain (”This isn’t your parents pancake syrup…err…Manischewitz anymore”). Eric Asimov, in the Times almost belittles those who write-off this growing section of the wine market.

I was glad that Dalton was well represented and well reviewed. That’s hardly a new development, but I remain a fan of most of their wines and recently attended a tasting run by Alex Haruni, Dalton’s owner. In addition to all of their single grape wines, which are great, I recommend the Alma, a Cab-Merlot blend, that I have had a few opportunities to try. It is a very drinkable wine that will certainly go well with anything on your seder table. I was also happy to see Galil’s Yiron ‘03 on the NYT list. I have loved the Yiron for the past few years, so I like to see it get good press.

I also recently attended the annual Kosher Wine Extravaganza at the Jewish Center on the Upper Westside, run by Gotham Wines & Liquors. As I mentioned to a number of people there, an event like that, with hundreds of wines, is too overwhelming to write about cogently. And then I misplaced my notes. Anyway, a few of the noteworthy wines were:
- Tabor’s Adama line: I won’t say that I loved these wines, but I think it’s great that an Israeli kosher wine is giving consumers the opportunity to taste and compare the effects of terroir on wine. The line features volcanic, chalk and clay soil, among others. From the few that I tasted, the differences were very dramatic. Of course, there are other factors that might explain this and I’ll allow for the gimmick factor, but I welcome this addition to the market
- Recanati Cabernet Franc: I wish I had my tasting notes for this. This wine was specifically recommended to me and I really enjoyed it. It’s 100% Cabernet Franc and may be the first such wine from Israel. For those who want to expose their palates to something a bit different, it’s worth picking up a bottle or two.
- Chateau Leoville Poyferre: I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about French wines, but that is one of the great things about an event like this. I could taste a number of French (and fairly expensive) wines. The Leoville is already wonderful and will be great over the next several years.

If I find my notes, I will add to this post, but for now I leave you with these and wish you a chag sameach!

As previously reported, Hung Huynh (winner of Top Chef Season 3) spent the last month as the executive chef of Solo, an upscale Kosher eatery in NYC. My wife and I made dinner reservations for our wedding anniversary. We put our palates in the hands of Chef Huynh, and ordered the tasting menu. (That’s 4 courses + dessert. Tax, tip & wine extra). Our courses consisted of:

• a Duet of Bigeye Tuna. Seared and spiced and tartar. With hearts of palm, avocado and tomato vinaigrette.
• Grilled Turbot on Oyster Mushrooms, with Roasted Fish Jus.
• 5 Spice Braised Veal Tongue. Apple Parsnip Puree, Cubed Beet.
• Roasted Blank Angus Filet. Carrot Puree, Cipollini Onions, Red-Wine Beef Reduction.

Our desserts were made by Solo’s regular pastry chef, and were amazing as always. I had the Jack Daniel’s Mousse and my wife had the Sticky Toffee Pudding.

The food was absolutely amazing. We found each course perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. The accompaniments were too small to qualify as side-dishes, but their flavor always complemented the entree. Chef Huynh spent much of the evening coming around to tables, posing for photos and signing autographs. I’m not ashamed to say I got my menu signed.

One can only hope that other well known fine-dining chefs give Kosher consumers a chance to sample their cooking.

On Tuesday, I attended the Finals for the 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff, here in NY. Thousands of entries were whittled down to 6 contestants from across the country:

• Evan Levy from Danville,CA, Southwestern Potato Kugel
• Joy Devor from Far Rockaway, NY, Fantastic Flounder Rolls
• Joe Carver from Philadelphia, PA, Falafel Pizza
• Julie Hession from Las Vegas, NV, Beef Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce
• Greg Fontenot from The Woodlands, TX, Chicken in Balsamic Cherry Sauce
• Tracy Rapp from Memphis, TN, Southern Smothered Burgers

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting article discussing Israeli wine (kudos to the IsRealli blog for the link), but focusing on Domaine du Castel’s owner/founder, Eli-Gilbert Ben Zaken. The article gives a good quick history of the changes in the Israeli wine market due to the changes in the Israeli economy and travel habits of Israelis.

For those who have not yet tasted their wines, Domaine du Castel is doing great work that has been recognized globally. Robert Parker recently did a survey of Israeli wines (both kosher and non-) and the wines did very well, with many scores in the 80s and 90s. (articles: Israel21c; HaKerem 1, 2). Of course, the value of objective numeric scores for wine is highly debatable and Robert Parker has been at the head of that controversy since he started publishing Wine Advocate. The point, though, is that Israeli wines are increasingly on the world wine map and that can only be a good thing for quality.

I will hopefully have the time soon to write up my notes from the recent Galil Mountain Winery tasting that I attended as part of the Kosher Wine Society. They remain some of my favorite Israeli wines.

I look forward to the upcoming Pesach wine articles and events and will post what I can.

A few Top Chef related news items made it into my inbox this week. (If you don’t already know, Top Chef is a reality-show on the Bravo network, where chefs compete for the title of ‘Top Chef’. It’s great fun, in my opinion.)

First, came the article about Ilan Hall (winner of the 2nd season), facing off against the executive chef of the University of Michigan Hillel, Emil Bloch, in a “Dorm Room Challenge“. After a little searching, and I found that this wasn’t Ilan’s first time cooking for a Hillel event. In April 2007, he was at the Fiedler Hillel Center at Northwestern University, cooking for the students. To be honest, I didn’t like him very much as a contestant, but I think that doing these sort of events is a really nice gesture.

Next, the New York Times is reporting that Hung Huynh, the winner of the Top Chef title in the 3rd season, will be doing a one month stint as the executive chef at restaurant Solo in NY, starting March 2nd. You may recall the KosherBlog review of Solo, after KosherFest 2006. I’m making my reservation now….

It’s depressing to only see 3 new posts in the last 2 months. This is an inevitable consequence of our writers having families and full-time jobs. But, you’ve been loyal readers, as the ongoing threads of comments attest. Thanks for that. I wanted to take a second to give you all a heads-up on some upcoming events, and hopefully upcoming posts:

• On February 27th, I’ll be attending (and reporting on) the Manischewitz Simply Kosher Cookoff finals in NYC.
• The deadline for the OU Kosher Essay Contest is March 7th
• The leap-month gives us some extra time to prepare, but Purim is coming! (March 21st) I hope to get at least a few Purim-food posts up.
• Save the date! The 20th Annual ASBEE/Kroger BBQ Competition will be on Sunday, September 7th. Can we get a KosherBlog delegation?

That’s all I have for now. To keep things lively, here’s a question: Hamentashen are the definitive Purim food (IMHO). What foods do you consider integral to the holiday? And I specified “foods” - not “refreshments”. And no “but it’s made from grains” objections.

Edna Bension has spent the last three months renovating Ruth’s Kitchen — 401 Harvard Street, Brookline — and its menu, which now includes her mouth-watering Persian specialties and a healthy dose of additional Middle Eastern and Sephardic offerings. She will be open for a Renovation Celebration this Sunday, January 27, from 10 AM to 7 PM, with free samples between noon and 3. It’s a chance to think about what you might like for the following Shabbat, or even the Super Bowl. See you there!

I like getting the word out there about Kosher contests. In this case it’s not a cooking contest, but a writing contest. The Second Annual OU Kosher Essay Contest is now open to students of grades 4-12:

Among the suggested topics in the essay contest are: describing your favorite OU certified candy, snack, food or drink; how eating kosher makes you feel better about being Jewish; writing a letter to a non-observant friend about keeping kosher; describing the kosher experience of walking the supermarket aisle; and how someone stranded in Montana can eat while keeping kosher. Applicants can also make up their own topic. Prizes will be $50 gift certificates to Eichlers.com, a leading Judaica website.

Gothamist and Kosher-NY are both reporting that the Second Avenue Deli, which closed at its long-standing location last year due to rent issues, is set to reopen on Monday, December 17. The pictures that Gothamist has look great. And, in exciting news for carnivorous insomniacs and those of us who work odd hours on occasion, “The new location, on 33rd Street near 3rd Avenue, will be open 24-hours a day starting Monday with a ceremonial salami cutting of ‘nickel shtikel’ links at 11 a.m.”

To avoid the apparently inevitable “my hashgacha can beat up your hashgacha” conversation, I remind you that Kosher Blog recommends that you check with your local rabbi regarding any questions about appropriate kashrut. This, in my opinion, is not the appropriate forum for that discussion, since such decisions are not universally applicable and we prefer to avoid the lashon harah that often accompany these arguments.

We’ve reached the end of Chanuka and I hope your holiday was happy, meaningful and full of good eating. I’m all blogged-out, but here are a few items of interest:
Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, you read that right. potato latkes cooked in animal fat. Specifically, duck fat. I did it. I ate it. I loved it.

Why? I realize that the miracle of Chanuka didn’t involve duck fat. I don’t even think that ducks were available in the Middle East at the time. But if I already use other non-miraculous oils to cook my Chanuka foods, I didn’t think a little duck fat was blasphemous.

But, why? OK, the idea wasn’t originally mine. CHOW.com published a recipe for Potato-Turnip Duck-Fat Latkes, and I was hooked. I didn’t use their recipe, though. I used the Kosher Blog Master Recipe, which I happen to love. On a side note, have you ever read any of the articles about the best french fries being made with horse fat? Don’t worry, I’m not going to be trying that.

Where did you get duck fat? I’d like to say that I make duck often enough to have a plentiful supply, but I had to go shopping for this one. Besides for being an excellent steakhouse, Le Marais has a butcher counter where Dominique will sell you a variety of French cuts and dishes. Tubs of duck fat (about a pound) cost $8. I bought 2 and only needed 1/2 of one. I guess I’ll use the rest to make confit, or something.

Aren’t you worried about your health? I take good-enough care of myself the rest of the year. Chanuka is only 8 days and I don’t do much frying during the year. Besides, I have great genes - no heart disease in the family and my cholesterol has never gone over 130, no matter what I eat. Sure, I’ll spend more time on the elliptical when it’s all over, but for now I’m going to enjoy myself.

So, how did it taste? The duck fat imparted a richness of flavor to the latkes. Well-rounded flavor. Meaty. It was a good recipe before, but now it was amazing.

No pictures? Nah. If you’ve seen one latke, you’ve seen them all.

Hang in there - one more night and day left.

I wanted this recipe to turn out well. It sounded pretty good to me:

This delicious crunchy fry with a creamy center is classic street food in the Nicoise region of France. I like to make these fries as an accompaniment to saucy fish or meat dishes. They are the perfect vehicle to soak up sauce. They also make a great hors-d’œuvre served with a garlicky aioli.

So here they are with a garlic aioli:

Unfortunately, they didn’t live up to the hype - they were dry and pasty inside. Maybe there was something to the technique that I wasn’t getting. I guess deep-frying can’t make everything better.

I’ll end this post with a poll: Of course latkes and doughnuts are the Chanuka classics - Do you fry (or cook) anything special or out of the ordinary for Chanuka?

When I heard about Deep-Fried Coke for the first time, I knew it was something I would have to try one day. Invented for the Texas State Fair in 2006, Deep Fried Coke is a funnel-cake made with Coca-Cola instead of water. After cooking, the cake is covered with whipped-cream, Coke syrup and cherries. I know that this is really low-brow, but all the frying on Chanuka brings it out of me. At least I wasn’t deep-frying Oreos!

A google-search provided me with a recipe for the fried confection. I didn’t have a source of Coke syrup, so I cheated and purchased a bottle of Cola syrup for the Soda Club machine. I imagine it must taste pretty similar. I was using authentic Coke Classic in my batter, so I think it balanced out.

I quickly discovered that making funnel-cakes isn’t as easy as it sounds. That, or my recipe wasn’t that great. Each time I tried to fry up a batch, I ended up with strands and crumbles of dough. Not that they tasted bad, mind you - just not as photogenic as I was hoping for. (Later research turned up articles that suggested that the recipes out there aren’t the authentic one. Support for this comes from this article, in which deep-fried Coke looks like doughnut-holes, rather than funnel-cakes. Maybe I’ll find a new recipe for next year.)

The fried dough alone tasted pretty plain, despite all the cola used to make the batter. That’s where the topping comes in. Here’s the finished product - a large, deep-fried, Coca-Cola, funnel-cake with whipped-cream, cola syrup and cherries:

I thought it tasted amazing - but as I’ve proven again and again, I can have pretty low-brow tastes sometimes. I also love cola-bottle gummies and cola-flavored sour-straws, so I’m probably biased. Unfortunately, most of the people I pushed it on weren’t as enthusiastic. That’s OK. More for the rest of us.

My next Chanuka posts will get a little classier. They pretty much have to.

Happy Chanuka everybody! I hope you’re enjoying your holiday. Remember to pace yourself - there’s seven more days to go. Let’s start things off with the Jones Soda Happy Chanuka Pack, 2007 edition.

Read the rest of this entry »

After not producing any Thanksgiving ‘07 coverage, I resolved to put all my energy into our Chanuka 5768 coverage. Following jabbet’s lead, I’m going to promise a minimum of five Chanuka-related posts over the course of the holiday. Will I make it? Only time will tell. I’m going to keep my topics under my hat, but I can promise that none of the posts will be about lighter fried foods. If you can’t enjoy a little grease on Chanuka, when can you?

I’ll get things warmed up with a few links (I’m not counting this post in my five):

• Chanuka at the New York Times
• Chanuka at the Food Network
• Chanuka at Epicurious
• Lighter Latkes at the Boston Globe
• Feed Me Bubbe teaches us to cook latkes

An actual New York Times correction, November 25, 2007:

A headline last Sunday about a Muslim man and an Orthodox Jewish woman who are partners in two Dunkin’ Donuts stores described their religions incorrectly. The two faiths worship the same God — not different ones.

(Link to Article)

I had this final bit of coverage of the ASBEE BBQ Competition that I was holding on to, but today seems like a brisket-day, so here it is. The BBQ Railroad team, from the Baron Hirsch Men’s Club were the winners in the brisket category. Here were their responses (through David Schlesinger) to my post-game questionnaire:
Read the rest of this entry »

This was my first attempt at smoking brisket, but for the Kosher Blog’s foundational post on the subject, please see sweinberger’s Adventures in BBQ: Brisket from June 2005.

That’s enough Thanksgiving turkey — let’s talk about beef.

I discovered the Brinkmann electric smoker this summer as my coworkers talked me out of building a smoker from a galvanized trash can. For about the same price as the home-made parts, I walked into a nearby home improvement superstore and bought this guy (and a big bag of hickory chunks) on sale for a cool $60.

It’s construction is pretty simple. There’s a basin at the bottom which you fill with lava rocks, and an electric heating element sits on top of that — a few soaked wood chunks get nestled around the element. Atop the base you place the large metal cylinder which supports a drip basin and two cooking racks. A metal lid tops it off. The racks and basin clean up easily in the dishwasher, and it all comes apart for easy storage or transport.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just steps from Times Square and directly across from famed kosher steakhouse Le Marais, Clubhouse Cafe is being billed as the “hip bar scene” for young Jewish professionals. I don’t take my after-Kosherfest dinner reservation lightly, since Kosherfest is usually my only visit to Manhattan each year, but my urge to try a hot new boîte on its opening night overshadowed any worries about a nascent restaurant finding its legs. What lingering worries remained were melted away as we entered, the cafe’s mix of comforting warmth and urbane refinement welcoming us in from the cold. A handsome bar stands by the entrance, beyond which a modest collection of two- and four-seat tables, most with supple leather chairs, fills the dining room. Our party of twelve fit nicely around a sleek square table, dotted with candles, and while the table’s spartan benches weren’t the most comfortable for those of us without a wall to lean on, it lent a casual feel that was suited to our boisterous crowd — “dining hall chic.”

Read the rest of this entry »