Thanksgiving Menu
I laugh when I watch all the pandemonium on television cooking shows before Thanksgiving. After so many yom tov and shabbos meals, I’m overjoyed to have a holiday when the cooking can be done without restrictions just moments before serving — what a breeze!
I formalized our menu this evening. We’re having a smaller crowd than usual, but I’d rather cut down on the volume of food rather than the number of dishes, since it’s hard to give up the familiar recipes one comes to enjoy and expect each year.
ROTISSERIE ROASTED TURKEY
Courtesy of our Showtime Rotisserie. Filled loosely with aromatic vegetables and lemon slices, our 10-lb. turkey will cook for 12 min/lb. Set it and forget it.
SUGAR-FREE SPICED CRANBERRY SAUCE
No one needs all the sugar it takes to overcome a cranberry’s natural tartness, so this year I’ll replace it with Splenda in my favorite recipe (from Epicurious).
SWEET POTATO SALAD WITH ORANGE-MAPLE DRESSING
This is a great make-ahead recipe which I usually reserve for wintertime Shabbat lunches. Rather than steam the sweet potato chunks as this recipe instructs, I roast them at 400 degrees until just browned around the edges — more flavor that way.
WHOLE WHEAT CHALLAH STUFFING
As far as I’ve come with brown rice, sometimes you just have to eat stuffing. This year, I’ll try my traditional recipe with whole wheat challah from Rosenfeld’s in Newton Centre.
ROASTED ASPARAGUS
I used to buy only thin asparagus to avoid tough, woody ends, but trimming a thicker stalk and peeling the bottom half a bit provides an equally tender vegetable with a bit more to sink one’s teeth into. I toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, then roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.
BROWN BREAD
Like grapenut pudding, brown bread is a local tradition. The molasses and dried currants give it a thoroughly colonial character, and the environmentalist in me loves baking in used coffee cans. (Substitute soy milk for the real milk.)
INA’S GRAVY
Ina Garten’s recipe for homemade gravy is superb, just make sure to supplement the chicken broth with some deeply browned turkey drippings. Naturally, I nix the cream, but the cognac remains to give it some punch. (Pour the liquor away from the flame, by the way. I momentarily set my hand ablaze last year when an errant drip of cognac caught fire.)
APPLE PIE WITH VANILLA SOY CREAM
The family stand-by. I’ve taken a liking to Cook’s Illustrated’s latest deep-dish apple pie recipe, but this time, my wife’s in charge of dessert, so it’s her call.
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Blintz Porn
In case you’re into that sort of thing:
I also have some very cute pics of DH frying crepes in his pajamas, but he probably wouldn’t want me posting those on the internet.
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Utterly Fabulous Blintzes
I know that I have a tendency toward hyperbole when it comes to food, but these really are the best blintzes I’ve ever had. (My apologies to Mother and Mother-in-Law, whose excellent recipes served as a starting point.) The blintz skins are from a French crepe recipe, which yields a more tender, creamy pancake than traditional blintz batter.
We use an 8-inch crepe pan, which makes fairly large blintzes. For a larger number of smaller blintzes, use a 6-inch or 5-inch pan. If you are inexperienced at making crepes, you may wish to make a bit of extra batter to allow for mistakes.
Continue reading Utterly Fabulous Blintzes »
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Problems with Horseradish?
This Passover, almost every jar of horseradish we bought leaked before we could use it. On each jar, the plastic safety band was still attached, but the lid had somehow loosened and let out a stream of red juice. My memory escapes me, but the problem may have been limited to Rosoff products. Clostridium outbreak, perhaps? Anyone else have such trouble?
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Cheese Latkes: Passover Edition
Around Chanukkah time, I posted a recipe for cheese latkes that I hadn’t yet tried. I made a batch tonight using matsah meal and ricotta. I liked them a lot, but the batter was very thick even though I had beaten the egg whites, and that made it difficult to form neat pancakes. It also made the latkes a bit rich for my taste. (Actually, I felt like my heart was going to fall out of my chest, but that probably had something to do with the whole milk ricotta and the butter I used for frying.) If you’re thinking of using the recipe, I recommend skimping a bit on the flour or matsah meal and adding some milk to thin the batter. Also, if you care about your heart, you might want to use cooking spray instead of oil or butter.
I’ll try to report again the next time I make a batch.
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Passover Kugels
Perhaps they were influenced by the Rosh Hashanah edition of the New York Times. At any rate, this year’s Passover edition of the Boston Globe Food section has an emphasis on kugel. There is an uniformative but innocuous article on Passover kugels, along with recipes for potato kugel, mushroom, onion, and farfel kugel, and festive fruit kugel. (The paper also includes some Passover desserts: coconut and almond macaroons with chocolate coating and flourless mocha cake.)
Inspired, I’ve decided to share my own favorite Passover kugel recipes. The first is a savory farfel kugel that’s so simple and easy to make, you’d think it couldn’t possibly be good, but it really is delicious. The second is a vegetable kugel that’s as beautiful as it is tasty. The farfel kugel recipe is from my mother. I found the vegetable kugel recipe on the internet and have subsequently seen it in a number of kosher recipe archives. DH and I make it all year, but it is appreciated most on Passover.
Continue reading Passover Kugels »
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As if There Weren’t Enough Confusion This Time of Year
Today’s New York Times Dining & Wine Section has an article by Joan Nathan on new leniencies introduced by rabbis who are trying to “simplify” Passover observance for their constituents.
At least, that’s the way it’s presented.
In reality, none of these so-called leniencies are actually new. Jews who think that baking soda isn’t kosher for Passover because it is “leavening” are simply mistaken. Only the “five grains” — oats, wheat, barley, rye, and spelt — can meet the halakhic definition of “leaven,” or chametz. Baking powder typically contains corn starch, which is problematic for those who adhere to Ashkenazi custom, but the corn starch can be replaced with potato starch to make kosher for Passover baking powder. There is nothing wrong with the leavening per se.
Continue reading As if There Weren’t Enough Confusion This Time of Year »
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Latest Kosher Headlines
ORTHODOX UNION ANNOUNCES NEW “OU-T” HEKSHER
The Manhattan-based Orthodox Union, the world’s most recognized and trusted kosher supervision organization, announced this week the introduction of a new variant on their traditional “OU” symbol — the “OU-T.” Not unlike the “P” for Passover and “D” for Dairy variants, the “T” will alert consumers to the inclusion of non-kosher, or “Treyf,” ingredients that should be avoided entirely. Exclusive to the Kosher Blog, a representative of the OU’s Communications and Marketing arm explained, “Our goals with the OU-Treyf program were two-fold. First, many consumers still insist on reading ingredient labels to decide whether a product is kosher. The presence of our new symbol will be a clear indicator that the product in question is fully off-limits to the kosher consumer. Second, the non-kosher market represents a huge, heretofore untapped opportunity for the Orthodox Union. Whether it’s Empire or Purdue, we’re committed to making our certifications globally accessible.”
RABBINICAL ASSEMBLY’S COMMITTEE ON LAW AND STANDARDS ADOPTS 5-SECOND RULE
The world of Conservative Judaism was rocked yesterday when the Rabbinical Assembly’s 25-member Committee on Jewish Law and Standards voted overwhelmingly to adopt new kashrut procedures, among which included what is commonly known as the “five-second rule.” Now, with a local mara d’atra’s approval, Conservative Jews worldwide may salvage meat or dairy products that were in contact with the opposite food type for less than five seconds. A Los Angeles rabbi who voted in affirmative expressed his approval of the change: “Keeping with our principle of viewing tradition in light of cutting-edge science, we’ve updated our halacha to reflect recent laboratory research which suggests no transfer of ta’am (taste) between foods or utensils in under five seconds.”
KOSHER DEFENSE LEAGUE’S “TREYFE SQUAD” BEHIND NEW TEL AVIV MCDONALDS SIGNAGE
Following the news last week that Israel’s 12 strictly-kosher McDonald’s eateries would receive distinctive blue signs, representatives of the Kosher Defense League’s notorious “Treyfe Squad” have stepped forward to claim responsibility for causing the dramatic move, challenging the Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi’s role in the process. “As the rest of the world stood idly by, we found ourselves with no choice but to defend our traditions with any means available,” said a masked spokesperson for the secretive group, referring to the series of violent window-smashings and drive-by pork-throwings that befell the Jewish state’s 111 uncertified McDonald’s locations in February. KDL leaders agreed that the Chief Rabbi had not been tough enough with non-kosher interests before the incidents, but insist that the attacks were carried out by fringe extremist elements no longer affiliated with the organization.
(Happy Purim!)
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Commercial Cheesecakes
If you’re running out today to buy a frozen cheesecake for Shavuot, consider Trader Joe’s (KVH, I think) — it’s the best I’ve had. If you don’t have access to a Trader Joe’s, you might want to try Sara Lee (Circle-K, I think). It’s surprisingly good, and the slices are separated with pieces of paper, so you don’t even have to cut it.
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