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Friday, March 30, 2007

JTA.org -- Casting call for TV show on interfaith identity

They are looking for 20 to 30 year olds, from interfaith family who has never been to Israel. More..

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Feed Me Bubbe Episode #8 Chicken Soup Series PART 1

Chicken Soup Part 1

Feed Me Bubbe Episode #9 Chicken Soup Series PART 2

Chicken Soup Part 2

Feed Me Bubbe Episode #10 Chicken Soup Series - Part #3 Chic

Chicken Soup Part 3

The Aviv Matzha Story

The famous Maxwell House haggadahs


The famous Maxwell House haggadahs
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

kosher wines


kosher wines
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

kosher meats for the holiday


kosher meats for the holiday
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

frozen gefilte fish


frozen gefilte fish
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

Ungar’s Gefilte Fish is an institution in the frozen gefilte fish market. Made with pure lake fish, onions, eggs and seasonings, the ingredients are mixed together and formed into a convenient loaf. Preparation is as easy as boiling water.

www.gefiltefish.com/judge.asp
Pros and cons on jar versus frozen gefilte fish

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

How to Make Whoopie with a Kugel

Where you talk about a Kugel, Romance will follow. Click HERE to see
a video (after a commercial) by Rabbi Shmuley on Sexual Attraction,
and HERE from Rabbi Schmuley on how to avoid adultery.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Monday, March 19, 2007

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Haaretz - 6 hours in the Carmel Market



(Clockwise from top left) Carmela Banahala: Inspiration from the shuk; Mifgash Rachel: Home cooking with a Syrian touch; Amrani Spices: A treasury of culinary ideas; Red pears from Uri's stand; Fish at Ilan Dorfman's; Artichokes in a market stall; Pitas from Hasaluf Hataimani Bakery: Perfectly formed. (Photos by Eyal Toueg)


Compared to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, which in recent years has become an attractive covered market with cafes, designer shops and hip restaurants in hidden corners, Tel Aviv's Carmel Market lives in the past. In the early 1920s, a few peddlers established the small Allenby market, with 20 stalls in all. At the time, it was said that "Allenby is the most courteous shuk, as befitting the respectable style of a modern European city."

More...

Friday, March 16, 2007

InfoMat: Fashion Industry Business Information

InfoMat: Fashion Industry Business Information: Find 350,000+ international designers, showrooms, retailers, manufacturers & suppliers of men's, women's and children's, apparel, textile and accessories' products.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Shabbat Shalom

Chopped Liver


Chopped Liver
Originally uploaded by wolfey.

MmmmmmM!

Gefiltefish!


Gefiltefish!
Originally uploaded by liltree.

Only 20 more shopping days until Pesach.

Comida judaica from Brasil


Jewish food (Comida judaica)
Originally uploaded by introspective.

Chicken klops & varenikes @ Z-Deli, São Paulo's best Jewish food joint. 

What is a "klop". Is it Chicken that got hit? You give it a klop?

Monday, March 12, 2007

Grandmother's "faux" oatmeal Passover cookies ...in Grandmother's green pressed glass cookie jar, circa 1905


Grandmother's "faux" oatmeal Passover cookies ...in Grandmother's green pressed glass cookie jar, circa 1905
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

2 Cups matzo meal

2 Cups matzo farfel

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1 Cup nuts, chopped (I love using lightly toasted pecans & almonds)

1 Teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste!)

2/3 Cup oil

4 eggs

dash of salt

Mix all dry ingredients together. Then add the wet ingredients which you have combined. Drop onto Silpat, parchment paper, or lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake about 20-25 minutes at 350F.

These are lovely with hot tea or coffee!

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Thursday, March 8, 2007

How we ever left Egypt with all this stuff beats me!


How we ever left Egypt with all this stuff beats me!
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

counters are covered with lucite to prevent contact with chametz for the week


counters are covered with lucite to prevent contact with chametz for the week
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

Farfel (broken matzohs) stuffing with multicolored bell peppers


Farfel (broken matzohs) stuffing with multicolored bell peppers
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

seder plate set for the second seder night


seder plate set for the second seder night
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.

The Passover Seder, which means order, occurs in the first two nights of the eight-day holiday. It is a time to gather, remember, teach children about the holiday, and of course eat. But before the feast begins, the Haggadah is read to tell the story of Passover. The Seder plate is the centerpiece of the meal, upon which six food items are placed. Each of the items represents an element of the hardship that the Jewish slaves experienced during their exodus from Egypt.

Charoset, representing the mortar the Jews used to assemble the pyramids of the pharaohs. Basic charoset is a finely chopped mixture of apples, walnuts and sweet wine.

Karpas, a green vegetable (usually parsley) representing spring, dipped in salt water to symbolize the slaves' tears.

Beitzah, a roasted egg symbolizing the temple sacrifice and the continuing cycle of life. The egg is served on the plate hard-boiled, but the main Seder egg should be slightly charred at the top (this can be done on a hot stovetop or by placing the egg under the broiler.)

Zeroah, a lamb's shankbone symbolizing the ancient Passover sacrifice. You can use the bone of any meat you happen to be serving but typically it is a lamb or veal shank bone. The bone should be roasted until dark brown.

Mar'or, a bitter herb (like horseradish) to represent the bitterness of slavery.

Chazeret The sixth place sometimes holds yet another bitter herb (such as lettuce) or will hold the dish containing saltwater.

Also necessary are three matzos (unleavened bread, symbolizing the haste of the flight from Egypt — there was no time for the bread to rise), either wrapped in cloth or covered, and broken and eaten at set points throughout the evening.
This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.
Comments
Gifted Gourmet says:
Charoset

2 apples ... I use golden delicious ...
1/4 cup ground walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons any sweet Passover wine
chopped golden raisins or dates as preferred
honey or sugar to taste

Chop apples in food processor.
Add rest of ingredients.

other options
www.epicurious.com/cooking/holiday/passover/charoset/intro
Traditional Apple-Walnut Charoset
Candied Walnut Charoset
Sephardic Charoset
Fig and Port Wine Charoset
Apricot-Pistachio Charoset
Orange-Ginger Charoset
Posted 12 hours ago. ( permalink )

Gravlax (with recipe) rolls appetizer


Gravlax (with recipe) rolls appetizer
Originally uploaded by Gifted Gourmet.




www.chefdecuisine.com/seafood/salmon/page_2/GRAVLAX.asp

or this recipe is equally good:

Ingredients
1 (3- to 4-pound) salmon, weighed after cleaning and beheading, skin on
3 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 good-size bunch dill, roughly chopped, stems and all
1 tablespoon spirits: brandy, gin, aquavit, lemon vodka, etc.

(I use vodka!)


Instructions
Fillet the salmon or have the fishmonger fillet it for you; the fish need not be scaled. Lay both halves, skin side down, on a plate. Sprinkle with the salt, sugar, and pepper, spread the dill over them, and splash on the spirits. Sandwich the fillets together, tail to tail, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Cover the sandwich with another plate and something that weighs about a pound -- an unopened can of coffee or beans, for example. Refrigerate.

Open the package every 12 to 24 hours and baste, inside and out, with the accumulated juices. On the second or third day, when the flesh has lost its translucence, slice thinly as you would smoked salmon -- on the bias and without the skin -- and serve with rye bread or pumpernickel, and lemon wedges.

Yield: 12 or more appetizer servings

Group Therapy

kugel


kugel
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.

kugel
This recipe is courtesy of a friend who also happens to be a fantastically knowledgable foodie. She and her husband won the James Beard award for Onions, Onions, Onions

Here are a couple articles about kugel and several other recipes.

1 lb egg noodles
1 lb "creamed cottage cheese"
sub:cottage cheese and .25 cup cream
1 cup sour cream
2 cups apple cider
3 tbl apple jack
7 large eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 stick butter

boil, drain and cool the pasta.


peel, core and dice the apples. simmer for 5 minutes in the cider and lemon juice. drain well, mix with maple syrup.

marinate raisins in apple jack.

combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add nutmeg. Add beaten eggs, sugar. Add raisins, apples, noodles. Mix well.

Add to 9x12 buttered pan. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon. Cook in 350 preheated oven for about an hour.

Uploaded by stu_spivack on 22 Sep '06, 7.35pm PDT.

ingredients


ingredients
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.

Apples are a traditional Rosh Hashana food. It's common to eat them with honey as a symbol of the sweetness that Jews hope for in the coming year. That's 5767 in the Jewish calendar, by the way. Also, the phrase "land of milk and honey" has an interesting history. The holy land never really had either milk or honey in biblical times. The popularity of that phrase in English must date to a period of time when those English words had different meanings. In the Hebrew, milk refers to a milk-like substance pressed from almonds and honey refers to a honey-like substance pressed from dates(?).

Here are some links related to the holiday. Most are written to a Jewish-literate audience but may be of general interest. The Orthodox Union, primaril responsible for maintaing Jewish dietary standards, some information. Chabad, an organization afiliated with the Chasidic Lubavitch sect also has some information.

The shofar is one of the most emblematic symbols of the High Holidays.

The traditional holiday greeting is "La shana tova" - "to a good year."

Tonigh begins the first day of Rosh Hashana. Days on the Jewish calendar begin and end at sundown. Tishrei is the first month of the Jewish year and traditionally Tishrei 1 is the anniversary of the completion of the creation of the Earth. The two day observance of Rosh Hashana is an artifact of an abandoned system of tracking the Jewish calendar. Months on the Jewish calendar are lunar and begin with the new moon. Long after it was possible to predict lunar events, the official reckoning of the calendar was still tied to actual obervation of the moon. News of the new month was passed slowly over great distances from Jerusalem so the exact date was not always easily determined in all places. Two day celebrations increased the chance that the true day of the holiday was honored. After the calendar was tied to astronomical formula, the tradition of two day observances (but only outside of Jerusalem) was maintained. (Wikipedia lists this as only one of two possible explanations but, as far as I now, it is the predominant folk etymology of the tradition. The other explanation is interesting, too.

Rosh Hashana begins a ten day period of repentance which culminates in Yom Kippur (the day of atonement). During these days Jews believe that they're judged. On Yom Kippur they're sealed into either the Book of Life or the other book

simmering apples


simmering apples
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.



simmering apples
apples simmering in cider and lemon juice.

After simmering the apples, I was supposed to drain them and then let them rest mixed with the maple syrup. I neglected to add the maple syrup. Mistake number one.

Uploaded by stu_spivack on 22 Sep '06, 7.31pm PDT.

eggs


eggs
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.

It was almost immediately obvious that this job required a much larger container.

Also how do you know when you're done beating your eggs?

Uploaded by stu_spivack on 22 Sep '06, 7.33pm PDT.

Ingredients


P1050210
Originally uploaded by stu_spivack.

Zeek | Kishke, Culture, and Celebrity Chefs: A Conversation with the Food Maven | Leah Koenig

Zeek | Kishke, Culture, and Celebrity Chefs: A Conversation with the Food Maven | Leah Koenig: "Five minutes into our meeting in the kitchen of his Park Slope, Brooklyn home, food writer Arthur Schwartz offered me a bowl of still warm, homemade applesauce. “I used my grandmother’s recipe,” he said, describing a rather short list of ingredients (“It’s just apples and a little sugar”) and the antique chinoise (a conical kitchen strainer) he had used to smooth out any identifiable chunks of apple."

The Columbus Dispatch - Food

The Columbus Dispatch - Food: "Would you trade your haute dish for a taste of Beef Chow Mein Hot Dish?
Ann L. Burckhardt is counting on it. She is the author of new Hot Dish Heaven, a collection of classic casseroles from Midwestern kitchens"

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

The Science of Sake -- Iron Chef



THE SCIENCE OF SAKE
Sake & Food Tasting and Awards Gala
Thursday, April 26, 2007
6:30pm-9:30pm

California Science Center
Exposition Park
700 State Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90037

Event Description:
Enjoy a unique evening of science and sake with hors d'oeuvres from LA’s top restaurants to compliment the palette of sake from around the world. Sake experts will be on hand to provide education on sake and food pairings at various stations. As guests sample the offerings, they will have access to the California Science Center exhibits including the limited engagement Star Wars Exhibit: Where Science Meets Imagination. This year the event will also honor Iron Chef Morimoto for his community involvement.

Event Features:
Numerous Sake & Hors d’ Oeuvres Stations
Awards Gala
Star Wars Exhibit: Where Science Meets Imagination
Fabulous Silent Auction
Raffle for a chance to win $25,000

Price:
General Admission: $40 in advance; $45 at the door
VIP: (exclusive table service with premium sake & food; early entry) $75
Group rate: (available for parties of 8 or more) $35 each

Purchase tickets at
Little Tokyo Service Center


Table Sponsorships from $1,000 Bronze Level to $20,000 Title Level
"The Science of Sake," a Sake & Food Tasting Event benefiting Little Tokyo Service Center Thursday, April 26th at California Science Center featuring sake & food stations, the new Star Wars exhibit & honoring Iron Chef Morimoto. Visit www.LTSC.org for more info and tickets.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Special B'racha for Kugel

TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say
prayers before eating?

SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good
cook.



Courtesy of Roz!!!

Apricot Noodle Kugel

From Manchester, Massachusetts, Martha Chayet shares this treat traditionally served on the Jewish Sabbath, Kugel is a baked pudding usually made with potatoes or noodles and served as a side dish. Sweet versions make delicious desserts.

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes

You Will Need
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup egg substitute
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
3/4 cup apricot nectar
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces fettuccine, cooked and drained
3/4 cup apricot preserves, warmed

Topping
1/2 cup cornflakes, crushed
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter, melted


What to Do
1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugars until smooth. Add the next nine ingredients; mix well. Add fettuccine; mix gently. Pour into a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Top with jam; cut through noodle mixture with a knife to swirl.

2. In a bowl, combine the first five topping ingredients; sprinkle with butter and toss to coat. Sprinkle topping over kugel. Bake, uncovered, at 325°F for 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Serves 12


Nutritional analysis: One serving (1 piece) equals 347 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 48 mg cholesterol, 234 mg sodium, 54 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic exchanges: 2-1/2 starch, 2 fat, 1 lean meat.
More...

Top 10 Kugel Recipes

Top 10 Kugel Recipes: "Kugels have been a staple of Jewish cooking for centuries. Kugel, which means 'ball' in German, originally referred to balls of noodle dough encased around fruity filling and steamed in covered pots. Kugels evolved over time into baked casserole dishes. Today there are recipes for both sweet kugels (generally dairy) and savory kugels (usually pareve)."

Thursday, March 1, 2007

LeeVees - Kugel Song

Wo is die Kugel?

Non-kosher Lithuanian Kugeli

KUGELI LITHUANIAN POTATO CASSEROLE
Printed from COOKS.COM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


10 lg. potatoes, grated
1/2 lb. bacon, diced
1 stick butter
2 lg. onions
4 eggs
1 c. hot milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Brown bacon; brown onions in butter. Add to grated potatoes. Stir in salt, pepper and milk. Add beaten eggs in last, stir well. Set oven at 350 degrees. Grease one large pan (10 x 13 inches) or two small (8 x 8 inches) pans. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hour. Cannot be frozen; reheat in microwave or refry.

Kugeli