Gifted Gourmet

We have a Minado here in Atlanta now and I rather enjoy the pristine quality of their sushi, the array and variety of the seafood, and the overall ambiance .. because I enjoy little tastes of everything, this pretty much fills the bill ... Setting is very attractive and unusually attentive staff .... their website has a very smart way of calculating portions for kids and the prices seem quite reasonable considering the buffet nature of the place ... top-notch? not really but quite well suited for someone who enjoys a myriad of tastes ... enjoy it!

I have avoided this question meticulously and scrupulously, bloviatrix, for some 24 hours ... now I can tell you how it goes during the seder .... My inspiration for the proper Pesach seder comes directly from my first rabbi in Atlanta some twenty years ago, the one and only Rabbi Ribeye himself ... our families were close friends at his shul here in Atlanta (not the promised land exactly!) and we, our assorted spouses, parents, and children, spent a number of sederim together as he led one of the finest, most authentic, yet hysterically funny, seders anyone could ever wish for! They were a balagan, yet a memorable and totally edifying experience, for all the participants present ..if you read his Passover article here in the Daily Gullet, you will recognize the bottle caps his beloved mother, Sophie, put into her eyes, looking for all the world like Little Orphan Annie! During the singing of "Echod Mi Yodeah", the various choruses were presented with appropriate barnyard sounds ... perhaps he might better explain this .... So many years ago these seders captured our imaginations and became a treasure which we cherished, as we did the friendship ... things have changed significantly over the years for everyone, as Marc's article delineates ... he writes with passionate insight and sensitivity in all of his offerings, yet it is this one, in particular, which brings me to tears ... and, although some of it has been subtly interwoven in our own seder today, it ain't the same really ....

I, and not a seraph, will take your place and accept the college scholarship and car!! The nude photos? Bet that will make many a seder's charoset stand up and quiver!! think I am avoiding the Passover prep by continuing this thread?? res ipsa loquitur ....

All parts of an egg are pareve and can be eaten with either milk or meat dishes, during, before, and after .... thanks for asking!

To be sure, much of it is sugary sweet ... but the newer drinking wines we are seeing today, as Katie so appropriately notes, are a far cry from what we accepted as the norm earlier .... a good place to insert "you've come a long way, cabernet!!"

I need a sash and a tiara, dammit! and your orb and sceptre, your imperial condimentship! why do I hear the melodious strains of Bert Parks intoning "There she is, Miss Charosetship"?? and no nude pictures, ya hear? Everyone that makes the Katie Charoset has to report back and let me know how it came out. And if their family and firends liked it. two possible answers to this: (1) It required extra glyburide after ingestion .... and (2) if the family and friends (fiends??) got over the shock of truly cosmopolitan, gourmet charoset after years of regular, unleaded, unimaginative charoset prep ....

It's validating, but oddly disturbing as well! Deal with it, Katie, you are a bona fide legend on this particular topic!

From what I have read here, you are the undisputed Queen of Charoset! I think everyone in one thread was singing the praises of your Separdic charoset last year, no? When I Google charoset, your picture comes up! If that ain't validation, I don't know what is!!

Back to the grocery tomorrow morning for more ingredients!! Thanks for the chocolate Passover cookie recipe!! A definite thing to try for this year!!

This kills me. Are you forgiven, Clothier? Selachti ... oops, wrong holiday!! Slicha!!! Actually Clothier, you are still in the will, no? Your aunt recycles a shankbone?? I can see paper and plastic recycling, but this is another story altogether!! Never knew anyone who did this .... talk about ecologically correct!

An overstatement to say the least .... they aren't Pepperidge Farms so I am less than sanguine about the results ...

And that stuff, slivovitz, a plum brandy made from bluish (not Jewish!!) plums, can be used as a paint remover as well!! Just don't smoke when you use it ... liquid fire! I bought a poire eau de vie on a recent trip to California and it is so strong it makes one's eye's burn .. before even drinking a capful ...

It is all right here for your perusal: http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/pcoindex.htm .... along with a lot more variations on the same theme! You did check out my Faux Oatmeal Cookies at eGRA, no?? Enjoy ... ess, ess, mein kindt ...

Hmmm ... which opens up yet another question for you, bloviatrix, can one put this tender a brisket in an IV drip??? I am mainlining the gravy as I speak! I think that eG has some nefarious financial interest in the kosher brisket market and is encouraging us to purchase enormous quantities of the stuff just to make a "killing" in the cattle futures market!! PETA be afraid, be very afraid!!

For those who might be unfamiliar with the concept of placing an orange on the Seder plate, there is some information here which might better explain this custom: http://www.miriamscup.com/Heschel_orange.htm

While I can't speak for what Al Dente is going to serve for seder, I can tell you that my own menu has undergone some drastic revisions!! Thanks to the multiple eG brisket posts, I have pushed my frozen turkey into isolation in my freezer, opting instead for a brisket which I bought yesterday .... it was all those delightful comments and reminiscences and, of course, detailed recipes for brisket, which changed my mind and plans! Thanks for that! I am now a happy, confirmed eGulleteer who "listens" and "gets it"!!

Not a stupid question at all! Just cook the turkey as usual and save the neckbone (I rarely have turkeys with those, just pin feathers) and roast it briefly on a piece of aluminum foil ... I use a wingbone from my cooked soup chicken and roast that briefly ... or a lamb shankbone is also used by some ... good luck with this effort!

It just wouldn't be Passover without the requisite angst and hand wringing, you realize! For the more observant among us, it is more the aspect of detailed and carefully executed cleaning, removing chometz from every crevice and cranny, both trying and exhausting, done scrupulously and meticulously ... On a personal level, I truly enjoy the buying of the special foods, the cooking, then relaxing during the week in celebration of one of the nicest family holidays ...

Will post the Passover faux oatmeal cookies since you asked me so nicely, Suzanne!! Update: it is now in eGRA! A pound of cloves must surely be a misprint!! Even the Dentyne Gum Company doesn't use that much in a year!! research reveals: should have read "a dash of cloves"!!

I make a mock oatmeal cookie which contains farfel, nuts, cinnamon, and so forth .... It is from my husband's grandmother and never a year goes by without his requesting them ....

Passover Faux Oatmeal Cookies Serves 24. 2 Cups matzo meal 2 Cups matzo farfel 1 1/2 Cups sugar 1 Cup nuts, chopped (I love using lightly toasted 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! Keywords: Kosher, Easy, Cookie, Passover ( RG968 )

Passover Faux Oatmeal Cookies Serves 24. 2 Cups matzo meal 2 Cups matzo farfel 1 1/2 Cups sugar 1 Cup nuts, chopped (I love using lightly toasted 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! Keywords: Kosher, Easy, Cookie, Passover ( RG968 )

Thanks for the memories, Katie!! I loved Mrs. Loopner!! and I remember the Ackroyd skits as if I had just seen them yesterday .....

The dual traditions allow for one's individual nutsiness ... or rather integrity ... that's why Jews have so many traditions ... so one can point out the "one I wouldn't be caught dead doing".... it only makes sense if you know the "setup" ... and applies to all manner of things ... i.e. that's the synagogue which is a breakaway of the breakaway ... etc. etc. and I would never belong to that! Merry Pesach to you, too, Squeat! with tidings of comfort and joy ...

As the lady at the next table in the deli in "When Harry Met Sally" said, I'll have what she's having!! Holly said it even better than I can!!