Gifted Gourmet

http://www.cliffordawright.com/recipes/presvd_lemons.html Supposedly ready in a mere 2 weeks ... see what you think ...

People who are in love make some very big sacrifices, clothier, very big .. T'would appear that DrewS is a genuine 'mentsch'!! May we all be so ....

Something Sephardic strike your fancy? http://www.recipegoldmine.com/worldjewish/jewish.html

A pragmatist with 'rachmonis' for his girlfriend! Mazal tov!! Lotsa good veg stuff out there for Pesach .. think fruits and vegetables ... it is even healthy ... http://www.sunvalleyfinefoods.com/Jewish1.htm

Time to consider an "eGullet Network" for those of us who have also winnowed our lists down, Jinmyo?

I used to be a kosher caterer .. just give me your street address and I will whip up some goodies and send them to you FedEx ... don't laugh, I actually sent my husband kosher l'Pesach "care packages" in Viet Nam in 1970 ... you probably were not even born yet! and one such package showed up by Shavuot ... whatta world ...

Okay, okay ... don't panic and hoard macaroons for the eight days .. like I said one can "work around" a lot of restrictions ... do you eat matzo? There are tons of ideas using matzo and building into a full recipe ....eggs, cheese, milk, yogurt ... you know about matzo "pizza"? You do cook, right?

That's for sure... Could be even more difficult if he is a vegan with allergies and on a low fat diet but holds a tradition of gebroks ... oy vey! While it may appears that I am utilizing excessive levity about this, I have a family with some vegetarians, some dieters, numerous food allergies, etc. etc .. so I am speaking from my personal experience .. Then there is the idea of a week on Perrier which is kosher l'Pesach ...

Unless he is a vegan ... then it gets more complicated ... http://www.vegsource.com/passover.htm How about starting here? There are both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Seder suggestions ... and using "vegetarian Passover" on a search engine elicits many, many more options ... are you a vegan??

Does anyone know the ingredients, generalized of course, that go into the "You're Fired"? Better yet, what do you imagine that some of the 'inner workings' might contain?

My two favorite marmalades are both from Fortnum and Mason: Pink Grapefruit Marmalade ... thick cut, fresh sharp taste, rosy blush color Blood Orange Marmalade which is marvelously bitter and vaguely sweet at the same time (isn't that true of all marmalades?) with a deep ruby color I first tasted them at High Tea there and have ordered them online in the ensuing years.

No one will laugh at the use of Kedem grape juice for the Four Cups, I assure you ... we have been known to "cut" the real stuff with grape juice from time to time, for a wide variety of reasons ... sobriety is one, of course! Other than that? Pancreas poopout is sometimes a concern ...

Now is always good .. later it will wind up lost in the shuffle, freezer, rather .. but then there are forty days of the Omer to make up a fresh batch before lauching into the Plugra-inspired cheesecakes of Shavuot ...

Bloviatrix, we are planning our annual Farewell to the Chametz cassoulet: Rice, peas, bread, and whatever freezer burned meats are still lurking in the deep, dark, dank recesses of my freezer since last Pesach ...

This must mean that there are other wines available besides the traditional, cloyingly sweet, thick and chewy, Mogen David Extra Heavy Malaga? Although it did pair nicely with the various and sundry Passover dishes at our seders .... kinda all purpose and all sacrament-friendly? One size fits all pantyhose for the palate??

This has to be one of the best lines I have read to date: Theologians have propounded that one's ability to awaken after Saturday afternoon's cholent-induced coma is definitive proof of the doctrine of resurrection.

These sentiments are relatively the same for anyone in the Bay area ... it is really shocking for me to go to the open air markets in the towns of your area and the central coast and see the incredible quantity and quality of the produce there ... I live on the opposite coast and see nothing comparable here really .. The way in which Alice Waters (and others of that calling) taught us to truly appreciate and value the area farms, has added enormously to our expectations of what properly made vegetables can actually be ...

Thank you, Fat Guy, for offering us yet another opportunity to enjoy the tastes of Olam Haba which Rabbi Ribeye so generously lavishes upon our minds and souls, and, yes, tongues! It is entirely fitting that it should come on St. Patrick's Day as I clear the last scraps of corned beef and cabbage from my Irish "tisch" and right before I begin the search for the myriad delights of Pesach .... hunting the dreaded chametz ... when the chilling, blustery winds of July and August in Atlanta, Georgia blow, I will, with great delight, whip up a batch of Wilson's cholent and wash it down with an ice cold Extra Heavy Malaga by Mogen David with a dash of seltzer (see Elaine May in "A New Leaf") ...

Thank you for this link, JAZ! Never knew it existed ... you have provided us with the definitive word on raisins in this piece!

Our version of "ants on a log" made in every American kindergarten ...

Like I said, "plump" is the operative word here ... Maybe not good in obesity-conscious America, but "plump" has other virtues ...

Just be very happy that you are living in the Bay Area and not living in the south .... trust me on this, vegetables just aren't accorded the respect they should be down here in Dixie ... hopefully, overcooked is a "alternate lifestyle" and we're right in the heart of this... rather eat a boll weevil infested cotton ball as the "fresh vegetable medley" .. oxymoron, no?? As someone who has enjoyed, no, actually reveled in, the crisp, fresh organic produce in your area, I can tell you that you ought to wake up each day and thank the deity of your choice for really well made vegetables ... and may you never see what the alternative is .....

Took me a very long time to fully appreciate a raisin and what it could be if it had reached its fullest 'potential' ... used it in a reconstituted form in my cooking ... dried and shriveled, as they come from the package isn't particularly appealing ... neither aesthetically nor mouthfeel-wise ... "Revelation" came with a recent purchase from Trader Joe's while in California ... these were huge, sweet, chewy, moist golden raisins which I found could be enjoyed either simply by nibbling straight from the package (and I must ration them until I find a proper replacement!) ... or by "plumping" them in white wine to use in recipes! Absolutely incredible! Tart-sweet ...

The very first source which came to mind is Daniel Rogov and his writings ... He knows a great deal about all aspects of gastronomy with a focus on Israel ... perhaps you might want to read some of his numerous ruminations and guides as a beginning to your exploration ... http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/israel/i_rest_guide.htm

It actually constitutes the base of my most popular soup: Creme du Cialis Potage ... makes those veggies stand up and be counted, as it were ... For 36 hours? So they claim ....