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What We're Cooking for Shabbos: 2004 - 2006

bloviatrix

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Comfort Me

Comfort Me

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Our lives seem to be in a spiral. Immediately after Rosh Hashannah we started a long overdue redecoration project. Just painting -- supposed to be done by Oct. 12. It meant moving all of our stuff our of half of our home and cram it into the dining room and bedrooms.

What was supposed to be a paint job turned into new plaster in the walls and ceilings. Triple to original cost estimate. It is now November 17th, and we aren't done yet. Since Rosh Hashannah we have been eating dinner -- including Shabbas dinner -- sitting on the floor around a coffee table. Luckily we had friends host us most weeks, but the whole thing has taken its tole on us. Add to that the fact that my mother, aged 80, is in the final stages of lung cancer and you can imagine we are all pretty depressed and demoralized.

With the living room, entry, and sunroom completed, we were able to move some furniture and finally reclaim our dining room. (Although the 50 ft. long hallway which connects every room in our condo is in an indescribable state!)

Last Shabbas we were able to eat at a real table with real chairs and a table cloth and cloth napkins -- it made me realize how much I have come to take Shabbas for granted. We ate a wonderful, comforting meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and parve eclairs from the bakery for dessert. Michelle and I had decaf afterwards in our newly appointed living room and relaxed just a little bit -- the first time in weeks!

This Shabbas we are having pan roasted chicken (Cooks Illustrated's master recipe), noodles in garlic and herbed "butter", roasted beats, and scallopped apples. I haven't ordered dessert yet, but I think I will get a chocolate babka.

My favorite shabbat of the year is coming up. I love the Friday night after Thanksgiving. I always make a huge turkey potpie with lots of gravy and a pastry crust. I put it together while putting the leftovers away, so the entree is already finished. That way I have all day Friday to do the things I like to do -- I'll bake challah, make a special salad (maybe roasted beats, walnuts, and pears) and spend the rest of the day on an over-the-top dessert. Last year it was babka filled with homemade persimmon preserves. This year I'm yearning for sweet and sticky -- so I may make baklava or cigars or maybe both! Again, I am looking forward to sitting in my new, comfortable chair with a cup of hot decaf, enjoying quiet conversation with my lovely wife. It will be nice to feel normal again.

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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We're entertaining this week. Thus far we have RSVP's from 2 couples. I'm waiting on one more. I've barely given thought to the menu, but I'm leaning towards brisket.

I'm going to be a busy girl tomorrow and friday. :laugh:

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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It's 10:30 am. Unless something major happens, my menu will be:

Sparkling Ginger-tinis (vodka, seltzer, and my own ginger/lemongrass syrup)

Onion Confit toasts

Curried Coconut Squash Soup

Chicken Marbella

Orzo w/onion and mushrooms

Jerusalem Artichoke pancakes

Roasted Root vegetables (turnip, beets, carrots, parsnip)

Roberto Cohen Pouilly Fouisse 2002

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Concord Grape Sorbet

Tierra Selvaje Yecla Monestrell Dolce 2002

Now, back to work. :laugh:

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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jaynesb

jaynesb

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We're having dairy (actually that's what we eat most of the time.)

Homemade challah

Herb Stuffing (that I set aside from what I brought to my MIL for Thanksgiving)

Cranberry/pineapple/orange relish (that didn't go to the Thanksgiving meal because someone else was making it. My husband teased me about the quantity I prepared but understands that it's a family favorite for me so I have no concept of "too much")

slow-cooked green beans with tomato and onion (based on a Paula Wolfert recipe)

couscous salad with chickpeas, roasted pepper, and cumin dressing

cold veggies / pasta (mostly for our children)

chocolate cake (from the Pastry Forum "best recipe" challenge.) I'm not sure whether I'll be icing it or not but I will be writing "Yom Huledet Sameach" for my mother. Her birthday was Tuesday but she was in California and is only returning today.

jayne

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Jayne -- the couscous salad sounds great. What's in the dressing?

Tonight's dinner will be:

Celeriac Pear Soup

Yemenite Chicken with garlic and tomatoes (chicken rubbed with a combination of cumin, corriander, cardamon, pepper and turmeric in a garlicy tomatato sauce)

Roasted fingerlings

Jerusalem Artichoke Pancakes (didn't get around to making them last week)

Cranberry Applesauce

Lunch tomorrow will be the first pot of chili for the season.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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Because we were out for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, I decided that we would have our own mini-Shabbos-post Thanksgiving dinner at home ... my husband who could not eat the turkey yesterday since it was not kosher, will have his meat done with my love and affection (do not interpret this in any other context, please!!) ... :wink: and made by the only person who knows his tastes, wishes, expectations ...

Tonight's dinner:

Challah and wine for kiddush

My homemade gravlax on mini rye breads with a dill-honey-mustard sauce (see Marcus Samuelsson's recipe from Aquavit)

Lentil soup with kosher Polish sausages

Green salad with a Dijon vinaigrette

Turkey breast roasted over my cornbread, celery, onion, sausage stuffing

Yams in bourbon and parve "butter", honey glazed

Golden acorn squash roasted and filled with port wine and cranberry compote (using citrus peels and Granny Smith apples)

Pumpkin pie with brandied parve "whipped cream"

and it must have struck him as being somewhat festive because he put out our Lenox "Autumn" china and a lovely tablecloth .. :biggrin: and bought some lovely fall flowers ...

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Melissa, your husband is a lucky man. Sounds like a delicious meal.

Thanks for the compliment Pan.

BTW, there won't be any jerusalem artichoke pancakes this week. Would you believe I have no room on my range-top to make them? All 4 burners are currently in use.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Swisskaese

Swisskaese

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I flew back home from England yesterday morning.

Shabbat Dinner was as follows (made by my beloved):

Bunnahabhain single malt whiskey

Baked chicken breast with fresh oregano, sage, rosemary, lemon zest and lemon juice

Jerusalem Artichokes

Roasted Carrots

Brussel Sprouts

A bottle of cider in honour of Merry Olde England

Edited by Swisskaese (log)
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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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I actually took some photos last week as I was preparing to host dinner for 8. Here they are:

gallery_9366_412_1101671142.jpg

A blurry photo of the table (I need to work on my photo editing skills).

gallery_9366_412_1101671252.jpg

Mmm, roasted vegetables. This was a melange of carrots, parsnips, turnip, and 2 colors of beets with a bit of fresh thyme.

gallery_9366_412_1101671439.jpg

In the little bowl are the toasted squash seeds which were used to garnish the soup. The big bowl is the orzo with sauteed mushrooms and onions.

gallery_9366_412_1101671536.jpg

Curried Coconut Squash Soup. I always make one experiment when I host.

gallery_9366_412_1101671629.jpg

Chicken Marbella. This was 3 chickens totalling close to 13 pounds.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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Very nice Boviatrix. Can I have the recipe for the Chicken Marbella? It looks delicious.

Do you have the Silver Palate Cookbook?

Otherwise, PM me your email address and I'll scan it and send you the file.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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jaynesb

jaynesb

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Jayne -- the couscous salad sounds great.  What's in the dressing?

Well, the salad was originally supposed to be bulgur. I found it on epicurious and I like the idea that it could be made easily with a lot of staple/canned foods. I meant to take it along as my main dish for Thanksgiving. Somehow, I wasn't paying attention to what I had in my pantry and actually started making the salad with fine buckwheat. Oops.... Then I looked for bulgur and realized I didn't have any so.... couscous it was. It was pretty tasty as a salad on Shabbos. (It didn't taste nearly as good on Thanksgiving because someone tried to be helpful and nuked it before bringing it to the table. :wacko: )

Here's a link to the recipe.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/109729

jayne

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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I absolutely adore bulgur. It's one of my all-time favorite grains (I won't admit to how many of pounds of it we have in the pantry).

Coincidentally, the recipe comes from one of the books I requested for Chanukah.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

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I have a quart of the curried coconut squash sitting in the freezer so I'm going to start with that tonight. For the main, I'm trying a new recipe -- Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives. I'll serve it with plain couscous. Dessert will be applesauce. The tagine has some chenin blanc in it, but I picked up the Tishbi Junior 2004, which is an Israeli Nouveau, which I'm looking forward to tasting.

Tomorrow's lunch will be more chili.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Swisskaese

Swisskaese

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Shabbat Dinner was:

Starter - Artichoke with mayonnaise/dijon/garlic/lemon/balsamico dip

Main Course - Marhapoerkoelt with brown rice and broccoli

gallery_8006_298_1102791907.jpg

Today we went to a friend's Bat Mitzvah. She is 54 and had never been Bat Mitzvah'd. It was very special. Her cake was a Torah with a Hanukiah and it said "Congratulations Shlomit, It is never too late!". She explained that the baker, put "it is never too late"; she did know anything about it until she picked up the cake. I thought is was cute.

This evening I made chicken with a side of sweet potato latkes.

Edited by Swisskaese (log)
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