Shavuot

[Gifted Gourmet]

Not to be outclassed by bloviatrix and Comfort Me's menus for this holiday, I offer my humble meal:

Le Menu du Shavuot ... dairy, of course ....

making a Greek salad with hearts of palm and kalamatas, garlicky vinaigrette

rolled lox wrapped around Boursin with scallions, sliced into "coins" on pumpernickle

corn flan (new item to the repertoire)

gazpacho Andaluz avec creme fraiche

salmon filet poached in lemon butter

roasted Vidalias in their skins

a cheesecake... purist mode here (a small one which I will serve on a fresh strawberry coulis),

Bartenura Moscato di Asti

[Comfort Me]

Rainbow Trout coated in charmoula, pan roasted and served at room temp.

I love charmoula -- I use Joyce Goldstien's recipe. I usually decrease the oil somewhat. Sometimes I decrease it by half and increase the lemon juice a bit and dress a salad with it. (In summer, when I can't stand the thought of anything warm!) That with a room temp (leftover) lamb tagine, some pita smeared with a little harrisa, and some iced mint tea makes a lovely meal.

And Gifted -- your menu sounds divine! I don't know why -- maybe because it always occurs at such a busy time for kids -- I never put much planning into Shavuos. (This year I'm doing better than the year we had grilled cheese and store-bought macaroni salad!) I always feel like I just threw stuff together. And it isn't like I don't know about it well in advance! Having a kid in day school is the best way to stay up on the calendar!

This year I at least planned a whole day in advance! But still not enough time to make the 30 mile drive to my monger, or I might have made fish myself.

I may grill salmon filets and serve them with charmoula for Shabbas, though. I have time to defrost some filets from the freezer. And I love couscous with pistachios drizzled with a little harissa! And then I could have something dripping in butter and cream for dessert!

I am getting so hungry!

[bloviatrix]

GG -- what, no gravlax?

[Gifted Gourmet]

GG -- what, no gravlax? 

Can't spare the time gravlax requires with my time spent on eG nowadays ... priorities, of course ....surely G-d will forgive me and overlook my "quick fix" of the store-bought lox ... just this once....

Anyway, now my culinary reputation is shot to hell .... ..vraiment, quel dommage ...

[bloviatrix]

GG -- what, no gravlax? 

Can't spare the time gravlax requires with my time spent on eG nowadays ... priorities, of course ....surely G-d will forgive me and overlook my "quick fix" of the store-bought lox ... just this once....

Anyway, now my culinary reputation is shot to hell .... ..vraiment, quel dommage ...

I'll have you know that yesterday while going through the appetizing cases at Fairway I thought of you. I was looking at the packaged Gravlax and your ode to its joys popped into my head.

As an aside, have you seen that they're trying to re-brand sable as smoked black cod? I guess they're trying to rationalize the $24/lb cost.

[Gifted Gourmet]

As an aside, have you seen that they're trying to re-brand sable as smoked black cod? 

I have a friend who owns a local kosher market and promised his girlfriend that he would dress her in sable if she'd marry him ... this is not a joke actually!

Little did she realize that he meant the fish, not the fur ... she is now up to her ears in briskets .. oh, and a few huge diamonds!

[bloviatrix]

As an aside, have you seen that they're trying to re-brand sable as smoked black cod? 

I have a friend who owns a local kosher market and promised his girlfriend that he would dress her in sable if she'd marry him ... this is not a joke actually!

Little did she realize that he meant the fish, not the fur ... she is now up to her ears in briskets .. oh, and a few huge diamonds!

You know for some, having a loved one wear nothing but smoked fish might be more of a turn on than the fur.

I love sable. I was one of those kids who brought sable sandwiches for lunch when I was in school. Mom packed all the components separately (onion roll, sable, and lettuce) and I would assemble. Chas v'chaleela the roll should get soggy.

[Gifted Gourmet]

You know for some, having a loved one wear nothing but smoked fish might be more of a turn on than the fur. 

Except for the cats who, inevitably, would follow you around town ...

Mom packed all the components separately (onion roll, sable, and lettuce) and I would assemble.  Chas v'chaleela the roll should get soggy.

This is hysterical, bloviatrix!! G-d should only forbid us to eat soggy, flaccid rolls as children .. who knows how our precious self esteem might suffer in adulthood .. worse yet, how many expensive hours of therapy this might entail ..

[bloviatrix]

My cheesecake is baking in the oven. I'm sure it will taste good. But, I've got to tell you, the batter was divine.

Would it be inappropriate to serve bowls of raw cheesecake batter in the future?

The graham cracker - butter mixture was pretty tasty as well.

Edited May 25, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[Comfort Me]

OOOoooh -- Bloviatrix -- I think you've discovered something! Cheesecake soup for shavuot! Garnished with graham cracker crumbs! In small batches it could be a delicious dessert soup! You could "cook" the eggs over simmering water. I would leave out any flour (if your recipe includes it) and replace it with cornstarch. Serve it nice and cold, and maybe float some berries in it!

By the way -- Bloviatrix is is too long and awkward. Do you prefer Blovia or Trixie?

Have a wonderful holiday. And dont' forget the 11th commandment -- "Eat! Eat! You are too thin!"

Edited May 25, 2004 by Comfort Me (log)

[bloviatrix]

No flour. My batter was 2 pounds of cream cheese, sugar, lime juice, eggs and a pinch of salt.

Trix works. Or B. Whatever is easier.

[bloviatrix]

Have a wonderful holiday. And dont' forget the 11th commandment -- "Eat! Eat! You are too thin!"

Es dahlink. It's a mitzvah.

Chag Sameach to all.

[Carolyn Tillie]

As someone who is extremely interested in religions, would you explain all this to me, a mere gentile?

I'm intrigued by the topic, but most of the discussion makes no sense and I'd like to understand...

Thanks!

[bloviatrix]

As someone who is extremely interested in religions, would you explain all this to me, a mere gentile?

I'm intrigued by the topic, but most of the discussion makes no sense and I'd like to understand...

Thanks!

This is good overview of the holiday. If you have any questions, ask away.

Shavuot is the culmination of the seven-week-long "counting of the Omer" that occurs following Passover. The very name "Shavuot" means "weeks," in recognition of the weeks of anticipation leading up to the Sinai experience. (Since Shavuot occurs 50 days after the first day of Passover, it is sometimes known as "Pentecost," a Greek word meaning "the holiday of 50 days.")

3,300 years ago, after leaving Egypt on the night of Passover, the Jews traveled into the Sinai desert. There, the entire Jewish nation -- 3 million men, women and children -- directly experienced divine revelation:

God spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you were hearing the sound of words, but you were not seeing a form, only a sound. He told you of His covenant, instructing you to keep the Ten Commandments, and He inscribed them on two stone tablets. (Deut. 4:12-13)

[Mabelline]

Okay, please don't laugh too much, but I have worked on something with the mentoring of Rabbi Dov Schochet of Jerusalem, through AskMoses.com, as a little thanks for youall being so patient with all my and everyone's questions.

kabalat hatorah be'simcha ube'pnimiyut

be'te'avon im ha'le'vivot

I hope I got that right!!Shalom, youall!!

[Mabelline]

Okay, did I not get it right?

[MHesse]

Why pray tell do you wish us to put a wet cat on our head?

[Mabelline]

OK, if that's what I said, that was the rabbi's joke on me.

I am supposed to have wished youall to receive the Torah happily and internally, and wished you Bon Appetit with the blintzes.At least I reckon I didn't cuss anyone out

[Gifted Gourmet]

World's largest cheesecake for Shavuot

It will be three meters long and one meter high, and will include uncountable kilograms of white cheese. The world's largest cheesecake is being baked today in Haifa as part of the country's celebration of the holiday of Shavuot.

The cheesecake being baked today at Haifa's Grand Canyon shopping mall is one way of showing the Israelis' love for dairy products at Shavuot time. Pieces of the cholesterol- and calorie-rich cake will be sold to the public, and the proceeds will be donated to charity, Maariv reported. The head of Radio Haifa, Danny Nishlis, who organized the event with pastry chef Micky Shmo, said that representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records will be on hand during all stages of the baking process in order to officially recognize the achievement.

Nishlis and Schmo? A comedy team from vaudeville? sorry ... couldn't resist ....

Edited May 27, 2004 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[Mabelline]

When I saw that chef's name it brought to mind those blobby happy little critters from lil' Abner---the schmoos.

[Mayhaw Man]

I thought that some of you might be interested in this article about Shavuot written by Mildred Covert, the New Orleans woman who has written the Kosher Kajun cookbook series. The article appeared in today's Times Picayune Food Section.

[bloviatrix]

After 48 hours of basically spending all my time at one dining room table or another I think I gained about 50 pounds. We finished lunch today at about 3:30 and 8 hours later I'm still full.

Anyway, I would like to take a moment to pat myself on the back. The cheesecake was fantastic. It was suprisingly light for 2 pounds of cream cheese. And the cocoa nib ice cream, which tasted like chocolate milk ice cream, was a total hit.

And now, I get to go back into the kitchen and cook for shabbat. (actually, I have leftover fish, so I just have to make the sides).

[JFLinLA]

See what I get for going out of town last weekend. It's taken me all week to catch up with all of you and find this thread. Not much to add except, for those of you who missed the Joan Nathan recipe for sweet cheese latkes from Hanukkah, Shavuot is the perfect holiday to try them for. Unless you want to wait until December again.

If you have any cream cheese left, this is a great one. Even if you don't have any left, go get some. It's a great recipe anyway.

[Pam R]

Any favorite desserts other than cheesecake?

I am, as always, done coming up with recipes and cooking things for Shavuot... so a quick search after the fact and of course there's a thread. How could there not be?

I was just curious... why cheesecakes?? Although some may think they are passe, I'm still a big brulee fan... and no better time to have one. Anybody else?

[Gifted Gourmet]

I was just curious... why cheesecakes?? 

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I make any number of dairy desserts for Shavuot ... cheesecake among them ... but I dearly love eclairs and their half-sister, cream puffs with creme anglaise fillings ...

Shavuot foods span myriad cultures makes for marvelously informative reading!