Shavuot

[Gifted Gourmet]

Moderator Note: This topic is split from the Israeli Cows produce the most milk thread, in Food Media & News.

Pan, I have thought for some time of posting on the topic of milk and Israel and, of course, have come to the natural conclusion that this is a golden opportunity to take a brief look at the Jewish holiday of Shavuous (or Shavuout, if you prefer).

So I did a little checking out of traditional dairy recipes and cheesecake thread here is most appropos as well:eG cheesecake thread

as is this lovely article on the holiday from:

The Forward Online

Originally a festival celebrating the beginning of the wheat harvest, Shavuot eventually came to assume another meaning — as the holiday that recalls the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. With that, it also came to be the holiday on which one serves dairy foods. There wouldn't seem to be an obvious link between the two — Moses didn't carb load with cheese blintzes and kreplach for his trek up the mountain, although that's never a bad idea — but there are at least a couple of strong bases for the tradition. The first is symbolic, referring to the verse in Exodus that describes how the Torah was given to Moses in "a land flowing with milk and honey." The second is agricultural: Late spring is when grazing animals — in the Middle East, they are primarily sheep — give birth, which means that milk was especially abundant during this time. And so, happily enough, was cheesecake.

[bloviatrix]

I would like to state for the record that I love Shavuot.

I love being able to eat all the dairy foods. And it's not just cheesecake. It's blintzes and noodle kugel. And vegetable tarts oozing with cheese.

Right now my fridge is overloaded with dairy products. There are two types of milk, a quart of heavy cream, ricotta, sour cream, mozzerella all awaiting transformation (and I'm only cooking two meals).

As I type this my apartment is beginning to smell of nutmeg from the spinanch noodle pudding that's baking. Heaven.

[Jason Perlow]

Sucks to have a dairy intolerance on Shavuot.

[bloviatrix]

That's the most depressing thing I've ever heard.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Sucks to have a dairy intolerance on Shavuot.

Oops, I forgot ... didn't you tell us about some kind of a Passover ice cream you loved which incorporated those chocolate covered ring jels?

Forgot you were intolerant .. always found you to be so very "inclusive", which is so very politically correct!!

[Jason Perlow]

Sucks to have a dairy intolerance on Shavuot.

Oops, I forgot ... didn't you tell us about some kind of a Passover ice cream you loved which incorporated those chocolate covered ring jels?

Forgot you were intolerant .. always found you to be so very "inclusive", which is so very politically correct!!

Not ice cream. Italian "cream" ices that are Pareve.

Sometimes I do eat dairy (like last night when I ate pizza with friends) if I have cravings, but I suffer for it later.

[Pan]

Hmm...a pastry with milk and honey...sound like Knafeh to me!

[Edit: Well, cheese and honey, anyway.]

Edited May 25, 2004 by Pan (log)

[bloviatrix]

Since we're among friends, let me share my Shavuot disaster story......

About 8 years ago, Blovie and I decided to host a luncheon on Shavuot for friends. I decided to make gazpacho. I'm tossing all the ingredients into the cuisinart, including the red pepper flakes. Unfortunately, there was no shaker top on the jar so the entire thing flew into the bowl. I scooped out as many of the flakes as I could and figured it would be ok.

Fat chance. That morning as I'm setting up I decide to sample the gazpacho and it was en fuego. Eyes popping out of your head hot. So Blovie and I start squeezing tomatoes by hand hoping to dilute the concentration.

Our guests arrive. First course was a "mexican" salad -- everyone decimates it. The comes the gazpacho. Everyone samples. And then the coughing begins. People are reaching for the water. With the exception of one person, our friend G who sits there with a big smile on his face as he inhales the content of his bowl. No one finishes their portion. G asks for seconds and then thirds. And he explains it's a about damn time that someone in this country knows how to season food. G is Israeli. His family hails from Tunisia. We sent G home with the leftovers.

Edited May 25, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Yet there is a reprieve for you, Jason .. be of good cheer!

But when all is said and done, eating dairy on Shavuot is only a custom, whereas "enjoying Yom Tov" has the status of Torah law. So when the two ideas conflict, as in your case, it is better to preserve your enjoyment of the Shavuot holiday and not eat dairy. (see Code of Jewish Law OC 494, 529)

[Jason Perlow]

G asks for seconds and then thirds. And he explains it's a about damn time that someone in this country knows how to season food. G is Israeli. His family hails from Tunisia. We sent G home with the leftovers.

LOL. Them Israelis love their hot sauce, don't they?

[Pan]

Yeah, great story!

[bloviatrix]

Have any of you ever tried Cocoa Nibs? I picked some up in order to make Alice Medrich's Cocoa Nib Ice Cream.

We are hosting lunch for 6 adults plus one 2.5 year old on Thursday and I was requested to make "normal flavored" ice cream. The Blackberry-Lime Curd Ice Cream didn't go over too well.

Anyway, the nibs are really good. They're the shells of cocoa beans. You can eat them straight. But for the ice cream I steeped them in a milk-heavy cream combo (I know, how low-fat ). Then I strained liquid. Since I don't believe in waste I decided to munch on the remaining nibs. They're even better after a soak in milk/cream and sugar.

[Rachel Perlow]

I don't think nibs are the shells of cocoa beans, they are cocoa beans, just not grind very finely. If you ground them up some more, they'd be cocoa without the fat pressed out. By steeping them in milk and sugar, you are essentially making eating chocolate.

[cakewalk]

Last night I made a mango cheesecake, a la Amanda Hesser's recipe in the NY Time several weeks ago. All I can say about it right now is that it looks beautiful. Tonight I'll find out about "the proof of the pudding."

Happy Shavuot to all!

[Gifted Gourmet]

By steeping them in milk and sugar, you are essentially making eating chocolate.

And this is a good thing in all respects, no??

Last night I had a conversation with bloviatrix about something which struck me as rather Shavuot-appropriate: it is a holiday which might aptly be considered a "blintzkrieg" ... and she added "Oh, yeah, I can see it now: tiny packages of cheese covered with dough dropping by the millions from jet planes." I think she has a great visual in that!

[Rabbi Ribeye]

Good news, kinderlach. On Shavuot, if you are prepared to temporarily Chasidify, you may literally have your (cheese)cake and (m)eat it!

There is an esoteric custom not that we eat dairy exclusively on Shavuot, but that we eat two mini-meals in one: one milchig and then one fleishig (with a separate Grace after Meals and Motzi in between).

The rationale is a leeeetle complex, but not beyond comprehension, and (obtusely, of course) Biblically-based. Shoot me and email, and I will share it with you.

At minimum this custom balances the the two "conflicting" notions of eating dairy on Shavuot with the mandate to celebrate each Festival by eating meat.

For you nitpickers and skeptics, contact me, and I will send you the citations for this admittedly out-of-the-mainstream custom.

[bloviatrix]

I don't think nibs are the shells of cocoa beans, they are cocoa beans, just not grind very finely. If you ground them up some more, they'd be cocoa without the fat pressed out. By steeping them in milk and sugar, you are essentially making eating chocolate.

And this is why I have no business posting at 2 in the morning after having 5 hours sleep the night before.

[Gifted Gourmet]

And this is why I have no business posting at 2 in the morning after having 5 hours sleep the night before.

Bloviatrix, you get an entire five hours of sleep?? How unorthodox of you!!

and at 2 a.m. there is no better place to be than eG, and we both know that only too well!!

[bloviatrix]

Houston, we have a problem.

Blovie has gone to NJ to pick up the fish (we don't have a dedicated kosher fish market in Manhattan). The problem is he left before I woke up and I'm not sure he knows what to pick up.

And his cellphone is turned off.

[Comfort Me]

We'll be having homemade pasta (alas, dried) cut in 3/4 inch strips, sauces with a mixture of moscarpone, riccotta, romano. I throw frozen peas in for the last minute the pasta cooks, and add mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic. Other than that, it's salt and pepper.

For dessert we'll have cheesecake with little bits of chopped dried mango in the batter and a mango puree on top.

Lunch on Wednesday will be a sweet kugel, cheese, bread, and brownies for dessert.

Second night we are goint to the neighborhood Chabad House -- they are hosting a dairy buffet, and we like to support their activities. Second day lunch will be leftovers, hopefully presented in an attractive and appatizing manner.

And as soon as the sun goes down, it'll be time to start working on Shabbas!

Edited May 25, 2004 by Comfort Me (log)

[Comfort Me]

And his cellphone is turned off.

The doofus!

Mrs. Me does the same thing. Makes me crazy. Why have a cell phone, then?

Here's hoping your menu is flexible!

It must be nice to have a husband who goes to the market for you! I wish I had one of those! (Although it would probably irritate my wife a bit.)

Hag Sameach, Blovia.

[Rachel Perlow]

Where is he going? If it's local to me (you know where I frequent), I could stop in and let him know what you want. Wouldn't that be a hoot! It would probably scare him, me standing there like in an airport with a "Blovie" sign.

[bloviatrix]

Where is he going? If it's local to me (you know where I frequent), I could stop in and let him know what you want. Wouldn't that be a hoot! It would probably scare him, me standing there like in an airport with a "Blovie" sign.

Thank you for giving me a very good laugh. What imagery. I can just imagine the look on his face.

My darling husband did call. Turns out he was trying to be considerate since he knew I went to sleep after three.

BTW, the fish store is New Teaneck Fish Market on Cedar Lane. It's right near Pizza Crave.

[Rachel Perlow]

Mmm. Pizza Crave -- now you've got me craving felafel!

[bloviatrix]

We are hosting lunch for 6 adults and one young'un on Thursday. My menu is:

White Gazpacho (ok, so it's really a lovely pale shade of green)

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

Tomato-Mozzerella Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust

Corn, Pepper and Dill Salad

Cheesecake -- I decided to be traditional and make a plain cheesecake. This is a first.

Cocoa Nib Ice Cream

Fruit

We'll be drinking a White from Macon-Perrone (Burgundy) and Mint Iced Tea.

Lunch, tomorrow, is our other meal at home. For that meal I'm serving tuna tartare and and spinach noodle pudding. Then some poached apricots with mascarpone.