Rosh Hashana

[Stone]

The Jewish New Year begins next weekend. Here are some of my Mom's recipes:

Brisket

1 lean brisket, trimmed.

Brush with "Kitchen Bouquet" (o.k., that's what she does. I brown it on a hot skillet.)

Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Put in foil tray, add large chunks of carrot, celery, potato and onion.

One package onion soup mix.

Add beef stock to just cover meat/veggies. (See Shaw on braising.)

Cover with foil, put in 350 oven for about 2 hours or till quite tender.

(Freezes well.)

Matzoh Balls

1 cup matzoh meal

1/2 cup water

4 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Beat eggs, add water, oil, salt/pepper, mix well. Mix in MM, stir thoroughly. Refridgerate one hour.

Form into balls (I like baseball size), and drop in boiling water to cook -- 20 minutes.

For hard matzoh balls (which I prefer, but I'm nuts), double MM and after boiling put in 350 oven for 15 minutes.

(Freeze in stock/soup.)

Aunt's Sue's Noodle Kugel

1 pound egg noodles, al dente.

mix in:

1 stick magerine (butter if not worried about kosher)

8 oz non-dairy creamer (or half-and-half if not worried about kosher)

1 package onion soup mix

2 eggs

1 package chopped broccoli/spinach, or whatever makes you happy.

Bake at 350 about half hour.

Regular Noodle Kugel (I don't like it sweet.)

1 pound egg noodles

2 sticks margerine/butter

6 eggs

salt/pepper

bake at 350 for a lovely dense hunk o' starch.

Apples and Honey

Large red delicious apples. Core and slice. Serve with honey.

(This is a good starter recipe for the newly Jewish.)

(Chopped liver and gefilte fish recipe to follow.)

[Stone]

Chopped Liver.

It wasn't until college that I put together "chopped liver" and "liver." I guess it was obvious to most people. I don't think I ever would have tried it if I'd realized this earlier.

This recipe is for a pate consistency. (I find some chopped liver to be too "loose" for my liking.)

Saute 2 pounds calves liver and 3 medium sized sliced onions in a

little crisco.

Add a little salt and pepper.

Let the liver and onions steam for about 20-30 minutes in the covered skillet to make it well done and to soften.

Cut liver iin cubes.

Put liver, onions and two hard boiled eggs through a meat grinder.

Add about a tablespoon of chicken fat (It should be sort of smooth but

not a paste), and test to see if it needs more salt and pepper.

Mix well till soft and fluffy.

[bushey]

Thanks for the recipes. We make Aunt Sue's Kugel (but we call it Cousin Linda's) with spinach every few years and it's always a hit.

Here's a new brisket recipe for you to try. Sounds crazy, but everyone loves it. Brown your brisket on top of the stove in a dutch oven -- you can use a little oil if you want and/or dredge the meat lightly in flour first, or not. Throw in a can of coke and a can of whole berry cranberry sauce and pop in the oven. I usually cook mine at about 200 degrees over night, but 350 for a couple of hours would work, too.

I make my matzoh balls using the same approximate recipe, but I separate the eggs and beat the egg whites stiff, then beat in the yolks, and fold in matzoh meal and salt.

To add to the theme of apples on the holiday I usually make a big pan of apple crisp for dessert.

[Stone]

Coke and brisket? I'm not a big fan of the sweet/meat combo, but I think my family and friends would love this. Thanks for the idea.

[Suzanne F]

Oh, bushey, that's on the order of the stuffed cabbage recipe my mother and her sisters passed around to each other: regular cabbage rolls filled with chopped beef, onions, rice, etc., but instead of tomatoes, it was cooked in a jar of grape jelly and a bottle of chili sauce (e.g., Heinz).

Sorry, but that was the only year we did NOT have stuffed cabbage as part of the Rosh Hashanah meal. Since 2 of my aunts are still alive, I can't place the blame yet.

(I thought about posting this in the "Worst Meals" thread, but it seems more appropriate here.)

On the other hand: for Dstone: sounds like a superb chopped liver. Of course, WE would use only schmaltz, for cooking as well. My mother cooked the onions after the liver, in the same pan, until they were well-browned. And chopped it by hand in a wooden bowl, with an instrument not-quite a mezzaluna (who knew from mezzaluna??). It's the hand-chopping that keeps the texture interesting.

[bushey]

DStone (can I still call you Big Man sometimes?) it's not as sweet as it sounds, and the coke makes it turn into a nice brown sauce.

Suzanne -- Chili sauce and cranberry sauce for meatballs. It's one of those quickie favorites that sounds like it should be anathema to a foodie, but believe me when you make up the teeny meatballs in this sauce in a crock pot and bring it in to the office for the "holiday season" potluck, there's never any left.

We've been invited to have lunch/dinner Saturday afternoon with friends and one of the highlights will be Susan's chopped liver. She renders her own schmaltz and serves the liver with the gribenes on top. My husband and I usually argue good naturedly about the pronounciation -- he says it like "grieve-less". What do you expect, his grandparents are from Poland, not Lithuania?

[Stone]

DStone (can I still call you Big Man sometimes?)

Call me what you want. Just don't call me late for dinner.

[Stephanie]

We've been invited to have lunch/dinner Saturday afternoon with friends and one of the highlights will be Susan's chopped liver. She renders her own schmaltz and serves the liver with the gribenes on top. My husband and I usually argue good naturedly about the pronounciation -- he says it like "grieve-less". What do you expect, his grandparents are from Poland, not Lithuania? 

It's "grib-i-nuhs" of course!

[stefanyb]

My mother cooked the onions after the liver, in the same pan, until they were well-browned.  And chopped it by hand in a wooden bowl, with an instrument not-quite a mezzaluna (who knew from mezzaluna??).  It's the hand-chopping that keeps the texture interesting.

Suzanne,

Reminds me of my birthday bash. Yummmm. I loved chopping with that Yidisha mezzaluna. The one I use is from my childhood although its a little squarer than an Italian one.

[stefanyb]

It's "grib-i-nuhs" of course! 

grib-in-iss, accent on the grib, in my house.

[kelly]

Thanks for the recipes. We make Aunt Sue's Kugel (but we call it Cousin Linda's) with spinach every few years and it's always a hit.

Recipe Please

I need a real tried and true, since, I never made one before.

[bushey]

Grib-in-iss growing up in my house, too, though my mother never actually made it herself. If my father was really lucky, a relative would send us home with a jar of chicken fat and he'd get my mother to make him an omelette.

Kelly, the kugel recipe is in DStone's first post. Try it, you'll like it.

[LaNiña]

A sweet new year to all concerned...

[Stephanie]

My mother cooked the onions after the liver, in the same pan, until they were well-browned.  And chopped it by hand in a wooden bowl, with an instrument not-quite a mezzaluna (who knew from mezzaluna??).  It's the hand-chopping that keeps the texture interesting.

Suzanne,

Reminds me of my birthday bash. Yummmm. I loved chopping with that Yidisha mezzaluna. The one I use is from my childhood although its a little squarer than an Italian one.

My mom used to call it a hochmesser. My Alaskan ulu knife looks similar, though having been developed for skinning fish it's not quite the same.

[Stephanie]

A sweet new year to all concerned...

L'shanah tovah to you, Nina.

[Stone]

Grib-in-iss growing up in my house, too, though my mother never actually made it herself. If my father was really lucky, a relative would send us home with a jar of chicken fat and he'd get my mother to make him an omelette.

Kelly, the kugel recipe is in DStone's first post. Try it, you'll like it.

And I guarantee that it's direct from the shtetle. Aunt Sue and Grandma personally walked it out of Poland.

[robert brown]

On the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, there is a ceremony called

Tashlich.

-

Jews traditionally go to the ocean or a stream or river to pray and

throw bread crumbs into the water. Symbolically, the fish devour their

sins.

-

Occasionally, people ask what kind of bread crumbs should be thrown.

Here are suggestions for breads which may be most appropriate for

specific sins and misbehaviors.

~~~~~

For ordinary sins.....................White Bread

-

For complex sins.....................Multigrain

-

For twisted sins.......................Pretzels

-

For sins of indecision...............Waffles

-

For sins committed in haste.....Matzoh

-

For sins of chutzpah................Fresh Bread

-

For substance abuse...............Stoned Wheat

-

For use of heavy drugs.............Poppy Seed

-

For petty larceny.....................Stollen

-

For committing auto theft.........Caraway

-

For timidity/cowardice..............Milk Toast

-

For tasteless sins....................Rice Cakes

-

For ill-temperedness................Sourdough

-

For silliness, eccentricity.........Nut Bread

-

For not giving full value .............Shortbread

-

For unnecessary chances........Hero Bread

-

For war-mongering...................Kaiser Rolls

-

For jingoism, chauvinism..........Yankee Doodles

-

For excessive irony..................Rye Bread

-

For erotic sins.........................French Bread

-

For particularly dark sins ..........Pumpernickel

-

For dressing immodestly..........Tarts

-

For lechery and promiscuity........Hot Buns

-

For promiscuity with gentiles.......Hot Cross Buns

-

For racist attitudes .......................Crackers

-

For causing injury to others.........Tortes

-

For sophisticated racism..............Ritz Crackers

-

For being holier than thou...........Bagels

-

For abrasiveness..........................Grits

-

For dropping in without notice.....Popovers

-

For overeating.............................Stuffing

-

For impetuosity............................Quick Bread

-

For indecent photography ...........Cheesecake

-

For raising your voice too often... Challah

-

For pride and egotism..................Puff Pastry

-

For sycophancy, brown-nosing .....Brownies

-

For being overly smothering.......Angel Food Cake

-

For laziness.................................Any long loaf

-

For trashing the environment ......Dumplings

-

-

For telling bad jokes/puns........Corn Bread

[Stone]

HA! Yet again, I must revise my response to the best things I've learned on egullet. (But it's Yom Kippur, no?)

[robert brown]

Anybody out there who can answer the above?

[cakewalk]

Taschlich is traditionally done on Rosh Hashana, but you have until the end of Sukkot to do it. (If you are so inclined.)

Shana tova to all.

[Stone]

(Please, no one tell my father.)

[bushey]

I think you might be confusing Tashlich with Caparot, where you swing the chicken or rooster around over your head (that's how the poor fowl looks after a few swings). I forget exactly when you're supposed to do Caparot but I think it's during the ten days of repentance or right before Yom Kippur.

A happy, healthy, sweet New Year to one and all.

[macrosan]

Shana tova to everyone.

Anyone got some good recipes for Yom Kippur ?

[Stephanie]

None--everyone's fasting.

Seriously, do you mean the meal before the fast or the break-fast? For the break-fast, any easy-on-the-stomach food will do. Usually, this means bagels, hard-boiled eggs, lox, whitefish salad, herring, sable, maybe egg or tuna salad, regular salads, sliced mild cheeses, etc.

[helenas]

Shana Tova!