Rosh Hashana

[Swisskaese]

While searching for some new holiday recipes, I landed here which had some inviting ideas such as SOUTHWESTERN TSIMMES STUFFED IN CHILIES  which appears to be something entirely different.

And, of course, this  has a number of variations ... most appealing is:

ROAST CHICKEN WITH ORANGE, LEMON, AND GINGER

(Pollo Arrosto All'Arancia, Limone, e Zenzero)

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I have made the above chicken recipe a number of times and I highly recommend it. It is easy to make and tastes delicious. It is even better the next day.

In the last four years I have only made non-traditional (at least by my family's standards) recipes for the high-holy days.

We do not like gefilte fish, so I usually make salmon with pomegranate sauce. I have also made chicken with quince. It gives it a nice smoky flavour.

I also make 1 apple challah and 1 plain challah for Rosh Hashanah.

It is nice to know that my cousin Benjamin Disraeli kept with the family traditions of eating right for the holidays. I will explain the relationship in my foodblog......

Edited September 20, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[silverbrow]

Any chance of the recipe for the apple challah - sounds interesting.

Also, I'm surprised that Disraeli went to such effort on RH. Given that he was baptised at about the age of 4 and spent most of his career doing his best to steer clear of his Jewish roots - his father totally turned his back on the religion - it's impressive he (or at least his chef)expended so much effort on RH.

[Swisskaese]

Any chance of the recipe for the apple challah - sounds interesting.

Also, I'm surprised that Disraeli went to such effort on RH.  Given that he was baptised at about the age of 4 and spent most of his career doing his best to steer clear of his Jewish roots - his father totally turned his back on the religion - it's impressive he (or at least his chef)expended so much effort on RH.

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I will put the recipe in RecipeGullet as soon as my network at my new home is setup this week.

[Rehovot]

While you're at it, could you add the salmon with pomegranate sauce to the RecipeGullet request? It sounds excellent!

[Daniel Rogov]

...I'm surprised that Disraeli went to such effort on RH.  Given that he was baptised at about the age of 4 and spent most of his career doing his best to steer clear of his Jewish roots - his father totally turned his back on the religion - it's impressive he (or at least his chef)expended so much effort on RH.

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You are quite correct that Disraeli went to pains to avoid associations with his Jewish roots but in a letter to Lord Rothschild he wrote that he made "a point of celebrating the New Year at least thrice annually". One presumes he was referring to what we now think of as January 1, Rosh haShannah and the Chinese New Year of which he often wrote with affection.

[Swisskaese]

Sorry it has taken me so long to post recipes, but my home computer is not connected to the network yet.

Here is the recipe for Apple Challah:

Marcy Goldman's Apple Challah

I don't really have a recipe for the Salmon with Pomegranate sauce. I mix approximately 3-4 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses, 1 garlic clove minced, 1/4 cup of red wine, splash of lemon juice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/8-1/4 tsp minced ginger. Sweat the garlic and ginger, add the rest of the ingredients and cook on a low flame. If the sauce is too thick I add a little water. The sauce should not be too watery; it should coat the back of a spoon.

I roast the Salmon in the oven and then at the last minute put the sauce on top. I sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top before serving.

Edited September 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[bloviatrix]

I have finally set my menu for Monday night. The other night's are still slightly works-in-progress, although the cooking has commenced and my freezer is filling up with quart containers. Dinner will be....

Onion Marmalade on baguette toasts

Mushroom Soup

Salad of arugala, duck confit and plums with "cracklings"

Herb-crusted Veal Roast with a red wine/mustard sauce

Roasted Green Beans with shallots, garlic and lemon zest

Apple Souffle

Chocolate Deception Cake

Wine will be the Recanati Special Reserve 2000. Add to start we will drink my version of a Kir Royale - cherry infused shlivovitz and prosecco.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Yesterday, I finally decided on a menu as well (thanks for yours, bloviatrix!) by buying the makings of stuffed cabbage (thanks to the thread here by Malawry!) and a kosher lamb roast (rare/unusual in these southern parts of the country!). Also bought a copy of this book Matzoh Ball Gumbo, Culinary Tales of the Jewish South by Marcie Cohen Ferris to get me in a festive holiday mood.

[Swisskaese]

Yesterday, I finally decided on a menu as well (thanks for yours, bloviatrix!) by buying the makings of stuffed cabbage (thanks to the thread here by Malawry!) and a kosher lamb roast (rare/unusual in these southern parts of the country!). Also bought a copy of  this book Matzoh Ball Gumbo, Culinary Tales of the Jewish South  by Marcie Cohen Ferris  to get me in a festive holiday mood.

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I am jealous. Lamb shoulder (frozen) which is not very meaty costs about 45USD. I would have to buy two of them and that is just a little steep for my budget at the moment.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Lamb shoulder is not particularly cheap here either but it is a holiday and I was so excited to find such a thing that I cast all doubt to the winds ... I realize that if one does not keep kosher all this must seem extraordinarily strange but lamb roasts are still very hard to find here.

[bloviatrix]

Yesterday, I finally decided on a menu as well (thanks for yours, bloviatrix!) by buying the makings of stuffed cabbage (thanks to the thread here by Malawry!) and a kosher lamb roast (rare/unusual in these southern parts of the country!). Also bought a copy of  this book Matzoh Ball Gumbo, Culinary Tales of the Jewish South  by Marcie Cohen Ferris  to get me in a festive holiday mood.

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I just read about Matzoh Ball Gumbo. It's going on my purchase list.

Regarding the lamb - if you put in a special order can you get it? Or is it only a seasonal thing?

[Pam R]

My father ordered a lamb roast for a customer - so I said "Hey dad, order one for me too". He did. He then sold it to another customer before it even arrived in town. He always does this to me

For holidays I usually go with lamb shanks - less expensive. Though those I think of more for Passover. Yesterday I made a lamb stew with butternut squash and sweet potatoes (I thought it turned out like a lamb tzimmes) in the slow cooker that my mother has asked me to make for the second night - along with 1/2 cornish hens. That's as far as the planning has gotten yet.

[Swisskaese]

Lamb shoulder is not particularly cheap here either but it is a holiday and I was so excited to find such a thing that I cast all doubt to the winds ...  I realize that if one does not keep kosher all this must seem extraordinarily strange      but lamb roasts are still very hard to find here.

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Lamb is very expensive here because someone with the last name of Sharon has a monopoly on Lamb here in Israel. Some of it is imported, but for some reason it is very expensive. I was trying to be very politically correct.

So far our menu is as follows:

Matzah Ball Soup

Chicken with dates, apricots, figs and pomegranates or Chicken with quince

Rice or couscous

Green beans with melted leek

Honey cake

Either an apple-dried cherry strudel or an Apple Gateau ala Anne Willan which is made with thinly sliced apples, orange-flavoured sugar and is served with a caramel sauce. I am trying to think of how to make it parve without tasting parve.

Apple Challah and Plain Challah

Apple slices and honey

Pomegranate seeds

Not sure about the wine yet

Edited September 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[bloviatrix]

I toyed with making lamb shanks on monday night, but was over-ruled. (I gave my diners a choice of lamb shanks, duck or veal)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Regarding the lamb - if you put in a special order can you get it?  Or is it only a seasonal thing?

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Yes, if you ask someone to order it and no, it is not seasonal.

I just saw it and made a grab for it without thought. Later, as I unpacked my groceries at home, I realized that I needed to Google some recipes.

so I did ... mine is a shoulder roast though ... it is quite difficult to purchase lamb legs which are kosher ... another story for another day ...

[bloviatrix]

GG, can I make a suggestion? Add some figs, either fresh or dried to the port. They go very well with lamb and add a nice touch.

[Gifted Gourmet]

GG, can I make a suggestion?  Add some figs, either fresh or dried to the port.  They go very well with lamb and add a nice touch.

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Matter of fact, I did buy some nice ones as part of my fruit trays for the holiday .. just received some advice on making this lamb roast:

I suggest a port-balsamic reduction, maybe with some minced shallots or garlic.  Equal amounts of port and balsamic with a teaspoon of sugar in a small skillet, slowly, slowly reduced to the thickness you wish.  If you're gonna use the shallots or garlic, include from beginning of cooking.  This way, they too will caramelize.  Can also be done with pre-sauteed shiitakes.  Pre-saute to get icky liquid out before you start caramelizing.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Since I seem a bit slow in thinking out my Rosh Hashonah menu, I have finally bought the ingredients for the (possibly final) dishes:

appetizers:

Roasted Beet Salad with Apples and Horseradish (the Forward, Matthew Goodman's recipe)

homecured Gravlax platter with hearts of palm, kalamatas

eGullet recipe and photo

Soup will be traditional with noodles and fluffy matzo balls

Salad will be a variety of fresh vegetables, lettuces, with a garlicky vinaigrette

Entrees:

Sweet and sour stuffed cabbage with veal/rice filling

Lamb shoulder roast with port sauce recipe here

Desserts:

Jewish Apple cake, traditional (or below)

something with honeyed, perhaps a baklava

Phyllo apple strudel nouveau ...

Wine and round challahs

Thanks for your eG inspirations on some of these dishes!

[Pam R]

Your menu sounds fantastic - I wish somebody would invite me over for such a meal!

Phyllo apple strudel nouveau ...

edited because I missed out a word or two of your posting

Edited September 29, 2005 by Pam R (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Vegetables not listed on the menu:

Carrot/apricot/apple/carrot tzimmes with Trader Joe's dried orange cranberries and andiesenji's crystallized (homemade) ginger

Golden acorn squash filled with cranberries stewed in Kedem port wine with orange segments (added at the end of cooking)

Lots of colors! will take pictures of finished dishes and post them ...

[bloviatrix]

I just put my brisket in the oven (lunch on wednesday). I've adapted the Texas barbaque brisket recipe that appears in Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America -- instead of using chili sauce I use my own maple-chipotle BBQ sauce that I made earlier in the week.

Once finished, the brisket will be frozen and taken out on Tuesday to defrost.

[Gifted Gourmet]

In spite of my thinking it would be so incredibly cool to avoid the traditional foods, Malawry's thread on stuffed cabbage destroyed my will to "deconstruct" and "Paco jet" the dish and, instead, I caved in ... the results?

Those are golden acorn squash around the casserole dish just waiting to be stuffed with orange-cranberry-port filling ...

[Gifted Gourmet]

article from the Washington Times

Fall colors Rosh Hashana     By Joan Nathan

my children are home in time for Rosh Hashana eve, enticed by traditional family favorites such as chicken soup with fresh ginger-root matzo balls; chicken fricassee with meatballs; and zwetschgenkuchen, a delicious fall tart made with Italian plums that my father ate growing up in southern Germany ... The bright orange color and sweetness of the carrots symbolize the wish for happiness and plenty in the coming year. Since carrots were one of the few sweet vegetables accessible to the poor Jews of Russia and Poland, they became a substitute for pumpkin and squash.

Nathan includes her recipes for:

Moroccan red pepper salad

Israeli carrot salad

Apple beet salad with sunflower seeds

fresh honey herb dressing

[Pam R]

It's a little late to be deciding what to serve 20 people on Tuesday night... but that's what's going on today.

So far:

1/2 Cornish Hens - not sure how .. probably the old standby - apricot/honey/garlic glaze

I was going to do a slow-cooked lamb dish - but it's rather rich and somewhat sweet so instead it looks like I'm doing kebabs. Chunks of ribeye with peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and red onion - marinated in (most likely) a honey/soy etc. mix.

A rice dish - some sort of pilaf

Maybe a potato dish - or I'll see if we have any leftover knishes or kasha tomorrow afternoon before final decision making.

Veggies - I have no idea! There will be some on the kebabs, but I'll probably do a salad of some sort... maybe roast some squash/pumpkin

Dessert:

I had a strudel marathon today - I (hopefully) made an extra one that I'll take home. I also did some extra komish and nothings (kichel) and my aunt is bringing a birthday cake (cousin's birthday on Tuesday).

If I can get to a store between work and going to my Aunt's for dinner I want to put together a nice fruit platter - so we can all participate in the 'new fruit in the new year' tradition that I enjoy so much.

I hope you all, along with your families, have a healthy and happy New Year. Shana Tova U'Metukah!

[Gifted Gourmet]

Sounds as if you have completed most of your meal for the holiday, Pam! Yasher koach (may your strength increase)!

Just completed some more of my dishes for tomorrow:

The chicken soup is made .. will be chilled tonight, defatted tomorrow morning ...

Matzah balls are ready to join noodles in the soup before serving ...

The carrot/apricot/apple tzimmes with Trader Joe's dried orange cranberries and andiesenji's crystallized (homemade) ginger is made and will be reheated for lunch on the first day.

and, finally the table is almost set already for luncheon on the first day ... husband will be finishing all of the settings tomorrow. Round raisin challahs, honey, apples, wine will be put out for guests before lunch on Tuesday.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year ... l'shana tova .. may you be inscribed for the coming year in the Book of Life.