June 16, 2012

Venue: Temple Isaiah
Lexington, MA

May 14, 2012 - May 21, 2012

May 10, 2012

Salute to 12 Jewish moms for Mother’s Day 2012
By Uriel Heilman · May 8, 2012

MOTHER'S DAY APPRECIATION

NEW YORK (JTA) -- What do Golda Meir, Natalie Portman and Aviva Shalit have in common? They're all on JTA's Top Jewish Moms list for 2012.

With Mother's Day on Sunday, we present our select group (in alphabetical order but for our final choice):

Bella Abzug

The first Jewish woman elected to Congress, who had two daughters, once famously said, “This woman’s place is in the house: the House of Representatives." Abzug was a congressional star, but she also was a staunch Zionist, a pioneer in the synagogue and a one-time Jewish Theological Seminary student. What a role model; not to mention those hats.

Robert Edwards

He’s not Jewish or a woman, but the British scientist pioneered the process of in-vitro fertilization, which is used at a higher rate in Israel than in any other country. Arguably, Edwards has birthed tens of thousands of Jewish children. Just don’t ask him to name them.

Amalie Freud

Knowing what we know now about Sigmund Freud, the mother of the father of psychoanalysis must have been one crazy Jewish mother.

Mrs. Goldberg (as played by Gertrude Berg)

In her defining role as the irrepressible Mrs. Goldberg, Berg brought a lovable matriarch with a sing-song Brooklyn accent to radio, TV, film and Broadway. She paved the way for other Jewish domestic divas that followed, including Rhoda Morgenstern (played by Valerie Harper) and the Nanny (Fran Drescher), who proved that even a couple of WASP-y kids on Manhattan’s Upper East Side can use a Jewish mom.

Bessie Hillman

When Hillman (then Abramowitz) arrived in Chicago as a teenager in 1905 to escape an arranged marriage back in Russia, she wasn’t going to be just another button sewer earning 5 cents an hour. She started organizing and quickly became a union leader. While she eventually would have two daughters with husband and fellow activist Sidney Hillman, her establishment of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1914 earned her the distinction of being the Mother of American Labor.

Golda Meir

OK, so she wasn’t Israel’s greatest prime minister. But this mother of two who led Israel for five of Israel’s most challenging years remains a favorite among American Jews. Why? One, because they don’t know much about her actual record, and two, because they just love the idea of a skirt-wearing, Milwaukee-raised Russian Jew making tea for global diplomats in her modest Israeli kitchen, plotting out the future of the Jewish state, and giving the Mossad the order to hunt down and kill the terrorists responsible for the 1972 Olympics massacre in Munich. We’re not sure what kind of mom she was to her kids, but she feels like a mother to the Jewish people.

Joan Nathan

Perhaps nothing is more central to being a Yiddishe mama than knowing how to make a good bowl of chicken soup -- not to mention brisket, blintzes and borscht (just to name a few b’s). By this measure, Nathan is the tops.

Natalie Portman

This starlet, who seems to be on everyone’s list of favorite Jews, has a new baby, Aleph Portman-Millepied. Who wouldn’t want a talented, unabashedly Jewish, gorgeous, smart, Hollywood star for a mom? (Plus, her fictional children, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia of “Star Wars,” were key to defeating the Evil Empire.)

Aviva Shalit

After her Israeli soldier son Gilad was taken captive by Palestinian militants in a cross-border attack near Gaza in 2006, Aviva and Noam Shalit vowed to do everything in their power to bring him home. With strong parallels to the experiences of Ron Arad and Nachshon Wachsman -- Israeli soldiers who never made it out of Arab captivity -- there was plenty of reason for skepticism, especially as the years passed. But Aviva and Noam never flagged, mounting a relentless campaign for their son’s release. Last October, their persistence was rewarded when Gilad was returned home (albeit at a very heavy cost to Israel). Jewish mother to the rescue!

Dr. Ruth Westheimer

So you think your mother makes you uncomfortable? Try having Dr. Ruth as a mom. Still, you know it’s good advice. Nu, when are you going to get married, already?

Yocheved

She braved Egyptian decree for three months to save her son from certain death, then orchestrated it so he’d be raised in a royal household. And it all paid off: Her boy Moses went on to become the greatest Jewish leader of all time.

The Unsung Heroine

Every day and for thousands of years, Jewish mothers have been making sacrifices large and small to ensure the success of their children and their families, from managing households to raising kids with Jewish values and sensibilities, to giving us the security we need to go out into the world and make something of ourselves. They are not famous because they thought only of us, not themselves. We cannot name them because there are too many. But without them, the Jewish people would be lost. We salute you, Jewish mothers of the world!

April 11, 2012

Of Bitter Herbs and Vegetables

April 7th, 2012 - By Lari Robling

Jews around the world are celebrating the spring time ritual of Passover and the story of Exodus, when the Jews were freed from slavery in ancient Egypt. Joan Nathan, who has written ten cookbooks including the much-acclaimed Jewish Cooking in America and most recently,Quiches, Kugels and Couscous, says you can keep the traditions and still lighten up the meal. She looks to Tunisia for vegetable salads and North Africa for Eggs Baked in Sand.

Listen

Recipes:

Vegetarian Matzo Balls

Baked Eggs in Sand

Jews around the world are celebrating the spring time ritual of Passover and the story of Exodus when the Jews were freed from slavery in ancient Egypt.

“It’s really one of the longest established theatrical evenings as a meal in the Western World and it is very exciting to celebrate the Seder every year” says Joan Nathan. She’s written many cookbooks on the history of Jewish cuisine including Quiches, Kugels and Couscous.

Nathan notes, “The vast majority of American Jews are from Central and Eastern Europe and their menu is pretty meat oriented and pretty heavy.”

“There is a way to lighten up the meal, though.” says Nathan. She turns to Sephardic Jews who come from the Mediterranean.

“Let’s say Moroccan Jews, for example, start their Seder with fava beans and roasted pepper and shad.” Nathan continues, “So it's already a lighter meal. Tunisian Jews have a wonderful vegetable soup with artichoke hearts, again fresh fava beans, asparagus and a little bit of meat, but not predominately meat.”

And a Passover meal is about ritual and symbolism. A new tradition Nathan has incorporated into her dinner is to replace the boiled egg with a roasted egg cooked in sand…. it’s a technique that comes from North Africa. And, no, you don’t go get the sand from the backyard– but a bag of clean box from your garden center is perfect.

“The eggs are transformed,” she says. “They are hard-boiled, of course, but they the texture is creamy and they are delicious.”

Here’s how she says to do it

Preheat an oven to 200 degrees. Take a Dutch oven and put in some sand to stand a dozen eggs whole—barely touching. Cover them with sand and then the top of the Dutch oven. Cook them for about eight hours or overnight. After cooking, put them directly into ice water as you would boiled eggs. Once cooled, peel and refrigerate in salt water until dinner.

Other traditional dishes can go on the table with a tweak.

For her Seder, Nathan says, “I always make a brisket but I make a brisket with preserved lemons tomatoes lots of vegetables.”

And since we are trying to incorporate more vegetables in all our meals, Nathan recommends highlighting them during Passover week.

“You know, I might do a layered Italian dish of matzos and spinach and peppers and you just serve it with no meat or I'll make a gnocchi out of spinach and potatoes that was known as a Passover dish,” she says.

For Nathan, there’s even a way for vegetarians to have matzo ball soup.

She says, “I'll make a vegetarian broth and make matzo balls maybe with coconut oil instead of schmalz, chicken fat.”

Also take into consideration a Passover dinner is a long meal a heavy dessert can be a bit much.

“To lighten it up I very often will have fruit especially strawberries because its spring time if I can get those wonderful little fraises des bois, but its really hard.” She adds,’ I like to have unusual fruits at that time of year.”

While the Passover Seder meal is often a table laden with many dishes, Joan Nathan believes there’s more.

“As much as the food is delicious, I don't think that is what really nourishes people,” she says. “It's being together, and having a chance to connect. I think that people desperately need this.”

April 05, 2012

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March 31, 2012

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March 31, 2012

Joan Nathan/Bill Yosses 2016

Tablet Magazine’s food columnist teams up with Obama’s pie guy.

Any political handicapper who happened by the Old Executive Office Building of the White House on Wednesday no doubt saw a dream team in the making.

Picture this at the top of a ticket: Joan Nathan. A media savvy graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, a long record of experience both inside and outside the Beltway (including three years of work with legendary Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek), a popular multiple author with a cult-like following, and perhaps most impressively, Tablet Magazine’s food columnist.

For the running mate, imagine someone with these credentials: Bill Yosses. 30 years of experience including work within both the Bush and Obama White Houses, successful author, entrepreneur, and activist, the White House executive pastry chef since 2007 and someone whose work has earned the highest plaudits of everyone from Bibi Netanyahu to Pope Benedict XVI.

Their candidacy may still be in its infancy but the Nathan/Yosses ticket is something that should not be underestimated, especially after their successful first joint event together at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The event was a Passover cooking demonstration hosted by the White House, the Jewish Museum of Maryland, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, part of an election year charm offensive by the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Yosses spoke at length of the importance of the Passover Seder in the Obama administration. Despite this and a number of other speeches, the Nathan/Yosses hype superseded much of the talk of 2012.

“Those two should take over the world,” said a member of the White House staff, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

Nathan and Yosses demoed two Passover dishes designed to appeal to a broad swath of the electorate. First up was an Arkansas Pear Haroset, clearly an attempt to garner support in a crucial region that has produced such political powerhouses as William Fulbright, Bill Clinton, Dale Bumper, Eldridge Cleaver, and Mike Huckabee.

As they started to prepare it Nathan asked Yosses if he knew what haroset is?

“I do now!” he said to laughter.

They discussed the history of haroset, first testing the crowd to see if they knew the origin of the dish.

“Babylonia!” a man in the back responded. “I’m old enough to remember.”

At this point, the room turned to note as Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) entered the room to give the pair his endorsement. Greg Rosenbaum, the CEO of Empire Kosher, also stood in the back kibitzing. Samples were shrewdly handed out.

“Samples are important,” an attendee noted. “We’re Jews after all.”

Following the haroset, the pair moved on to the dessert portion of the event. The chosen dish was the exotic chremsel with matzo, almonds, and currants (written about here in Tablet by Nathan last year).

While Yosses whipped together a meringue for the dish, Nathan and Yosses talked about the history of Mongolian Jews, one of the groups that cherish the chremsel. It was during the preparation of the chremsel though that Nathan let slip one potentially damning revelation, worthy of the buzz of an October surprise: her mother has been freezing the same shankbone for Passover for the past 40 years. The crowd gasped.

The pair moved on and all seemed forgotten by the time the chremsel arrived and the crowd noshed. Following the event, I approached Yosses to do a little vetting. I dropped the only gotcha question could muster.

“Since you’re the executive pastry chef, I have to ask,” I said menacingly. “What is your favorite Passover dish?”

“Brisket.” he replied.

The guy’s a pro.

ARKANSAS PEAR HAROSET
adapted from Michael Selig, Little Rock, AR

Total time: 20 minutes
1 cup toasted pecans
1 cup dried figs
1 ½ just-ripe finely chopped pears, about 2 cups
1/2 medium Arkansas Black apple or other crisp, slightly tart variety, peeled and finely chopped, about ½ cup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons Passover sweet wine
The grated zest and juice from 1/2 lemon

1. Finely chop the pecans and the figs with a hand chopper or knife in a wooden bowl.

2. Stir them in with the pears and apple. Add the cinnamon, honey, sweet wine, and the grated lemon zest and juice. Toss together and store in a glass or ceramic bowl. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to mesh flavors.

Yield: 4 cups haroset

——————————

MY MATZO CHREMSEL
adapted from Jewish Cooking in America by Joan Nathan

Total Time: 30 minutes
3 matzos, broken in bite size pieces, soaked in cold water very briefly, and gently squeezed dry
2 tablespoons currants
2 tablespoons almonds, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons dried apricots or prunes, coarsely chopped
3 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup matzo meal
1/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Kosher-for-Passover vegetable oil, for frying
Sugar or Kosher for Passover confectioners’ sugar for sprinkling

1. Lightly mix the matzos, currants, almonds, dried apricots or prunes, the egg yolks, the matzo meal, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and the grated zest and juice of a lemon in a medium bowl.

2. Mix the egg whites until stiff in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Fold the beaten egg whites into the matzo mixture. Refrigerate for about a half hour.

3. Line a plate with paper towels and heat 2 inches of kosher for Passover vegetable oil to 375 degrees in a wok or other low-sided medium stockpot. Carefully spoon the batter, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil without crowding the pan. Fry until golden and crisp, about 1 minute on each side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the paper towels to drain. Serve warm, if possible, sprinkled with the sugar or confectioners’ sugar. Leftovers you can reheat in a 350 degree oven just before serving.

Yield: 12 to 15 chremsel

March 29, 2012

Cooking for Passover at Obama's house

Rows of plates with matzah topped with freshly chopped haroset, the traditional Passover sweet condiment, welcomed guests to the White House on Wednesday afternoon for a special holiday cooking demonstration and discussion.

The event was organized by the White House Office of Public Engagement and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The latter recently funded an exhibit at the Jewish Museum of Maryland titled Chosen Food, exploring the history and cultural significance of food in the American Jewish Community.

As my friend Joan Nathan, the queen of American Jewish cooking, looked around the room she said: “If only my grandfather could see this. He would just... die!”

Together with White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, Joan demonstrated how to prepare an apple and pear haroset she learned in Arkansas this year, and her own matzo chremsel.

I spoke to Bill before the demonstration started and asked him about the Obamas’ plans for their much talked about, yet still private, Passover seder.

Bill, who started working as the White House pastry chef in 2007, recounted for me the famous story of the Obama’s first Seder, back in 2008:

On Passover eve during a presidential campaign stop, then-candidate Barack Obama noticed members of his staff were sitting down to a special dinner. He asked to join them at what has since become an annual tradition: a small and private Passover seder hosted by the first family every year at the White House

Joan Nathan and Bill Yosses preparing haroset together at the White House. Photo by Vered Guttman

Before the seder each year, guests are asked to send Bill and White House executive chef Cris Comerford their own family’s Passover recipes. The chefs then design a menu for the seder and prepare the dishes according to the guests‘ recipes.

In previous years they served the classics: haroset and brisket. When we met Wednesday. Bill said they were still working on this year’s menu. He did know, however, which desserts would be served: A flourless chocolate cake (which he promises will be on the White House website before the holiday) and a delicious sounding apricot roll cake, that he was kind enough to share the recipe with me. Bill gets extra points for a dessert that is not only fabulous, but also inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine. Does the president eat Jewish or Israeli food during the year? I asked.

“The president LOVES Israeli couscous!” Bill didn’t have to think much before he answered. Since Israeli couscous is one of the most popular foods imported from Israel, it is often the target of boycott threats by anti-Israeli groups.

Bill did not describe how Obama likes his Israeli couscous prepared, but here is a nice healthy recipe that even first lady Michelle Obama would approve of.

Obama keeps a very open mind about food and likes to try new dishes, Bill told me. He added that the Israeli produce imported to the U.S. is known at the White House kitchen to be of highest quality and the chefs like to use Israeli vegetables and fruit. He could not tell me where they get their produce, as the White House chefs are instructed not to reveal their suppliers for security reasons.

As Joan began her demonstration, she told us that the Passover seder is the holiday most-observed by American Jews. Joan herself will host 44 guests at her house in Washington next week. “Nowhere in the world, except for Israel and the U.S., do Jews feel that comfortable,” Joan said as she started her cooking demonstration.

“Do you know what this is?” she asked Bill, pointing at the haroset.

Arkansas pear haroset. Photo by Vered Guttman

“I do now!” he replied, and added that this administration has opened the door to bringing more people and cultures to the White House. “And I’m proud to be part of this.”

The tradition of serving haroset in Passover, explained Joan, started in Babylon, where haroset was made from pureed dates or date molasses (known in Israel as silan). Maybe it had apples in it, as those were available from Armenia. Maybe it had some chopped nuts as well.

Sephardim always used to make haroset balls, Joan added, and did so in America until the end of the 19th century.

Bill started chopping the pecans and dried figs in the wooden chopping bowl as Joan added  the pears and apples. She asked for Bill’s permission before telling the crowd how he called her a few weeks ago to ask about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dessert preferences before his visit to the White House. They agreed on chocolate dipped macaroons, and that’s what was served.

The haroset was ready in no time and both chefs, after dipping their spoons in the mixture, agreed it was delicious.

“Although food is the marker of identity, Joan also makes it taste good,” said Bill and took another taste.

“In a world where everything is the same, food is the one thing that’s unique for each family. Some people want to try new dishes every holiday, but I believe you want the good old recipes you can hold on to,” Joan concluded.

Just before leaving, Joan pointed at her Passover seder plate, with all the ingredients arranged nicely on it. She paused for a second before adding in her typical amused tone: “My mother’s shank bone [that she puts on the seder plate] is very different than mine. I believe she’s been freezing the same bone for the last 40 years...”

March 29, 2012

March 21, 2012

The New Kneidlach Conundrum

There are a lot of important considerations when it comes to Passover. Red wine or white? Hand-baked or machine-made matzah? Streit’s or Manischewitz macaroons?

But one of the top considerations in every household before the seder is this: Should matzah balls be heavy or light? This year though, you may want to start asking more questions. Like spicy or plain? Whole wheat or regular? Stuffed or unstuffed? With so many options, any number of kneidl varieties could grace your seder table.

Joan Nathan, the prolific Jewish cookbook author and TV personality, tends to make traditional matzah balls at her Passover seder. But that doesn’t stop her from experimenting with recipes for historical varieties, like a Lithuanian version stuffed with beef.

“I first encountered them in the South in Mississippi,” said Nathan. “I’d never heard of them before.” Eventually she traced them from the Bible Belt back to South Africa and then back to Lithuania. The matzah balls have a “little bit of cinnamon in the filling to let the Shabbos live on,” Nathan said.

For Tamar Genger, executive editor of JoyofKosher.com, kneidl experimentation started simple, by adding lots of fresh herbs.

“My dad has always used to add herbs; he has an herb garden and we all really loved that,” said the registered dietitian and mother of three. “Then he started adding prunes to them,” she said laughing, “which was more of a love or hate relationship.”

And last year, she got even more adventurous, trying out whole wheat spinach matzah balls, and “matzah-tons” — a play on wontons with ground meat inside. “I like to try and incorporate whole wheat as much as possible” for health reasons, said Genger, noting that there are more whole wheat products for Passover today than ever before. Genger said using whole wheat matzah meal doesn’t change the texture much, but “you definitely taste the whole wheat flavor.”

And as for the ultimate kneidl question?

“I try to make them al dente, firm but not too firm,” said Nathan.

As for Genger, “when I was younger I always liked them hard, as I got older I now like them light and fluffy and a little firmer in the center.”
But no matter what varieties you try out over the years, said Nathan, “you always remember your mother’s.” 

Whole Wheat Spinach Matzah Balls
- Makes 16
From Tamar Genger
2 eggs and 2 egg whites
1 ¼ tsp. coarse kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 10-oz. package frozen
chopped spinach, thawed
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. seltzer
½ cup whole wheat matzah meal
½ cup regular matzah meal
Process spinach in a food processor (you can skip this, but it won’t look as nice), then add in eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper, oil and seltzer and pulse a few more times to combine. Pour into a bowl and mix in matzah meal. Cover and chill for at least one hour or overnight; the longer it sits the fluffier it will be.
Bring large pot of generously salted water to boil. Using wet hands, shape matzah mixture into 16 balls; drop into boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer matzah balls to the soup.

Lithuanian Beef-Stuffed Matzah Balls
- Makes 8-10
From Joan Nathan’s “The Jewish Holiday Cookbook”
Filling:
¼ pound ground beef
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. softened chicken fat
or margarine
2 tbsp. matzah meal, approximately
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Matzah Balls:
2 large eggs
2 cups water
10 tsp. chicken fat or margarine
plus more for greasing pan
1 ¼ cups matzah meal
1 tsp. salt
3 quarts rapidly boiling salted water
2 tsp. cinnamon
For the filling, heat the oil in a medium skillet and sauté the beef until brown. Drain and cool and then mix with the egg yolks, chicken fat, matzah meal, salt and cinnamon. Refrigerate at least one hour.
For the matzah balls, begin by beating the eggs well in a bowl. Add the water and chicken fat and mix well. Add the matzah meal and salt to make a soft mass. Refrigerate at least one hour.
Divide the matzah meal mixture in to 8 to 10 balls of equal size. Flatten them and place a teaspoon of the filling in the center of each, before pinching the edges together to form balls.
Place the matzah balls in to the boiling water, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Drain the matzah balls and place in a pan greased with the remaining chicken fat and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Serve each matzah ball in a bowl with chicken soup.

Austrian Apple-Stuffed Dessert Dumplings- Makes 12
From Joan Nathan’s “Jewish Holiday Cookbook”
Filling:
1 medium-sized apple, peeled, cored and grated
3 tbsp. coarsely chopped almonds
2 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. grated lemon zest
Matzah Balls
3 squares of water matzah
3 large eggs
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup finely chopped almonds
grated zest of one lemon
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. softened chicken fat,
butter or margarine
3-4 tbsp. matzah meal
vegetable oil for deep frying
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
For the filling: Combine the apple, almonds, sugar, cinnamon and lemon zest in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the matzah balls: Crumble the matzah and soak in warm water until soft. Drain and squeeze out the matzah as well as possible.
Combine the matzah with the eggs, 1/4 cup of the sugar, almonds, lemon zest, salt, chicken fat and matzah meal in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Form the matzah mixture in to walnut-sized balls. Flatten them and place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each ball, then close the ball up and pinch to seal around the filling.
In a heavy frying pan, heat two inches of oil to about 375 F. Fry the dumplings several at a time, turning after a minute or so, until they’re golden brown.
Remove to a paper towel to drain.
Mix the remaining two tablespoons of sugar and cinnamon together and roll the balls in the mixture. Serve immediately.