Hanukkah
will begin in the evening of Sunday, December 2 and ends in the
evening of Monday, December 10 This
Jewish holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the 2nd Temple in
Jerusalem. It is also known as the Festival
of Lights and
the Feast of
Dedication.
Hanukkah is
observed for eight nights and days. As
a child in the fifties, my best friend's family kept kosher. I feel
privileged to have been exposed to such a wonderful religion and
culture that most of my other friends did not know. So here is a nice
kosher meal fitting the holiday!
Even
tough cuts of beef turn tender when cooked low and slow. Give this a
nice crust of horseradish and honey, then serve with a savory noodle
dish and a green vegetable on the side and you have a great meal. A
meal steeped in thousands of years of tradition. Proven great tastes!
Ingredients:
2
– 3 lbs brisket
1
cup carrots
2
cups beef stock.
Crust:
1
clove garlic, chopped fine
1
tsp salt
6-oz
horseradish
2
to 3 Tbs honey mustard
Directions:
Preheat
the oven to 275
degrees F.
Slice
the onions and place in a sprayed baking dish. Add the baby carrots.
Brown
the brisket in a skillet on all sides, about
10 minutes.
Place
carrots in pan and the meat on top.
Pour
in the beef stock around the meat and cover with foil.
Braise
in oven for about an
hour a lb.
After
the meat has been placed in the oven start the kugel:
When
the meat has roasted for 2 and a half hours, remove from oven and
brush with horseradish-mustard mixture
Raise
heat to 300.
Return the meat to bake, uncovered, until the crust is golden, 30
to 35 minutes.
Remove
the brisket to a cutting board and let it rest for 15
minutes.
Strain out the vegetables and pour off some of the excess fat, then
pour over the brisket.
Slice
brisket across the grain
(Barbecue
sauce may be served on the side, if preferred.)
Caramelized
Shallot Noodle Kugel
Cooking
the egg custard with a water bath makes this dairy-free kugel creamy,
soft and silky in texture.
Ingredients
3
tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing the dish
Kosher
salt + pepper to taste
8
ounces wide egg noodles
5
large eggs, lightly beaten
½
cup chicken or vegetable broth
Pinch
freshly grated nutmeg
3
shallots, thinly sliced
1
bag fresh spinach
2
cloves garlic, finely chopped
Directions
Lightly
coat a 2-quart oval baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of
water to a boil and add enough salt so that the water tastes like the
sea. Add the noodles and cook 2
minutes less
than the package directions.
The
noodles should be firm-tender. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, and then
drain the noodles. Let the noodles and pasta water cool slightly.
While
that cooks:
Slice the shallots set aside.
Rinse
and pull off the stems from the spinach.
In
a large bowl whisk the eggs with the broth and pasta water until
smooth. Add the noodles and nutmeg and stir to combine. Set aside.
Always
break eggs into a small bowl one at a time before adding to larger
bowl. This makes it easier to pull out an small bits of eggshell.
Meanwhile,
heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add
the shallots and cook, without stirring, until the edges are browned,
about 5
minutes.
Stir the shallots and continue to cook, stirring, until
well browned.
Add
the spinach by the handful, (it will wilt down to almost nothing
quickly) season with ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste. Cook about 8
minutes.
Add
the spinach mixture to the noodles and season with ¾ tsp salt and
pepper to taste.
Transfer
to the prepared baking dish and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon
olive oil. Tent with foil.
Carefully
transfer to the oven and bake until the center is set, about 1
hour 20 minutes.
Let stand at least
5 minutes.
Garnish
with Parmesan cheese. (Serve hot or at room temperature.)
When
meat and kugel are out of oven and resting then start to zap your
plain green vegetable in the microwave.
Slice
meat across the grain or it could still be tough. Strain liquid from
pan and serve as an Au Ju on the side.
So
great to be able to serve my Master this way.
socialslave
To
satisfy and restore.
To
nourish, support and maintain.
To
gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to
nurture, assist, and sustain
…..I
cook!
Please
buy slave's cookbook:
The
Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM
via @amazon
Hanukkah
the
story:
The
central tenet of Hanukkah is that light
shall overcome darkness!
In 167
BC, Antiochus
IV Epiphanes of Syria came upon the
Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a
great multitude, and sent out his soldiers to plunder without mercy.
He also spoiled the temple, Judaism was outlawed. Antiochus
ordered an altar to Zeus
erected in the Temple. He banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be
sacrificed at the altar of the temple. This was to disgust the
Jewish people and defile in the worst way possible.
These actions provoked a
large-scale revolt. Two years latter the Jewish revolt was
successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated.
The festival of Hanukkah
was instituted to celebrate this event. The Temple was ordered to be
cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and
new holy vessels to be made. According to the Hebrew Law,
un-adulterated and un-defiled pure olive oil
was needed for the lamps, which were required to burn throughout the
night every night. However they could only find one bowl of that
oil. It had been sealed with the signet ring of the High Priest from
the days of Samuel the prophet so they knew that it was pure. Yet it
was only enough for one night!
The God of heaven blessed
that oil and they were able to light lamps from it for eight days,
the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of kosher oil for the
menorah. An eight-day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to
commemorate this miracle.
In these days, it is not
permitted to mourn, nor to decree a fast! Anyone who has a vow to
perform, let him perform it then.
This holiday is symbolized
by what is called a Menorah.
This is a nine-branched
candelabra lit during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah.
On each night of Hanukkah
a new branch is lit. The ninth holder, called the shamash
("helper" or "servant"),
is for a candle used to light all other candles and/or to be used as
an extra light. To be kosher the shamash must be offset on a higher
or lower plane than the main eight candles or oil lamps.
The menorah is among the
most widely produced articles of Jewish ceremonial art. (The
seven-branched menorah is a traditional symbol of Judaism, along with
the Star of David.)
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