Brisket, Horseradish Polenta

Brisket and Horseradish Polenta

Oven-Roasted, Super-Tender, Umami-Rich
Beef Brisket
With Horseradish Polenta

L’Shana Tova Tikatevu

May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year

My tried and true, tender and tasty, umami-rich, oven-roasted beef brisket has a new look for Rosh Hashanah and the celebration of the New Year 5783. The brisket recipe hasn’t changed much, but the presentation has…

This year our beloved brisket is paired with horseradish polenta. I know that spicy pungent horseradish is not for everyone but horseradish lovers will certainly swoon. Everyone else can enjoy it with traditional polenta and be just as happy.

After the brisket is cooked, I add carrots to the sauce for flavor, texture, and color and as another symbol of the holiday. To observe Rosh Hashanah, traditional foods sweetened with honey, apples and carrots are served. They symbolize sweetness, blessings, abundance and the hope for a sweet year ahead.

Brisket and Horseradish Polenta

Brisket and Horseradish Polenta Recipes

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Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings

Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings
Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings

L’Shana Tova Tikatevu

May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year

Although my Jewish grandparents hailed from Russia and Romania, this Rosh Hashanah, I’m serving a dish that hails from a neighboring country – Hungary. It is one very similar to our beloved matzoh ball soup.

The dumplings, called gríz galuska, are shaped into three-sided ovals instead of round balls. They are made of farina instead of matzo meal. The batter contains a simple mix of egg, olive oil, and salt, just like matzoh balls. Similar, but different…something NEW for a NEW year.

Chicken Soup with Hungarian Farina Dumplings is definitely a delicious way to ring in the Jewish New Year! As the Rosh Hashanah celebration has no shortage of symbolic foods, my chicken soup has plenty of carrots to symbolize prosperity. They are sliced into wheels to look like gold coins. And the soup bowl is FULL of chicken, vegetables, herbs, and dumplings to symbolize abundance. I think my Nana and Papa would approve. (Read more about them and a great recipe for Kasha Varnishkes here).

Hungarian Farina Dumplings Recipe

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Chicken Soup with Exotic Saffron Matzoh Balls

Chicken Soup with Exotic Saffron Matzoh Balls
Chicken Soup with Exotic Saffron Matzoh Balls

I’m preparing Chicken Soup in memory of my Nana and in celebration of the Jewish New Year. And of course, my chicken soup for the High Holy Days will include matzoh balls. These saffron matzoh balls are richly-colored and exotic-tasting. The bright metallic flavor of saffron conjures up memories of foods from far away places. Their striking golden hue brings an element of surprise and beauty to the holiday table. The heady spice derived from the dried stigmas of a crocus, evokes interest and is powerfully irresistible.

I wish all of you, my family, and friends a New Year that is sweet and good. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a healthy, peaceful, and fulfilling year. And may this new year bring satisfaction, achievement, and happiness. L’Shana Tova!

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Bleu Waldorf Petrale Sole with Apple, Celery, Walnut

Bleu Waldorf Petrale Sole

Bleu Waldorf Petrale Sole with Apple, Celery, Walnut

Wishing You a Sweet New Year
L’Shana Tova!

My Rosh Hashanah main dish was inspired by the classic Waldorf Salad, a combination of apples, celery, walnuts, and mayonnaise. The salad was first created in the late 1800s at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City. This modern twist uses the mayonnaise as sauce for the fish and includes bleu cheese for a punch of flavor.

To observe Rosh Hashanah, symbolic foods such as honey, apples, and carrots are served. They represent blessings, abundance, and the hope for a sweet year ahead. Fish is a part of the Rosh Hashanah meal, for it is an ancient symbol of fertility and prosperity and also represents knowledge since its eyes are always open. As we reflect on our lives, values, and relationships – the festive symbolic meal is an integral component of the Rosh Hashanah celebration.

 Bleu Waldorf Petrale Sole Recipe

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Rosh Hashanah 5770

Dinner for A Sweet New Year
 
Crispy Rosemary Chicken Paillard and
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey
Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash, Spinach, Walnuts

Israeli Couscous Side Dish
Roast cubes of butternut squash with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook Israeli couscous. Add squash, baby spinach leaves, toasted chopped walnuts to the cooked couscous. The spinach will wilt in the hot couscous. Season with salt and pepper, finish with a drizzle of roasted walnut oil.

We are celebrating the Jewish New Year 5770
which began last night at sundown.

Squeeze lemon juice on sliced apples, then brush with olive oil. Grill over high heat.

Make breadcrumbs out of day old baguette, add fresh rosemary, pulse to combine.

Have you tried air-chilled chicken? During processing, the USDA requires that the carcass temperature be lowered to 40 degrees within 4 hours to retard the growth of bacteria. Usually chickens are placed in an ice bath with chlorine for about an hour. In contrast, air-chilled chickens are sprayed with a chlorinated water and laid out on a track under refrigeration. Some say this method is safer, less contamination with other chickens. The meat definitely has a different texture from not soaking in water for over an hour. And they say the skin comes out more crispy with the air-chilled birds too.

These boneless skinless chicken thighs are from Whole Foods Market. I usually prepare this dish with chicken breasts but tried thighs this time. These air-chilled chicken thighs were the best ever. So flavorful and moist.
I put the thighs, one-by-one, in a ziplock bag and pounded them with a mallet to a uniform thinness. Seasoned each with salt and pepper, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, and coated with the breadcrumb/rosemary mixture.

Sautéed until golden brown over medium-high heat in canola oil.

Truffle Honey
La BOUTIQUE de la truffe
 

The Italian Truffle Honey is made of acacia honey and white truffles 3% (tuber albidum pico). In addition to the fabulous truffle carpaccio I served with heirloom tomatoes, La BOUTIQUE de la truffe also produces this dreamy truffle honey. Drizzle the truffle honey over the chicken and apples.

“the truffle is the very diamond of gastronomy”
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
This truffle honey gives the chicken and apples complex intriguing flavors. Simultaneously sweet and earthy and exotic. It rocks! The open jar of honey was sitting on my counter top, truffle aromas filled the kitchen.

Crispy Rosemary Chicken Thighs Paillard
Grilled Apples with Truffle Honey

Wishing You a Sweet New Year
L’Shana Tova!
To observe Rosh Hashanah, traditional foods sweetened with honey and apples are served. They symbolize sweetness, blessings, abundance and the hope for a sweet year ahead.
L’Shana Tova Tikatevu
 
May Your Name be Inscribed in The Book of Life
For a Good Year