A note from the students: We're grateful for this experience because it has allowed us to understand what some older traditions of Judaism look like and how similar and different they are compared to our traditions today. This experience has also allowed us to bond over food with our friends. This created many memories that will last for a lifetime. It has also created opportunities for new learning experiences for everyone. Since none of us are professional chefs, we all learned a lot to teach to our family and friends. 2 Bubbes & Zayde’s Table of Contents Kitchen 4 Soups and Appetizers Grandma Esther’s Chicken Soup Aunt Dora’s Matzoh Balls Borscht Cheese Bourekas 10 Entrees Indian stuffed Eggplants Stuffed Peppers Best Ever Brisket 14 Side dishes Israeli Salad Kartoffe Latkes - Potato Pancakes Pineapple Kugel Zeesih Kaese Latkes – Sweet Cheese Pancakes Hungarian Lokshen Noodle Kugel Moroccan Charoset 21 Desserts & Sweets Haman’s Fingers Switzerland Chocolate Cake Gateau Au Coco Hamentaschen Mandlebread Matzo Brittle Pan d’Espanya (Spanish Sponge Cake) Chocolate Challah Bread Pudding All recipes were made in class or are the participants’ families’ recipes. 3 Grandma Esther’s Chicken Soup Submitted by Arlene Provder Ingredients: directions: 1 whole: chicken cut in eighths 2 large carrots, peeled and cut in half 2 onions, peeled and cut in half 2 - 3 stalks of celery with the leaves on 1 turnip or parsnip peeled 2 cloves peeled garlic Several sprigs of parsley Salt and pepper to taste One kosher chicken bouillon cube 8 oz. fine egg noodles Procedure: 1. Wash and clean chicken, pluck off extra feathers and cut off large pieces: of chicken fat 2. Place chicken in large pot with vegetables and parsley 3. Fill pot with cold water approximately three quarters full or perhaps a little more 4. Bring soup to a boil and add salt and pepper 5. Once boiling, bring to simmer and occasionally stir to skim off the reside 6. After one hour add the bouillon cube. Soup should be delicious in about one hour and 30 mins, perhaps a little more. 7. While soup is bubbling prepare noodles (very fine) to add to soup when ready to serve. Once the soup is finished remove the vegetables and the chicken. 8. Some people prefer the clear broth with maybe a carrot slice or two, others prefer everything!! 4 Bubbes & Zayde’s Kitchen Shabbat Memories From Arlene Provder Growing up, Shabbat was special in my house. We all looked forward to Friday eve, and of course the weekend. Often my mother would start preparing the Sabbath meal on Thursday. Since I grew up in a conservative environment that meant no "labor" was conducted: no shopping, no spending money. Routine chores were not done; it was basically family time. One of my favorite things was coming home to the delicious smell of chicken soup, pot roast, kugel (sometimes) and roasted potatoes. Dessert was usually canned fruit cocktail. Before our meal, my mother would put a table cloth over the small kitchen table, cover her head with a shawl, light the candles and recite the blessing. The candlesticks were the ones that her mother brought from Hungary when she came to America. After lighting the candles, she would always say "Good Shabbos, children." My favorite dish was Grieven, crisp chicken skin with fried onions, which then rendered a byproduct called "schmaltz" or chicken fat! This was so delicious on fresh rye bread. I could not wait to get home from school, as this was so special. I always rushed to get home so I could get at it before my sister! 5 Aunt Dora’s Matzoh Balls Submitted by Hannah Freiberg directions: Ingredients: 2 eggs: chilled 2 Tablespoons seltzer 1 ½ Tablespoons cold chicken fat ½ cup matzoh meal Procedure: 1. Beat together: eggs and water, add chicken fat and beat long enough to blend thoroughly. Stir in matzoh meal and seasoning. Batter will be thin. 2. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour. 3. With wet hands form small balls about the size of walnuts. 4. Add matzoh balls to 2 ½ quarts of boiling water. 5. On a low flame, cook for 20 minutes in a covered pot. 6 Bubbes & Borscht Zayde’s Yield: 10 servings Kitchen Ingredients:directions: 6 cups chicken: stock, beef stock, or vegetable stock for vegetarians 3 medium beets, washed well 3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into cubes 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced or shredded 1 small red onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 head red cabbage, cored and shredded 1 large tomato, diced 1 cup tomato sauce 2 - 4 Tablespoons sugar or to taste Salt and pepper to taste 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped Sour cream for topping (optional) Procedure: 1. Place beets: in a large pot and fill with just enough water to cover them. Cover pot and boil until tender, about 45 minutes. Remove beets from pot to a plate or cutting board and set aside to cool. 2. Add broth, carrots, and potatoes to beet water and boil covered for about 15 minutes, then add onions, garlic, cabbage, and diced tomatoes. 3. Peel and slice the cooked beets and add to pot. Cook until the beets lose their color, about 30 minutes. Add tomato sauce, sugar, dill, salt, and pepper then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. 4. Serve hot topped with sour cream 7 Purim Memories By: Stanley Edelman When one thinks of traditional Purim foods, the one that comes to mind first for the vast majority of Jewish-Americans is the hamentaschen, the symbol of the hated Haman who wanted to destroy the Jews, but was foiled by Esther. So Haman gained a level of immortality by having his hat used as the template of Purim, and the survival of the Jewish people. When I was about 8 or 9 in the mid-1940s, my mother baked hamentaschen. Without any printed recipe, she had an almost genetic imprint of what to do and how to do it. I had the job of grinding the mun. Mun is ground poppy seeds mixed with honey and other things that I like the taste of, but I don't know the actual ingredients. The grinder was a big 'L' shaped device. The poppy seeds were poured into the spout at the top, and, as I turned the crank, the screw device that was attached to the spout moved the seeds to the front of the grinder. Here there were two plates that rubbed against each other where the poppy seeds were transformed into the mun paste that my mother would use to create the hamentaschen. 8 Bubbes & Cheese Bourekas Zayde’s Yield: 32 turnovers Kitchen Ingredients: 1 pound filo: dough (about 20 sheets) directions: ¼ cup low fat cottage cheese 2 large eggs, beaten lightly 2 cups grated cheese, such as swiss, kashkaval, or cheddar 2 green onions, finely chopped Salt & pepper to taste 1 cup butter 2 Teaspoons sesame seeds (for sprinkling) Procedure: 1. Thaw filo sheets in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. Remove sheets from fridge 2 hours before: using and leave them in their package. 2. Put cottage cheese in strainer and press gently to remove excess liquid. Do not push cheese through strainer. Leave cheese in strainer for 10 minutes and press gently again. Mix cottage cheese with eggs, grated cheese, and green onions until smooth. Add pepper; taste before adding any salt. 3. Remove filo sheets from package and unroll them on a dry towel. Cut stack in half lengthwise to form 2 stacks of sheets of about 16x7 inches each. 4. Cover filo immediately with a piece of wax or parchment paper, then with a damp towel. Work with only one sheet at a time and always keep remaining sheets covered with paper and a damp towel so they don’t dry out. 5. Remove a filo sheet from pile. Brush it lightly with melted butter and fold it in half lengthwise so its dimensions are about 16 x 3 ½ inches. Dab it lightly with butter. Place about 1 ½ teaspoons cheese filling at one end of strip. Fold end of strip diagonally over filling to form a triangle, and dab it lightly with butter. Continue folding it over and over, keeping it in a triangular shape after each fold, until end of strip is reached. Set triangular pastry on a buttered baking sheet. Brush it lightly with butter. Continue to shape more pastries. 6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush pastries again lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature. 9 Indian Stuffed Eggplants Serves: 4-8 “Typically served on Simchat Torah” Ingredients:directions: 1 large: onion, chopped 3 Tablespoons canola oil 5 cloves garlic, crushed 1⁄2 cup dried grated coconut 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 Teaspoon ground coriander 1⁄2 Teaspoon ground cumin Salt 1⁄2 Teaspoon or more cayenne or ground chili pepper 1⁄4 cup cilantro leaves, minced 1 1⁄2 inch piece of ginger, grated 4 small eggplants Procedure: 1 1⁄4 cups canned coconut milk 1. For the filling, fry: the onion in the oil till golden. Add the garlic and grated coconut, and when lightly colored, add tamarind paste and brown sugar. 2. In a small bowl, add a few Tablespoons of water and tamarind paste. Add this to the pan along with the coriander, cumin, salt, cayenne or chili powder, cilantro, and ginger. 3. In another pan, boil about 2 1⁄2 cups of salted water with the coconut milk.