March 3, 2011 - 5:07pm
L'Shanah Tovah!
BY JORDAN KRISTOPIK
- Clockwise from upper left: salmon, the serving table, and the main course
Brace yourselves. I’m about to write about yet another Jewish holiday. Remember this and that? Well, Rosh Hashanah was last week, and I never miss an excuse to cook. But for this Jewish New Year, I was off the hook. It’s a good thing, too, because I don’t think my Roman Catholic upbringing could have topped this awesome meal. The “professionals” in this case were my roommate’s parents, who decided to break in our apartment’s kitchen with course after course of cuisine.
We first started with a cold poached salmon topped with marinated cucumbers and dill sauce, which was refreshing and delicious. The next course was homemade matzoh ball soup made with a flavorful, full-bodied broth. I have to give credit to the youngest member of the family (an eighth-grade boy, nonetheless) who made the matzoh balls, as well as the homemade Challah bread that we devoured with every course. The main course consisted of tender brisket, rich mashed potatoes, fresh salad, savory oven-roasted tomatoes, and my personal favorite, noodle kugel. The kugel is a traditional baked casserole with egg noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese, and saffron. It is comfort food at its finest.
There was no need to stop there; dessert was another meal in itself. The traditional apples and honey were present, along with three varieties of rugelach, a fluffy yet rich rolled cookie. We indulged on rugelach stuffed with chocolate chips, cherry jam, and cinnamon sugar.
It was a splendid and enjoyable evening (made even more so when all the dirty dishes were piled in the car and leftovers packed in our fridge). I eagerly asked about the next holiday for which we could cook, and turns out Yom Kippur is right around the corner! Unfortunately, it involves an all-day fast. Maybe I’ll just conveniently be Jewish at sundown….
