…from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? Who is Mrs. Adler? Lea Adler was non-other than Steven Spielberg’s mother. Before she passed, Lea owned the Milky Way kosher restaurant on Pico Boulevard in West Los Angeles. Here was a lady in her 80s and 90s who loved to “work the floor” at the restaurant. We became great friends and from time-to-time Perspectives helped her and her husband with new recipes. Although Lea closed the restaurant during Passover when she and the family checked into a resort hotel where the food was kosher for Passover, she had a killer matzo ball soup. It starts by long-cooking a great, rich chicken soup. After simmering for 2 hours remove the chicken to cool and strain the soup. Next separate the chicken meat from the bones and skin (discard) add the chicken and the remaining carrots and celery and cook for another hour. That way you can enjoy perfectly cooked vegetables with your matzo balls. Prep time: 45 minutes (soup and matzo balls) Cook time: 3 hours Yield: 6 to 8 servings Ingredients 1 whole 3-pound+ chicken, cut into pieces 2 medium yellow onions, quartered 4 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces 4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns 4 fresh parsley sprigs 1 teaspoon kosher salt Additionally 2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces Directions
Matzo Balls Make, cook and cool the matzo balls while the soup is cooking. Ingredients 1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or chicken schmaltz—that’s cooked chicken fat) 2 large eggs, slightly beaten 1-1/2 cups matzo meal 1/2 ounce kosher salt 2 tablespoons chicken stock Directions
Putting all together—Place 2 or 3 matzo balls in a soup bowl and pour hot chicken soup over them. Serve hot. ChefSecret: What is chicken schmaltz? After cooking chicken, whether roasting or boiling, you’ll see a yellow tinged thick layer of fat rising to the top. Skim this off and let it cool until ready to use. You can also take the raw fat off the chicken and simmer it for an hour or so. Some stores make it easy and sell prepared chicken schmaltz. Quip of the Day: The IRS Assigns an Agent to Audit a Synagogue. The agent sits down with the rabbi and starts asking his interview questions. "What do you do with the crumbs left from the matzos?" The rabbi replies, "we save them up and when we have enough, we send them to the matzo factory and they send us back a free matzo ball." "Ok, then, what do with all the candle drippings?" The rabbi replies "well, we save them up and when we have enough we send them to the candle factory and they send us back a free candle." At this point the agent is getting a little frustrated. "Well, then, what do you do with all the foreskins from the circumcisions?" The rabbi replies "The foreskins? We save them up and when we have enough, we send them to the IRS and they send us back a little prick like you." Lea would have loved this joke! Alternative Matzo Quip One day Joe Biden went out to dinner with a Jewish friend. The friend recommended a kosher place nearby. They arrived and Joe’s friend ordered them both the house specialty—matzo ball soup. The waiter brought the bowls and Joe looked at the soup suspiciously, but his friend urged him to try at least one taste. So, he took a bite of matzo ball and slurped some soup and clearly liked it. After Joe was finished, he said, “Mmmmm, that was good! But tell me, do you Jewish folks eat other parts of the matzo, or just the balls?” ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Soup #MatzoBallSoup #ChickenSoup #Passover #LeadAdler #Spielberg #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023
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…from the Perspectives’ KitchenHow you doin’? I am always searching for special desserts for upcoming holidays and here’s one that made the cut. It is made with chopped cashews and crushed graham crackers. It is reminiscent of a carrot cake yet unique especially for celebrating Easter and welcoming in spring. Where were tortes invented? They are classically European, whereas cakes are far more American. The word torte is indeed European. In many Indo-European languages, the word for cake is a variant on "torte": torte (German), or torta (Spanish/Italian). I apprenticed at Hotel Sacher's in Vienna where the "Original Sacher Torte" was invented by Franz Sacher. During my term there I made hundreds of Sacher Tortes, but that is for another day… another blog. Yields: 6-8 servings Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 50 minutes Ingredients For the torte 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup flake coconut (sweetened or unsweetened both work), divided 1/2 cup chopped dry roasted and salted cashews 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 4 large egg whites 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoon vanilla extract For the topping 1 cup whipping cream 4 tablespoons powdered sugar 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest Directions To make the torte
ChefSecret: A traditional cake is made with ingredients mainly consisting of sugar, eggs, butter and flour. A torte, however, calls for little to no flour, with ground nuts, graham crackers or breadcrumbs in its place. This change of ingredients causes the torte to be much heavier in both texture and taste. Quip of the Day: Do not mix up your tortes with your torts or you may find yourself in court defending a cake. ------------------------------------------- Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. ------------------------------------------- To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross. #Baking #CashewCoconutTorte #Coconut #Cashews #Easter #Dessert #2023Recipes #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2023 |
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