Weekend Hospitality

This is the last weekend before all of my children start school. Four out of six started this past week. The youngest two will start on Sunday. Our house is (as usual) in an uproar since we are sponsoring a kiddush in honor of my fourth son's Bar Mitzva. My wife is busy executing on a small kiddush for 300 people with two whole salmons, macaroni and cheese and lots of other good eats. None of this changes my job of making dinner and lunch for the family. Because of the festivities, we are honored to have my parents with us. Our numbers are small since we did not invite anyone else. We are only 9 for dinner and lunch! Parshat Ki Tavo Dinner - 9 Chicken Soup with Matza Balls Beef Burgundy Turkey Rolada Couscous Artichoke hearts Lunch - 9 Lemon and Herb Pargiot Leiah's Best Fried Chicken (x8 x2) Petitim Broccoli Cabbage and Peppers A Turkey Rolada is rolled turkey breast from the butcher. I made it in an oven bag with onions, green pepper, carrots and parsley. The trick...

I don't know why I keep making this mistake, but roast potatoes just don't taste good when they are reheated. I made the potatoes by peeling and roasting them with spices (garlic, salt, olive oil). They were wonderful right from the oven. I put them in a pan and then into the refrigerator for today's lunch. Reheated on the hot plate, they were mealy and rather unappetizing. The only potato recipe I recall that reheat well is potatoes smothered in oil. If the potatoes are real oily then they reheat much better. Go figure.... The rest of the food was very nice. Pargiot Adobo was nice and not particularly spicy. The cabbage dishes were good, but again suffered from being reheated. We had a nice weekend with my inlaws. Our house was bursting with kids and was VERY noisy. Nice, but tiring.

Last weekend we were away at a field school for a double bar-mitzva. My son and my nephew were born 24 hours apart 13 years ago and so we shared their weekend. The event was a major success, but very stressful as far as logistics. The weather here is in the 90's (30's celcius) every day with low humidity. Its wearing to be out and about. This weekend is for recovery! We still have relatives staying with us. In addition, a new family just moved into our community and we will be hosting them for one meal (lunch). Parshat Ki Teitzei Dinner - 12 people Mushroom Garlic Soup Cajun Chicken Pargiot with Adobo Seasoning Stir fried Cabbage and Garlic w/ Pepper Flakes Rice Roast Zucchini and Tomatoes Lunch - 15 people Corned Beef Meat Roll Roast Potatoes with Rosemary Cabbage and Ginger Green Salad w/ Dressings I start my soups by making stock. I purchased a mess of turkey bones from my butcher a few weeks ago and put them in the freezer until I was ready to use them. Today, I po...

This weekend is even quieter than the last. We were invited out for lunch and so I only have to cook for Friday nights dinner. Its only our family, so our count is 8. The weather has been very hot (come on, its summer in Israel, the weather is ALWAYS hot). Shabbat R'ei Dinner Irish Stew with Guinness (From The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother ) Mashed Potatoes Brussels Sprouts Green Beans and Garlic Cookies Real meat and potatoes meal. Nothing special. My boys love beef and I just picked up a package of beef and bones from the butcher.

Our counts ended up as 13 for dinner and 11 for lunch. The cabbage pepper salad was great. The color is wonderful. I think that I would add a bit more vinegar next time. The carrot jalapeño salad was not a big hit. Too spicy and a bit to exotic for this crowd. It was a quiet weekend, which is probably a good thing since we have lots of guests arriving from the states this week and next.

Its Friday and time for me to start cooking. My first stop is the guest list. We will have 13-15 people for dinner and 8 or 9 for lunch. One or more of my children's friends are usually last minute drop-ins so we prepare in advance and set them a place at the table. Next step is the fridge and freezer. I have 2 quarts of chicken stock that I made last week and about a quart of oriental beef stock (its got sesame oil in it). I have two chickens cut up in eights (chickenx8) without the skin and a package of pargiot. Pargiot are de-boned chicken thighs. They look like a small rolled chicken and come in packages of 8-12. We also have some cooked seasoned chicken pieces from the super-market (my wife bought them). Lots of raw veggies. I always make two menus and sometimes three. One for dinner tonight, one for lunch and sometimes one for dinner Saturday night. Here goes. Shabbat Eikev Dinner French Onion Soup Coq au Vin - Chicken in Red wine (16 pieces) Pepper Cabbage Carro...

I live in a community where Saturday (Shabbat, The Sabbath) is special. Our Shabbat starts on Friday evening before dusk and ends after the stars come out on Saturday night. First, where we live, most of the residents don't do any work on the Shabbat. That includes business, but also simple things like driving a car, turning on a light or cooking on the stove. Now some may say that this makes Shabbat the ultimate bore, but instead, its a time to meet with friends, share a meal and relax. I live in a place where there are lots of college age students studying on their year abroad. There is a service called Anywhere in Israel that helps these students find places for the weekend. Our town has been the most requested location for the past two years. Any our house is always open and welcoming. We love company! I love to cook... But only on for Shabbat. Its not that I don't like to cook any other time, but that I work too many jobs and the only time I have to relax is F...