Weekend Hospitality

We're having family over for Shabbat.  Its been some time since one of my siblings came to visit and we are very excited.  Unfortunately, there are two other pressing items this weekend.  One is that I'm leaving on a business trip Saturday night.  The day before one of these trips is always more intense.  The second issue is that my wife is running a Bar Mitzva weekend.   In this case, it means that she will be working two out of the three shabbat meals for the Bar Mitzva and will not be eating with us. So, to make things more interesting, we invited over one of my sibling's friends from the community.  Their seven people added to our family and my sibling's five will make for a reasonably full dinner of 18.  Lunch will be smallish with only 15 people. There is a new tradition called the Kosher Cooking Carnival.  Its a monthly compendium of Kosher cooking blogs.  This month A Mother in Israel will be hosting the next Kosher Cooking Carnival on April 7.   Topics will in...

Last weekend was fun.  The boys from Shapell's come from varied backgrounds and were very involved in our conversations.  We had David (originally from Tallahassee) , Noah (from Cleveland) and Farley (from London).   Our lunch guests brought two of their sisters (Tamar and Bat Sheva).   Bat Sheva and David spent most of the afternoon together, to the point where we could not find David when Shabbat was over.  He has gone to spend time with our lunch guests children (or so he said). From the food perspective, the Carbonnade was very impressive.  Definitely a recipe that I will use again.  Its very rich and full of flavor.  Next time, I may add the mustard as in the original recipe.   College Goo was also a bit hit.  Its a nice simple recipe that tastes great.  We didn't put in any peas this time. We have been trying to do a better job of quantity management.   In the past weeks, we have made too much food.  This week, I tried to make less main dishes and everyone still seemed sa...

Every time I travel, it takes a week or more to get back into our normal schedule.  Last weekend, we had no out-of-town guests and were even (gasp) invited out for a meal.  This weekend, things have gone back to normal.  Three boys from  Shapell's are visiting with us.  A family in our community is remodeling their kitchen, so they are coming over for dinner along with three of my 15 year olds friends.  How quickly we reach 20 for dinner.  A family whose matriarch is 8 month pregnant will be with us for lunch (8+3+4 = 15 people total). This week, I'm revisiting an old recipe I made up in college.  It is fittingly called College Goo.  It was something I could whip up that stretched the ingredients, was very filling and tasted good (to a college student on a limited budget).  Its ground meat, rice, onions, mushrooms and peas and garlic, and is usually served with soy sauce.  Quantities are very loose, so its more of a make it up as you go dish.  I usually add Cumin while I saute...

I was traveling last weekend and so we had no guests.  My family was invited out and ate all their Shabbat meals with friends.  I was lucky to be staying with a cousin in Newton, Mass.  I enjoyed spending time with them and their three young children.  Its hard to remember how busy those days are when you are just starting out and have little kids in the house.  I did get a new recipe that has been passed down from my aunt.  See then end of this post for details. This weekend is also a bit unusual.  We don't have any post-high school guests and we are eating out for dinner.  Shabbat lunch is the only meal I cooked for and we have invited a local family.  I arrived  back from the states yesterday and so I'm a bit jet-lagged.  Perhaps that can explain the relative simplicity of tomorrows meal. There was a terrible attack yesterday night at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.  First, we know many people who have studied there.  Secondly, it could have been any of the places where our guests s...