Skip to main content

Pre-Thanksgiving

Its that time of year again.  My wife has been drying various types of bread for about two weeks.  The butcher is getting our order ready and invitations have been sent out.  Thanksgiving is next Thursday and we are beginning to feel exited.

Ok, it is true that there is so much going on in our lives that yet another event seems almost too much.  Thanksgiving is a tradition.  For 22 years, we've been serving our friends and family and celebrating our anniversary.  This year, we will also be giving special thanks for all that we have and particularly for our warm and giving community.  This coming year is going to be hard for everyone and only by working together within each family and across our extended communal family will we be able to weather the storms.  Health and Economy are the current dangers.  Let us pray that those are the only things we need to deal with.

I really didn't intend on waxing poetical in this post.  I am trying to save that for my official Thanksgiving post.  Stay tuned!

This weekend is no simple deal.  We have two girls, a young couple and a family of five eating with us for friday night.  Then on Shabbat lunch, we were invited out.  To make matters more interesting, I have a business meeting at noon on friday in Tel-Aviv and will miss at least four hours of prime cooking time!  Arghhhhhhhhhhh...

Here's our menu for Friday night:

Shabbat Parshat YaYetze
Dinner - 16
Oriental Kohlrabi Soup
2 Split Roasted Chickens
Spicy Beef Stew
Couscous
Garlic Green Beans
Traditional Cole Slaw (With Mayonaise)
Cucumber Salad
Israeli Salad


Oriental Kohlrabi Soup
(Originally Oriental Potato Soup)
This recipe was adjusted because my son can't each potatoes unless they have been leeched for at least an hour (potassium is bad for late stage kidney failure).  So here is a version that's almost as good.   It uses those strange alien vegetables called Kohlrabi.  They look like green aliens with tentacles. 

1-2 pounds cubed beef (bite size pieces)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 bunch green onions (optional) or 1 onion finely diced
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
6 kohlrabi cut into french fries
12 cups beef or chicken stock (I use chicken stock)

Marinate the beef and onions in the soy sauce and sesame oil for at least an hour
Heat a large soup pot and add the vegetable oil until its hot
Saute the beef and onions (save the liquids) until brown
Add the liquids from the marinade, the kohlrabi and the stock
Cook for at least an hour

Surprisingly, the kohlrabi looks and tastes almost like a potato.  It has fooled a lot of my friends.




Labels

Labels:

Comments

The Zivans said…
Hi Elliot...we are looking forward to our first Thanksgiving dinner in Hashmonaim...
Thank you for everything you and Leah are doing!

I am planning on copying you Parshat Vayeira menu; how did the crock pot chicken come out and did you substitute something else for the yogurt in the pakistani zucchini recipe?

Wishing you much Mazal this 22nd year...Makom, Z'man and Limud...and from what I see, you are on the path!

Karen Z.
November 23, 2008 at 1:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A change of pace (Kidney Failure)

I have been trying to keep this blog focused on hospitality and food.  God though has other plans for his creations and I find now that I will have to expand the scope to cover new topics.  I'll try to continue blogging about my menus and our guests, but expect more posts that have little or nothing to do with food. In February of this year, My second oldest son, Asaf was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. Simply put, both his kidneys are damaged and scarred from some infection or defect that happened years ago.  They will likely cease to function sometime within the next six months. The good news is that there is no immediate danger to his life.  Kidney Dialysis is a viable option and can maintain his health for up to ten or more years if necessary.  Unfortunately, the process is not easy and there are potential side effects. Given Asaf's generally excellent health and age, Kidney Dialysis is considered only a stop-gap measure and not a long term solution. The best solutio...
13 comments
Read more

Family, Friends and Guests

Another week, and this Shabbat is going to be busy.  We have four guests from NCSY who are in Israel for a summer program.  They will be eating dinner with us, but eating lunch with the rest of their group.  My sister and her family are coming over from Alon Shvut.  Her husband works with groups from the states during the summers and is almost never home for summer Shabbatot.  To top it off, we have a few friends who are temporarily alone. Their wife or husband is away for Shabbat.  They will add some flavor to tomorrow's lunch. Menus are pretty simple this week.  All stuff I've made before.  I'm in a bit of a rut, partially because the vegetables this year are less plentiful than last year.  Its a shmita year and even though we hold heter mechira, there is just less good produce.  Partially, its because I need some ideas.  I havn't read a new cookbook in while.  I'll try and review some old ones this weekend.  I've talked to professional chef's who go throu...
1 comment
Read more

Post Wedding!

What a feeling!  Married off my son and gained a daughter.   The wedding was very special.  As befits our family, it went off according to schedule, even finishing 15 minutes early.  Yet, no-one felt that it was too short or that something was missing.  The dancing was perfect and the shtick funny and smooth.  All in all, a good evening was had by all. The young couple are like cats that have just eaten the bird.  They walk around with a big grin.  No worries.  What a wonderful time to be young, in love and married!  May they have many such years together in happiness and health. The weekend after the wedding it is traditional for the families to have meals together.  The mother's of the couple have arranged to serve meals at the local synagogue.  Of course, both families are making parts of the meals.  Like the marriage, this weekend is a partnership. My father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law and two brother's...
3 comments
Read more