Getting Ready For Rosh Hashanah

"L'shana Tova -- Ketivah vi-chatima Tova!"

"For a good year -- You should be written and sealed in the Book of Life."

Rosh Hashanah starts on Wednesday night so I have searching for new and interesting recipes for the holiday.

In the end my menu for Erev Rosh Hashanah is:

Vegetarian chopped liver (to die for)

Golden lemon chicken (for the meat eater)

Mushroom strudel

A warm baby potato salad

Lightly steamed broccoli and salads

For dessert, wild blueberry cheesecakes.(bought, holding hands up)

I have to admit that since being diagnosed as a diabetic in 2004 I haven't made the honey cake I used to make and it was so good. I had to make it 2 weeks before the chag so it could meld all the spices together. It's a recipe from Evelyn Rose.

Tomorrow I will put together the challah dough and then place it in the bottom of the fridge to rise overnight and then will form little round challahs on Wednesday morning and bake them.

The chicken recipe came from the woman, who to me, was the most wonderful Jewish cookery writer, Evelyn Rose. Sadly, she passed away a few years ago.

You can tell that her cookbook, 'The Complete International Jewish Cookbook' is my most used thanks to the stains and matzoh meal crumbs. lol

It was the first book I bought when I moved to England, 30 years ago, and it is still used.

GOLDEN LEMON CHICKEN BREASTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serves 6.
Leftovers keep 3 days under refrigeration.
The breasts take on a beautiful golden glaze as they and the lemon halves bake in the exquisite lemon syrup.

9 oz. (250 g) caster [superfine] sugar
3 large lemons
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 grinds black pepper
6 partly boned chicken breasts, unskinned
fresh parsley to garnish

Place the caster sugar in an 8-inch (20 cm) saucepan with 1 pint (575 ml) water and slowly dissolve over a low heat. Bring to the boil and bubble for 3 minutes. Pierce the skin of the lemons with a fork or skewer, place in the sugar syrup, then cover and cook at a slow boil for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven at gas no. 8 (450 F, 230 C).

Remove the lemons, then halve when cool. Bubble the liquid over a medium heat for about 12 minutes or until reduced by half (approximately 10 fl oz/275 ml) and a golden caramel color. To check the color, take the pan off the heat, then allow the bubbles to settle.

Season the chicken breasts and place skin-side down in a roasting tin that is just large enough to hold them in a single layer with the lemon halves.

Pour the sugar syrup over the chicken and lemons.

Place the tin in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, turning the breasts over half way through cooking. Nick a breast to make sure that it is cooked right through to the center. The chicken can now be kept warm at gas 1 (275
F, 150 C).

Alternatively, if the chicken is cooked before your guests arrive, take out of the oven, then return to a moderate oven while you are eating the starter. Garnish with the parsley before serving.


Note: the inside of the lemon is delicious to eat.



The mushroom strudel comes from Nigel Slater. I haven't made it yet but someone I know, another veggie, loves it. Instead of the puff pastry, I'm going to use filo, it's lighter.

5 medium-sized onions
enough butter or oil to cover the bottom of a medium-sized shallow pan
350g of any firm variety of mushrooms, or a mixture
chopped thyme, lemon thyme or oregano (just enough to sit in the palm of your hand)
about 200g crème frache
425g puff pastry
a little beaten egg or milk to glaze the pastry

Peel and roughly chop the onions and let them cook slowly with the butter or oil over a low heat for 20 minutes or so, until they are golden, soft and almost transparent.

Tear or slice the mushrooms into large, bite-sized pieces and add them to the onions, adding a little more butter or oil if they soak it all up. Leave them to turn golden and tender but stir them from time to time so they do not stick and burn.

Season them with the chopped herbs and stir in the crème frache, grinding in a little salt and pepper as you go. You want a mixture that is creamy rather than runny, so let it bubble for a minute or two to thicken.

Heat the oven to 200 C/gas mark 6.

The pastry needs to be rolled into two rectangles about 35cm by 20cm (conveniently the same measurements as the ready-rolled frozen stuff). Lay one piece on a lightly floured baking sheet and spread the mushrooms and onions over, leaving a good finger-thickness of bare rim around the edge.

Brush a little beaten egg, milk or even water around the rim, lay the second rectangle of pastry over the top and squeeze the rims together to seal. It is worth being zealous about pinching the pastry - there shouldn't be any possibility of the filling escaping.

Brush with more of the beaten egg or milk so the pastry will take on a rich golden shine in the oven, then cut a few little holes in the top to let out the steam.

Bake the pie until it has puffed up like a cushion and is the colour of honey. This should take about 25 minutes.

It is worth sneaking a look at the bottom to check if the pastry is crisp underneath (it should be fine, because this is not an especially wet filling).

The Vegetarian Chopped Liver is so good when warm. I normally make it for Pesach but since my meat eating son loves it so much, I'm doing it for Wednesday.

5 hard boiled eggs
1 cup walnuts
2 medium size onions

1.Saute the onions until nice and brown.
2.Chop the walnuts in a food processor.
3.Add the still hot eggs and the onions, including the oil that they were fried in.

That's it. How easy is that?


I just want to add a salad here.

BRAZIL NUT SALAD

1 crisp lettuce, separated into leaves
4x15ml spoon French dressing/4 Tb French dressing (see below)
3 bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
1x15ml spoon lemon juice/1 Tb lemon juice
100g Brazil nuts, finely chopped/4oz Brazil nuts, finely chopped

Arrange half the lettuce leaves in a shallow salad bowl.
Shred the remaining lettuce into a mixing bowl and pour over the French dressing.
Toss to coat well.
Sprinkle the bananas with the lemon juice.
Add half the bananas and the Brazil nuts to the shredded lettuce and toss to combine.
Pile the nut and banana mixture on top of the lettuce leaves in the serving bowl.
Arrange the remaining banana slices around the edge in a ring and serve.


FRENCH DRESSING

2x15ml spoons wine vinegar/2Tb wine vinegar
1x5ml spoon salt/1tsp salt
1x5ml spoon freshly round pepper/1 tsp freshly ground pepper
6x15ml spoon olive oil/6Tb olive oil

Put the vinegar, salt, pepper, and oil in a screw-topped jar.
Shake vigorously until well mixed.
Used as required.

Makes 120 ml or 4 fl.oz

I think that it will be okay for me to make these, it is getting more difficult for me to stand and cook with the arthritis. I have to chose recipes that won't make me stand for hours.

I miss not going to shul. I live in a non Jewish town and to get to the nearest shul would be such a schlep. So I have the prayer books and will do my own thang.

Then I will worry about Yom Kippur and what to make for my son before and after the fast. The diabetes makes me unable to fast. I have just about gotten over the guilt of that.