12 Feb 2012 | 19 Shevat 5772
Beth Janoff Chananie
LocalPublished: 30 December 2011
The Women’s Circle of Chabad of Paramus recently held a challah baking workshop — “Knead a Break?”— at a private home in Paramus. Along with learning to make the dough, Zeesy Grossbaum, the group’s leader, offered kabbalistic insights and some chasidic minhagim (customs) surrounding the meaningful celebration of making challah. In addition, Grossbaum brought ropes, tied in bunches of six, to practice braiding.
LocalPublished: 23 December 2011
The Giants and the Jets both had dismal Sundays last week (actually, Jets coach Rex Ryan used stronger words to describe his team’s 45-19 pounding at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles) and one of them will emerge the loser when they meet this weekend, but they both are hanging on to their playoff hopes. For the Giants, that means getting beyond the Jets game (and hoping that the Dallas Cowboys ground the Eagles), and then going on to defeat the Cowboys. For the Jets, it means holding on to a precarious lead over the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC East wild card slot.
It also means that Jewish football fans who will be heading for MetLife Stadium on New Year’s Day can count on at least one more bite of a kosher hot dog before hanging up the jerseys on the 2011 season.
Professional sports have come a long way in our area in the last few years, when it comes to accommodating the needs of the kosher sports fan.
Published: 09 December 2011
These two recipe books make lovely gifts for Chanukah — enjoy some of the featured recipes and remember to check my Cooking With Beth Blog at http://www.jstandard.com for some others.
The first two recipes come from “Temptations: Modern Kosher Recipes for Every Occasion,” published by ATARA (the sisterhood of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck). The cookbook is designed for today’s home chef and includes recipes (and spectacular photos of recipes) that are certain to produce mouthwatering dishes. The recipes are clearly marked meat, dairy, or pareve, and have step-by-step, easy-to-follow directions. There are also Pesach recipe conversions to make your favorite recipes available for the Festival of Unleavened Bread. There are wine pairings, too. “Temptations” can be purchased online at http://www.ketertorah.org/cookbook or at local establishments and Judaica emporia, including Glatt Express in Teaneck.
There is a new cookbook on the block — “B’tei ‘ avon! Family Favorites, from our Tables to Yours.” It was published by The Gerrard Berman Day School (GBDS) in Oakland. The spiral-bound 130+ page soft-covered book offers lots of great recipes, including appetizers, soups, salads, main courses, vegetables and side dishes, breads, rolls, pastries, cakes, cookies, desserts, brunch, Passover dishes, and “everything else,” a section with kid stuff including recipes for clay, bubbles, and paper maché. It is the type of book one will continually use as a reference and will quickly become a staple as the go-to book for a family event or simple meal.
Published: 02 October 2011
Beth’s tips for a post-Yom Kippur fete
Preparing for a break-the-fast meal should not be overwhelming. It is as simple as being organized and ready to go with plans in place to make an organized break-the-fast happen.
First, make a workable list and follow it. If you are a list-writer normally and already have several in your kitchen, write this list on a really bright piece of paper, so you can find it easily. Think about your guests and their diets. Is there anyone who needs to be dairy-free? gluten-free? low sugar or low salt, etc.? People with special needs appreciate the extra care.
Published: 31 December 2010
I am always excited to receive and use synagogue cookbooks, and it has been awhile since one came my way, so when “Favorite Recipes from Congregation Gesher Shalom” in Fort Lee was published, I was thrilled. The spiral-bound, easy-to-use cookbook edited by Paige Soltano and Rachel Schulman, with recipes by congregants, includes appetizers, soups and salads, vegetables, main dishes, breads, desserts, and traditional and holiday recipes.
Just in time for summer cooking and entertaining — and thinking ahead for the early onset of the High Holy Days (Rosh HaShanah is Sept. 9), here’s a taste of “Simply Southern — With a Dash of Kosher Soul.” Tracy Rapp and Dena Wruble are the editors of the book, a fund-raiser for the Margolin Hebrew Academy/Feinstone Yeshiva of the South (formerly the Memphis Hebrew Academy) in Memphis, Tenn. The book showcases “traditional kosher recipes turned Southern and traditional Southern recipes turned kosher.” Cooks can learn about Jewish life in the South through personal stories of some of the contributors and color photographs accompany many of the Jewish “soul food” recipes.
The book is a compilation of almost 300 Southern cuisine “classic” recipes, adhering to kashrut, chosen from 1,500 entries by the book’s editorial committee at the school, a small Orthodox day school. More than 2,500 copies have been sold since the book’s release in December.
Last month, I graduated from the 26th Teaneck Community Police Academy. Sadly, the township’s Community Policing Bureau, the division that runs the course, disbanded on Dec. 31 for lack of funds. That date also saw the departure of Police Lt. Michael Falvey, one of the original six officers assigned to that bureau, as well as its commander. Many people feel that Falvey — who served Teaneck since 1984 and will take a post in the private sector — has been a true friend not only of the town but of the Jewish community as well. Falvey also was a contributing writer for the public service segment of The Jewish Standard Website, jstandard.com.
According to our training manual, the goal of the 26th Teaneck Citizen’s Police Academy class — led by Lt. Mike Falvey with community policing officers Patrick Forrest, Kim Johnson, and Scott Careccio — was “to gain an exciting, insightful journey behind the lines that have long separated civilians from law enforcement.”
Noting that this would be strictly an educational experience and would not provide any kind of license or certification, the guide further pointed out that “participants take an active role in forming a partnership with the police, in order to work together to improve quality of life and prevent crime.”
