A Jewish Wedding

Did you know that the breaking of the glass symbolizes grief over the destruction of the Second Temple? Neither did I.

When they told me I would be attending a wedding in Jerusalem, I had some typical preconceptions: lots of black hats and peyeses (ed. payot? payesim?), modest dress, lots of Hebrew, and typical Jewish seriousness. So I was pleasantly surprised that the actual service was none of those things. The bride, a Harvard Divinity School grad student, recruited her girlfriend to perform the ceremony. Both the bride and groom were vegans, so the service was entirely meat-free (and delicious!). Best of all, instead of breaking the glass at the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom crumbled a sprig of rosemary at the beginning, as a less-forlorn and more forward-looking gesture of remembrance.

It was a wonderful, inspiring service, and I was very grateful to have been invited.

Hospitality

Conventional wisdom states that Arabs are extraordinarily hospitable, while Israelis are assholes. There are exceptions to both, of course. But my experience in Tel Aviv confirms this. Israeli drivers are rude, abrasive, and honk constantly. The shop owners are largely taciturn and brusque. On the other hand, the Arab-run shwarma joint in Jaffa couldn't have been run by a friendlier group of people. Our server, from Nazareth, told us he had his own restaurant until about a month ago, when a group of thugs destroyed the place. He said the police did nothing about it. But he wasn't the least bit bitter about it, either. I was reminded of all the friendly Morrocan homes I visited a decade ago. It's good to see this hospitality has survived the panic over 9/11.

The Holy Land

Tomorrow, my father and I leave for Israel. I don't really know what to expect. Growing up as a Jew and a native Arizonan, I felt doubly alienated: no deep regional ties, no cultural connections. There were no Jews in my neighborhood, and the Jews I knew weren't really from Arizona. They were from Chicago or New York; they rooted for the Cubs or the Yankees. But Israel is full of Jews. They may come from Russia or Ethiopia or Spain or Morocco, but they all serve in the military together, play soccer together, live and suffer and strive together. Will it feel like home?

(photo credit: Lou Marano)

The Perfect Ribeye

I've been trying to master it since I saw Gordon Ramsay's video. After a little practice, and a better understanding of how basting works, I think I've got it down.



Don't be fooled by the video's title; it takes far longer than one minute to cook, more like 8-9 minutes.

Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into the pan. Turn the heat up to medium or just beyond medium, depending on your stove. Let the heat build up for a good minute or two.

Drop the ribeye on the pan (don't forget to season both sides with salt and ground black pepper), and listen for the sizzle. Brown each side for one minute. Then, cook one side for about three minutes. Now drop the butter in the pan, about 2 and 1/2 tablespoons (just cut it like Ramsay does in the video), along with the rosemary and crushed garlic. Swish around the butter and oil, and baste the meat every thirty seconds or so. After about one minute, pick up the rosemary and garlic and place it on top of the steak so it doesn't burn. Continue for another three minutes. Flip the steak again, and cook and baste for another minute or so. Check the temp, it should be about medium rare (130 deg. F).

Very juicy, very delicious.

Also, I think the distinction between prime and choice is pretty overrated, at least to my untrained eye. At A.J.'s, the prime cuts were larger, but only slightly more marbled than the choice cuts. The steak I picked was both thick and lusciously marbled, and about $12 less than its prime equivalent.

Potato Ricer, cont.

Tried the ricer with the apples last night, and, well, it didn't work that well. Perhaps the apples were too small and didn't allow me to get enough torque on the handles. I popped in a few slices and only a trickle of apple juice came out. So I threw them in my Magic Bullet instead.

The curry came out great, though. These days, I start with mirepoix and sweat it in the pan, like I were starting a sauce. I added the apples with water and reduced, then added white chicken stock and reduced again. I strained that and used the resulting sauce as the liquid base for the curry. The result: just the right hint of appley sweetness.

Potato Ricers

Devoted Cirroc reader David bought me a potato ricer a few weeks ago. He and I were talking about cooking, as we are wont to do, and he mentioned his love for the peculiar device. To his surprise, I was completely ignorant of its charms. Shocked, he left immediately and returned with a brand-new ricer.

I admit I was skeptical of the device initially. But when I received a bounty of potatoes from the CSA last week, I decided to try it out. (A word of warning: be sure to boil the potatoes to a near soup-like consistency before inserting them in the ricer or risk shoulder dislocation.) The ricer produced a fine stream of potato which produced the lightest, most delicious hash browns I have ever tasted. I tend to prefer home fries over hash browns, but the potato ricer may turn me into a hash brown convert.

Tonight I'll integrate the ricer into the curry-making process, as an apple mincer. We'll see how it goes.

Potato Bacon Bombs

In honor of the inimitable Patton Oswalt, I created these delicious appetizers for last night's dinner party.

(I'm such a bad Jew.)



8-12 Red La Soda potatoes
24 uncooked shrimp
12 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pour in the potatoes and boil them till they're al dente (stick a fork in them and check; the fork should pass easily through the potato without tearing it apart). Remove the potatoes and let them cool off, 5-10 minutes.

While you're waiting, take this opportunity to shred about 1 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, or more if that's your thing. Then, pour the olive oil into a small bowl and mix in the rosemary, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Now chop the potatoes in half. Carefully dig out the insides with a spoon using a circular drilling motion; set aside the insides for mashed potatoes or something. Bring some more water to a boil and cook the shrimp (tails removed) for about a minute.

Slice the bacon in half. Wrap each piece of shrimp in one half-slice of bacon, and place it in a potato-half. Do this for the remaining bacon, shrimp, and potatoes. Brush the bottom of each potato with the olive oil mixture and place each on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Top each potato bacon bomb with shredded cheddar cheese. Place the sheet in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Let sit, covered, for about 15 minutes before serving. Be careful when eating the potato bacon bombs; fatty juices tend to accumulate inside the bombs as they cook.