S'Derot

S'Derot is a community in Israel, located in close proximity to the Gaza Strip. In particular, it is attacked on a daily basis by rockets from Gaza. It really doesn't matter if the rockets are launched by Hamas, people affiliated with Hamas, or just very angry people who'd rather attack Israelis then channel their energy into a productive activity. The attacks are real, the damages are real.

Chabad in S'Derot has set up an online fund to aid the Jewish residents of S'Derot. I would urge you to assist them.

Iron Cholent

Recipes from the Cholent Meister of Chabad of Tyson's Corner, VA (outside of Washington DC). A companion blog to Capitol Chai Life

Cholent is a uniquely Jewish creation...

...while assorted cultures have stews and slow-cooked foods, in Judaism, it is a necessity, since observant Jews are strictly prohibited from cooking on Shabbat, in addition to being severely limited in the use of fire and electricity. While there is some debate about the origin of the word "Cholent" (and for that matter, the term is not universally used -- Ashkenazic Jews [of Eastern European origin] make cholent, while Sephardic Jews [of Western European and North African origin] make Dafina), the origin is reasonably well understood.

Shabbat stews first started to appear around the 4th century CE, but in the 9th century CE, a movement within Judaism arose in the area known as Mesopotamia -- present day Iran and Iraq. These Jews, known as Karaites, believe in a very strict reading of the Torah. In reaction to this group, the Rabbis of the day ordained that their followers have a hot meal as part of their Shabbat observance.

Obviously, this was a challenge, since Jews could not tend a fire, nor cook food. The meal would have to be prepared and mostly cooked by the time Shabbat came in on Friday night, and then have to sit on a pile of coals for sixteen to twenty hours, until it was eaten for lunch on Saturday.

Given these conditions, cholents are generally heavy on beans, root vegetables, grains, and red meat. This simplest cholents are in fact just that -- beans, beef, and onion. Still, cholents have acquired some variation in the past 1700 years or so, and for that matter, some slow-cooked dishes are perfectly fine for cholent. Chili anyone?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Beef Bourguignon

IngredientsDirections
AmountIngredient
2¼ CupsDry Red Wine
4½ tablespoonsExtra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoonsDry Minced Onion
1½ teaspoonsThyme
1½ tablespoonsParsley flakes
2Bay leaves
¾ teaspoonPepper
6 poundsChuck roast
¾ cupFlour
1 teaspoonSalt
12 slicesBeef fry (Fatty Pastrami) (diced)
¾ cup
Yellow Onion (chopped)
18
Pearl Onions
3Garlic cloves (minced)
¾ poundMushrooms (quartered)
3 ribs
Celery (sliced)
3
Carrots (diced)
  1. Trim fat from beef, and cut into 1" cubes. Place fat on skillet at ¼ heat and allow it to render. Save the rendered fat for use in step 6.
  2. Thoroughly combine first 7 ingredients
  3. Add beef and marinate at least 4½ hours at room temperature, or overnight in refrigerator.
  4. Drain meat, reserving marinade.
  5. Place meat in removable liner; sprinkle with flour and salt and toss to coat meat. [Use more flour if needed.]
  6. Remove remains of fat from skillet and fry pastrami in rendered fat; fry chopped onion (until slightly brown), add garlic and fry for 30 seconds; remove onions, garlic and pastrami with slotted spoon and add to meat in liner.
  7. Saute mushrooms in remaining pastrami fat (add chicken fat if needed).
  8. Remove mushrooms with slotted spoon and add to meat-onion mixture.
  9. Pour reserved 1 cup of marinade over all.
  10. Add pearl onions, celery and carrots to meat-onion mix.
  11. Place liner in base.
  12. Cover and cook on auto 7 hours; or low 10-12 hours; or high 5 hours.


Notes: Needs 6 qt crock pot; 12" skillet for frying pastrami, onions, and mushrooms.
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