Warm Friday Night Garlic

Place peeled garlic cloves in a foil pan. Add a drop of salt and cover with olive oil. Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 1 hour, or until the garlic is a golden-brown color. For best results, serve warm.

—Esther Ottensoser

Just Sayin’

What is one “unhealthy” store-bought treat that you miss from your pre-gluten free days?

I would say those honey wheat jumbo pretzels... No gluten-free pretzel comes close!

—Rorie Weisberg

Okay, quick:

Cheesecake or beef jerky?

The truth is that I’m really not picky — both are great. But if I have to choose one, I would say cheesecake because I can have coffee after it!

—Estee Kafra

Review It!

I like to use KitchenAid’s chicken shears for milchigs. No, I haven’t discovered a pareve chicken that needs cleaning, but when I want to slice quesadilla in quarters or a slice of pizza in half — or open those annoying sealed packages of cheese — the sharp blade does the trick.

—Chaia Frishman

Reader Feedback:

I read with great interest and happiness, the article Tastes like Shabbos about Rebetzin Zahava Braunstein, a”h.  She was my favorite high school teacher at BYA many years ago, and the only teacher who lovingly called me Malky, instead of Malka. She encouraged me always and was always the sincerest of all my teachers. It was so nice to hear from her daughter about how she prepared a regular normal Shabbos fare for her guests and family. This should prove to the public at large that one need not indulge in fancy recipes and simcha type food to feed and show caring to one’s own family and Shabbos guests.

—Malkie Green, Far Rockaway, NY

Halachah:

Is it permitted to cut into a decorated challah board on Shabbos, if the decoration creates a picture like the one featured here?

According to many poskim, it is prohibited mid’Rabbanan to cut or break off a piece of cake that is decorated with letters, pictures, or meaningful depictions such as a star, a flower, or a company logo. Although the person cutting the cake is interested only in cutting a piece of cake and has no intention of erasing the letters, it is still considered erasing, based on the rule of pesik reisha (“inevitable consequence”). The Mishnah Berurah differentiates between biting into (or chewing) a piece of cake that contains letters, which he says is permitted, and cutting the cake, which he says is prohibited. Thus, in the attached picture, it would be forbidden to cut the design that is decorating the challah board, but it would be permitted to pick up the challah board and bite into it. If the challah board (and the letters or pictures on top) was sliced before Shabbos, it is permitted, according to some poskim, on Shabbos to separate and lift the pieces of challah, even though this will cause the letters or pictures on top to crumble.

-Answered by Rabbi Doniel Neustadt

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 746)