| A Heaping Scoop |

A Heaping Scoop

By Family Table Contributors | October 21, 2020

We’re Listening

Your mother-in-law is coming over for dinner, what do you make?

My mother-in-law moved to Israel from New York when she was 16 and then to Canada about 30 years ago, but she’s remained emotionally tied to Israeli food ever since. Her palate is influenced by strong Middle Eastern flavors: za’atar, harissa, herbs. When she comes to my house, I make sure to have fresh salads and a flavorful fish, usually Moroccan tilapia with a bit of a kick! Lucky for me, she’s not very picky, but I know that trying out my best Israeli accent and cooking like my favorite Israeli chefs always fires her up.

—Rivki Rabinowitz

Chicken 1-2-3
Generously season chicken thighs (skin on) with lemon pepper + garlic salt. Bake on a metal baking sheet at 400°F (200°C) until super crunchy. Serve fresh for a crispy, out-of-this-world chicken. (Note: This doesn’t rewarm well.)

—Rorie Weisberg

* Review It!

Kitchen Fave

I finally decided to treat myself to a sous vide machine to see what all the hype is about. To be honest, I only tried it out once — it’s that new — but the results were definitely “restaurant worthy”! My oyster steak was cooked to the perfect level of medium-rare and melt-in-your-mouth soft. The cooker itself was pretty self-explanatory — plug and play. It makes an annoying noise while it’s cooking, but it’s worth it, I think! Love the handy app that it comes with so you can check on your food even when you’re in another area of the house. Overall, I’m happy with my purchase and can’t wait to use it again!

—Chavi Feldman

In an attempt to change up our Shabbos vegetable from green beans every week, I made Rivky’s Sweet-and-Sour Zucchini Spears. They were SOO good and really simple to make. Since then, they’ve been re-featured at our Shabbos table many times. (And coming from the aforementioned non-zucchini family, it is a huge compliment) (Issue 677)

—Devorah Cohen

FT, Help Me!!

My challah dough went into the fridge overnight, and now it’s not re-rising. What do you suggest I do?

Refrigerating dough usually gives better, tastier results because the yeast has more time to do its work. As a rule, a slow cold rise is better than a fast warm one. But if your dough didn’t rise in the fridge, put it in a warm place — near the stove or steam — and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, then your yeast might be old. Try activating 1 teaspoon of yeast in warm water with 1 tablespoon of sugar. If it gets frothy, mix into the dough and hopefully it will help the dough rise. Worst-case scenario, use your dough to make crackers! Also, it’s important to put the dough in the fridge right after it’s mixed so it rises slowly but surely, as opposed to rising it first on the counter and then putting it into the fridge.

—Brynie Greisman

Here’s a Halachah

BY RABBI DONIEL NEUSTADT

Question: If I use bread crumbs made from real bread in my meatballs, what brachah do I make?

Discussion: In most cases, the brachah over the meatballs will be shehakol. This is because the purpose of putting bread crumbs in a meatball recipe is to give the mixture some consistency, serving as a binding or thickening agent. It’s then considered an insignificant ingredient, and it becomes secondary to the meat.

In the atypical case where larger pieces of bread are mixed with the meat and the purpose of the bread is to change the taste of the meatballs, a brachah is required on the bread. Since the pieces of bread are (most likely) smaller than a k’zayis and the bread will be cooked in water together with the meatballs, its brachah is downgraded to mezonos. In this case, the meatballs become mezonos.

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 714)

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