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Aug 16
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Read about Congressman Bill Pascrell's take on what's going on. Click Here.Unedited: The Jewish Standard Celebrations: Tea Party Revolution
May 27
food, life cycle events and celebrations, local stories/community No Comments
TEA PARTY REVOLUTIONBy Jeanette Friedman
It’s like listening to the Mad Hatter, whose anxieties were fraught with unfounded fear. The screaming, rude noises, and rabid partisan politics of the ultra conservative wing of a certain political party dominate the news, giving those who truly love refined, old-fashioned elegant tea parties a headache. The tea partiers described in the press have attitudes and behavior that are light-years away from the finely-honed, strictly structured etiquette, lady-like sensibilities and compassionate sensitivities of tea party lovers worthy of the name.This is a call to lovely ladies and gents of all persuasions to appeal to civilized society and convince them re-adopt the pinky-in-the air tradition that, thanks to Queen Elizabeth of England and the royals, has not been completely eradicated by modernity. For those who indulge, tea parties have often been a lady-like way to raise funds for good causes. Now these sophisticated get-togethers are becoming fashionable again, along with hats, pearls, red lipstick, blue eye shadow and spiked heels, so it’s time to celebrate with one.The very British tea tradition was embraced in Eastern and Central Europe and came to American Jewish communities with the Holocaust survivors who remembered how magnificent teas were served in their childhood homes. Of course, there was always the “glezeleh tay” in a glass cup with a handle that was served after supper with a piece of cake, but nothing compared to a full spread of a Nishei Agudah women’s meeting, a fundraiser for the local Bikur Cholim organization, or an Oneg Shabbat tea organized by the local ladies in hats.The neighborhood women knew how pull out all the stops, and taught their daughters to do the same. For large parties, they pooled their best silver and china, assigning different dishes, like fruit platters, fingercakes, apple strudel, and cheese cakes to the women who made the best of the best. The ladies would arrive at the home of the hostess, bringing their dishes and small gifts, like fancy paper napkins, a box of chocolates or other useful but elegant trifles. They wore lovely coat dresses and suits, with gloves, shoes and hats that were veddy veddy-matchy matchy. They chatted, gossiped, listened to a Dvar Torah, or pitch, wrote checks, and drank tea poured from sterling silver teapots into the finest porcelain cups, munching on finger sandwiches and other assorted delights. A wonderful, traditional custom from the Old Country was thus revived in the Jewish community.Have a party of your own in a tea room or private home, cafes or hotel. Many scattered around the New York metro region will be happy to serve as your hosts or caterers. The most famous tea of course, is the afternoon tea at The Plaza Hotel, one of the most divine spots on the east coast. But there are rules.You can find these exacting requirements on the web at http://whatscookingamerica.net/EllenEaston/EtiquetteFauxPas.htm. There are rules for everything, from how to hold the cup with your pinkie in the air to prevent spilling and how to use your teaspoon to stir sugar or milk (never cream) in your tea cup. Ellen Eaton has it all figured out for you. Google her and learn more about tea party ceremonies and tea than you could ever imagine.Afternoon tea, also known as low tea, is a light meal typically eaten between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and served in sitting rooms on low tables (like a coffee table) placed near sofas or chairs. High tea, also known as meat tea, is an early evening meal consisting of cold meats, eggs or fish, cakes and sandwiches eaten at a regular height table between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. It’s often followed by a lighter later in the evening.To avoid Mad Hatter syndrome, make this easier by setting up a buffet andhaving your caters prepare finger sandwiches, fresh fruit and cake platters and other foods you want to serve. Keep little pots of tea hot on Sterno fueled platforms. Offer a selection of international teas that come from exotic places, or spice and fruit teas that don’t contain caffeine. They can be tea bags or loosed leaf teas. Prepare pareve substitute/milk, lemon, lime and orange slices, sugar substitutes, sugar cubes, honey, and different types of granulated sugars. Butter should be whipped and at room temperature for easy spreading. Don’t forget a huge bowl of whipped cream for the tarts and lemon curd for muffins and scones.Put out your best china cups, and they don’t need to match. Use your fanciest platters, crystal plates and flatware. Everything should be as pretty as you can make it. You can buy fancy printed paper napkins or use linens, decorate with fresh flowers. Even the Queen of Hearts would approve.Belamari Tea Room198 Diamond Bridge AvenueHawthorne973-304-0188http://www.belamari.comThis Victorian tea room in Hawthorne was conceived in Paris in 2002 by three sisters who were there to celebrate a beloved niece’s Sweet Sixteen. As they sat in a tea salon opposite the Louvre and raised their tea cups to honor their recently deceased mom, they decided to create a tea room in Northern New Jersey. Their diverse backgrounds (information technology, the fashion industry, and banking) brought solid business experience to their love for tea and making people happy. The name "Belamari" is a combination of the names of their grandmother, Emma Bell and their mother, Edna Marie—a wonderful way to celebrate their heritage. The sisters trained with industry experts, attended seminars, read books and took tea trips to France, Germany, the U.K., and several states in the U.S. where they gained a wealth of information about tea, its service, preparation and etiquette to help them provide their clients with the perfect tea experience. Call to find out about catering and kosher availability.Lady Mendl’s Five Course Tea Service At the Inn on Irving Place56 Irving Place New York, NYtel: 212- 533-4466 tel: 800-685-1447 fax: 212-533-4611Inquiries: innatirving@aol.comhttp://www.innatirving.com/default.aspx?pg=homeThis tea room is a throwback to the Washington Irving and Jane Austen days, simply out of this worldBy Reservation: $35 per person + tax + 20% gratuity Monday – Friday: 3pm or 5pm seatings Saturday & Sunday: 12pm, 2:30pm or 5pm seatingsHarmony Tea Room11 Bergen StWestwood, NJ201-563-0382http://www.harmonytearoom.cominfo@harmonytearoom.comLocated near the heart of Westwood's Downtown, the Harmony Tea Room is American-style quiet oasis offering an escape from life’s hectic pace. It’s a wonderful place to sit quietly, sip tea from fine bone china and ponder what you must do for the next week or enjoy different teas with your friends as you take a taste trip around the world in a single afternoon. The scones are to die for and the variety of soups salads and finger sandwiches brings you from Africa to India and many other delicious destinations. Children's tea parties are available in the Enchanted Garden party room. The Princess Tea Birthday includes fabulous costumes for each child and a photo memento. At the Scone Baking Party your child bakes scones and takes them home for the family, and at the Chocolate Tea Party, children make chocolate covered goodies. The reservation-only live music brunch is served the on third Sunday of every month. Call for more information.Jeanette Friedman, EIC The Wordsmithy 201-986-0647Unedited: Jewish Standard Celebrations: Bagels that Brunch
May 27
food, holidays, life cycle events and celebrations, local stories/community No Comments
BAGELS THAT BRUNCH By Jeanette Friedman
For Sunday or any morning gatherings, business meetings, religious festivals, and celebrations like brissim, nothing beats a brunch that features bagels in all their many-splendored flavors and shapes—with spreads to match.In addition to the traditional holey bagel, there are bagel stix and bagel flagels—flattened bagels invented in Brooklyn in the 1990s—that come in a host of flavors. There are the traditional standbys—Black Russian, egg, everything, garlic, onion, plain, poppy, pumpernickel, rye, salt, and sesame—and cranberry, cinnamon crunch, chocolate chip, maple syrup, banana-nut, sun dried tomato, spinach, jalapeno pepper and many more. This trendy bagel fare is very unlike those tough old Polish bagels our ancestors ate in the Old Country—or the ones our parents brought home on Sunday mornings. Our great-grandparents didn’t even rate a “shmear” of plain cream cheese. And where paupers in Poland sold bagels on street corners in order to survive, the American bagel business grossed more than half a billion dollars last year.Today’s “fruity” flavors, unimaginable to the bagel bakers of olden times, are produced by some of the biggest food purveyors on the planet, and are meant to be eaten for breakfast, sliced and toasted, making purists cringe. They remember stopping at the local coffee shop on the way to work or school to grab a hot salt or poppy bagel with a “shmear.” Maybe sometimes you’d ask for homemade scallion or veggie cheese for a change, always with a coffee, regular, in a blue cup with a Greek motif, stuck into a little brown bag with a scrap of napkin, a plastic stick, and two envelopes of sugar. You couldn’t wait to sit down at your desk, sink your teeth in to the crunch and dense, doughy delight that went down just right with a swallow of pungent hot coffee.Based purely on anecdotal evidence, it seems bagel brunches originated on Sunday mornings in the 1950’s. Lots of dads would come home from morning services around 10 a.m. with a big brown bag of hot bagels from which a delicious aroma wafted through the kitchen. Out came a package of cream cheese and lox or Novi (aka Nova Scotia smoked salmon, which is less salty). Mom had fresh perked coffee on the stove; there was cold orange juice on the table, and she would slice some onions and tomatoes, put them on a plate, and a feast would be had by all. It would be an even better if Dad brought home a chub—a fat smoked white fish, which greedy little fingers would pick apart, right down to the bone.Times have changed. The variety is infinite. And you can make your own “shmears” by simply adding your favorite flavorings like pimento olives, sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts and raisins, garlic and fresh herbs like cilantro or dill, jalapeno peppers, sweet pickles, black and red peppercorns and garlic, strawberry or other fruit preserves, blending them into cream cheese or tofu cheese in a food processor. (Duh. Not all at the same time.) The old favorites, bits of smoked salmon; scallions, celery and carrots, or all three veggies mixed together, are now commercially available, along with a selection of fresh bagels at numerous places scattered around Bergen County. THE CLASSIC BAGEL BRUNCHERAIWhen planning your outdoor or indoor bagel brunch, your best bet is to set up a “Bagel Bar” that keeps ingredients separate and allows guests “build their own” bagels. Decide if your food purveyor will cater for you, or if you will do the plating and prep yourself. (If you do it yourself, you try Glatt Express, the superduper kosher supermarket on Queen Anne Road in Teaneck. Tammy will be glad to offer advice!Here’s a checklist of what you will need:1. Lots of baskets for piling on the bagels, one for each flavor (nothing tastes worse than sautéed garlic on a “contaminated” cinnamon raisin bagel). Make sure the bagels are pre-sliced. You don’t want guests cutting themselves, and having them cut bagels with plastic knives is a chore. Keep the bagels wrapped in cellophane or plastic until ready to serve. You don’t want them drying out or, conversely, getting soggy.2. Set up a bagel toaster or a George Forman type grill for warming them up or toasting, if that’s what guests want. Bagels are allergic to microwave ovens.3. Set up beverages: Regular coffee, de-caf, hot water kettle, a variety of teas, sugar, Splenda, sliced lemon, half and half, milk, lowfat milk, cold juices of your choice, from apple and orange to tomato and pomegranate, and don’t forget the sodas. If serving alcohol, stick to chilled light wines like Baternura Moscato or Champagne. They mix well with orange juice to make mimosas, a perfect brunch beverage.4. Platters of fixings and deserts a. Smoked fish—lox, Nova, sable, white fish, tuna fish, egg and other salad choices b. Thinly sliced tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and onion platters c. Assorted pickle and olive platters with little cups of capers. PickeLicious has a vast selection. d. Chopped Israeli salad, potato salad and cole slaw e. Crudites and dipping sauces—hummus, tehina, f. Sliced fresh fruit platters g. Mini Danish platters h. Platter of sliced hard cheeses i. Platters of “shmears.” Use a small ice cream or melon scoop to put your “shmears” into little cupcake cups, so guests can lift them onto their plates. Don’t forget butter or almost butter, which you can flavor as well. Make sure you have enough spreaders so guests won’t tear their bagels when applying their “shmears.” If allergies are not an issue, don’t forget the peanut butter and jelly. j. Have plenty of napkins, drinking cups and flatware on hand. Don’t forget coffee whiteners. k. Have lots of ice stocked for beverages and for keeping fish dishes and salads cold. Make sure the caterer ices his platters, and if you do it yourself, place your platters atop aluminum baking pans filled with ice to keep them cool.MEGILLAT HA BAGEL: WHAT THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY COME FROMThere’s lots of bagel lore on the net, including the stories of how bagel making machines were invented. One version of the story has a Jew inventing the bagel to honor Polish king Jan III Sobieski, who defeated the Ottoman Turks in Vienna in 1683. But another source says “not so.” The bagel, from the German word ring, was invented earlier than that, in Krakow, as competition to Russian bublichkes—the same ones the Barry Sisters sang about. Only the original bagels weren’t at all Jewish. They were a lean bread of wheat flour designed for Lent, the Christian austere weeks before Easter, and then they became part of the Polish national diet in the late 16th and first half of the 17th centuries.The word bagel is also Yiddish for what a Yeshiva boy does when he sleeps for 12 solid hours. “I slept a bagel last night,” is how the expression goes. They think it comes from one of two things…it takes 12 hours to proof a bagel before boiling and it takes 12 hours for a watch hand to circle a bagel-like ring.Bagels came to North America at the turn of the 20th century, and were popular in Montreal and New York. Montreal bagels are sweeter and crisper because they are made with malt and sugar and boiled in honey water before being baked in a wood-fired oven. New York bagels are made with salt and malt and boiled in that special New York City tap water before being baked in conventional ovens. Today many commercial bakeries don’t bother boiling their bagels—they steam them, leaving them soft and mushy, the bane of true bagel lovers.Bagel fans prefer “authentic” hand rolled bagels. That’s why there’s huge demand for New York-style bagels. People ship everywhere, even to California, where the fastest producing bagel making machines were invented in the 1950s. Lender’s perfected the frozen bagel in the 1960s, and New York City kosher bagels were introduced to Japan for the first time in 1989. Now the Japanese import approximately 3,000,000 bagels annually, and have created their own special flavors like green tea, chocolate and maple nut. Gregory Chamitoff, a native Canadian astronaut, took 18 sesame bagels into outer space on an International Space Station mission in 2008. Even the Chinese eat bagels, and no one really knows whether or not they invented them first!FIRST AID FOR YOUR BAGELSNothing beats a fresh hot bagel. But when bagels have to travel great distances, or you’re storing them in the freezer because they are imported from New York or New Jersey, they need special care. Here are some tips for getting the best from your bagels.When you bring your hot bagels home, don’t pull them out and pack them in plastic. Keep them in the bag until they cool off. If you don’t want to freeze them, and think they’ll be eaten over the next few days, put the paper bag they are in into a plastic bag, seal it and put it in the refrigerator.Bagels can be frozen for up to six months without damage if you take the cooled-off bagels, pre-slice them and put them in individual zip lock bags, making sure you press as much air out of the bag as you can before you zip it closed.When you are ready to indulge, moisten the bagel with a wet paper towel and pop into the toaster oven until heated through. Never reheat a bagel in a microwave oven unless you want to eat doughy rubber.SAMMY’S NEW YORK BAGELS 1439 Queen Anne Road Bagels, Deli, Pizzeria 201-837-0515 Sammy’s New York Bagels on Queen Anne Road offers a huge selection of bagels and catering packages. Sammy’s will happily cater a bagel brunch for you—they do many business breakfasts, brissim and sadly, but conveniently, platters for families who are sitting shiva. There’s homemade tuna salad, egg salad and assorted smoked fish imported from Brooklyn, along with six choices of homemade cream cheese flavors. Sammy’s is more than just bagels—there’s a glatt kosher deli and pizzeria, too. Full service catering is available.CRESSKILL HOT BAGELS 23 Union Ave Cresskill, NJ 201-569-3909 http://www.cresskillbagels.com/No event is too big or small for Cresskill Hot Bagels and Café on Union Avenue in Cresskill. They offer complete office and corporate packages, packages to fit any budget, Bar & Bat Mitzvahs, Kiddushim, brissim, baby-namings, confirmations, birthday parties, Sweet 16s, baby showers, graduations, communions, and brunches, you get the idea. In addition to an array of bagels, bagels baskets, party bagels and spreads, they offer wraps, Paninis, assorted cream cheeses, fruit bowls, berry platters, crudités, sliced and chunk cheeses, homemade salads, croissants, fresh salad bars, a variety of smoked fish and appetizers. The meat department offers cold cuts, 6 Foot Hero’s. And there’s a wide assortment of beverages. You can also get coupons from their website. BINGHAMPTON BAGEL CAFÉ 725 River Road Edgewater, NJ (201) 945-0122 New location: 2151 Lemoine Ave. Washington Bridge Shopping Plaza Fort Lee 201-947-0003Fresh tuna salad homemade, lox imported daily from Brooklyn, rated best bagels in New Jersey. Their bagels are hand-rolled and baked on the premises, and flavors go beyond the basics. sundried tomato. They cater all sorts of celebrations and even shivas, including the perfect, pre-packaged bagel brunch with platters and all. There’s plenty of room for a sit down meal, and you can have a coffee and a sandwich, too. Specializing beyond bagels, with wraps, soups, paninis and more. Free delivery.TEANECK BAGELS 976 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 201-833-0410Teaneck Bagels keeps it pure and basic. No spreads, no catering, and no website. If you want hot, fresh, traditional bagels, call in your order then just go and pick them up.GLATT EXPRESS, THE KOSHER COMMUNITY SUPERMARKET GLATT EXPRESS SUPERMARKET 1400 Queen Anne Road Teaneck, NJ 07666 (201) 837-8110 www.glattexpresssupermarket.comPlatters and catering are not their thing, but there’s so much to choose from at Glatt Express on Queen Anne Road when you are the person doing the food prep for your event. It’s one stop shopping, and everything you need is right there.It’s been a year under new management and you can see the sparkling clean difference. Tammy is happy to help the do-it-yourselfers put together the ingredients for a bagel brunch or other event. Her bagels are delivered fresh daily and are baked just for her. The aisles are packed with kosher goodies from around the world, and the array is enormous. The meats and fish are brought in fresh daily, the produce is handpicked, and if you want something special, like a marinated brisket or to experiment with new spices and herbs, ask Tammy. She cares. The Lazy Bean Café next door is part of the supermarket, giving shoppers a chance to grab a cappuccino or café au lait. It’s comfortable lounge that offers a variety of coffees from around the world. In addition to lattes and cappuccinos, the cafe offers tea, salads, fresh-made soups and panini sandwiches. WiFi is free and outdoor seating is available on nice days.PICKELICIOUS 384 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ 07666 Phone: 201-833-0100 http ://picklelicious.com/ ROBYN SAMRA Family Day Sunday`s (10am-5pm) Come on down with your family for sampling and every family member gets a FREE pickle-on a- stick)PickleLicious is the place for pickle platters/gift baskets/gift cards: Robyn sells at many farmers’ markets around the region and has a handle on the hot and trendy, including very spicy, mildly spicy and unusual flavored pickled treats and olives. Platters and displays are a specialty, a perfect accent for your drop-off or catered brunches from other purveyors.SHELLY'S CAFE 482 Cedar Lane Teaneck Shelly and Noam Sokolow (201) 692-0001 Dairy. RCBC www.shellyscafe.net A favorite vegetarian cafe, won "Best Brunch" in New Jersey’s 201 Magazine ’Best of Begen’ edition a few years ago. Shelly's offers innovative fish dishes, pastas and salads, favorites like French onion soup and brick oven gourmet pizza, cappuccino, coffees and assorted pastries and cakes. The classic prix fixe brunch buffet: smoked fish, fresh bagels, pancakes, French toast, home fries, all kinds of salads and omelets made to order. Just $19 ($12 for children under 10). 10:30 am-2:30 pm., every Sunday. Tuesday night offers prix fixe specials, too. Mediterranean bouillabaisse, spinach ravioli in tomato cream sauce, sushi…always something different and inventive. Reasonably priced at $21 ($13 for children under 10). Includes dessert and choice of soup.ARIEL’S 18 Engle Street Englewood 201-569-1202 Craig Solomon crms99@aol.com www.arielskosher.com questions@arielskosher.com Catering@arielskosher.com Follow them on Twitter: Arielskosher DAIRY Cholov Yisroel, RCBC From tamales to the smoked salmon, Craig Solomon’s kitchen ensures that you get sophisticated and wholesome food prepared fresh, from scratch. There are menu items perfect for brunching on site, taking home, or for catering a huge brunch for family and friends. Four kinds of omelets, eggs Hollandaise, double-decker grilled cheese, pancakes, four varieties of French toast and a slew of interesting pizzas are only a fraction of choices you can make for your event.REUBEN’S GLATT SPOT CATERING 659 Eagle Rock Avenue West Orange, NJ 07052 973-736-0060 Fax 973-736-8026 Reubensglattspot@aol.com http://www.reubensglattspot.com/Reuben’s Glatt Spot offers a brunch menu to suit every need. Sunday brunch consists of assorted sliced bagels, assorted sliced cheeses and cream cheeses, orzo pilaf or pasta primavera, a sliced vegetable garnish platter {red onions, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes}, a seven-section platter of tuna, egg, whitefish salad, salmon salad. Minimum 15 people: $13.99 per person. Super Sunday brunch adds penne pasta with roasted peppers and sun dried tomatoes and Chef’s special salad OR broccoli salad with Portobello mushrooms and Health Salad OR Spring Garden Salad, a seven-section platter of babaganoush, veggie liver, tabouli, hummus, and Spanish eggplant. Dessert is mini-pastries. Minimum 15 people: $18.99 per person. Deluxe Sunday brunch is the Sunday brunch with the addition of garnished platters of filleted whitefish, nova, lox, sable and kippered salmon. Minimum 20 people: $24.99 per person.Unedited: Jewish Standard Celebrations: Kiddush
May 27
eulogy, food, holidays, judaism, life cycle events and celebrations, local stories/community, orthodoxy No Comments
OF KIDDUSH, COLLATIONS AND COMMUNITY Celebrating Special Events in Shul or at Home on Shabbat &Yom TovBy Jeanette Friedman (It turns out the rebbetzin I wrote about was nifter 5/27, the day the paper arrived in people's mailboxes. Baruch Dayan Emet. She was an incredible woman. Her name was Rebbetzin Chaya Frankel..from Frankel's Shul in Crown Heights and Flatbush.)
In the old shuls in Brooklyn, run by Hasidic dynasties in Crown Heights, Borough Park and Williamsburg—even in the black-hat shuls—by the time the girls arrived with their mothers in time for the Torah reading, you knew someone was celebrating something or marking a yahrzeit. The upstairs lady’s section (der veiber shile), would be redolent with the rich scent coming from a huge pot of garlicky cholent, a heart-disease inducing stew, thick with beans and barley, beef bones and onions that had been set to simmer on the blech in the kitchen early Friday afternoon. (A blech is a steel sheet set over the gas burners to hold the heat of a low flame and slow the cooking process to a steady simmer.)If cholent was in the air, a feast was in the offing.A simple kiddush in days of yore was slapped on a long table. It consisted of some schnapps, dried out sponge or honey cake, some schmaltz herring and sugar-coated egg bowties that were as hard as rocks. If the men were lucky, there would be a bowl of garbonza beans (arbis), straight out of a can, dried with a dishtowel and tossed in a bowl with salt and pepper. There were no spoons or plates, and they would dig in with their fingers, using toothpicks to stab a piece of herring. Everything stank.But in the rebbitzen’s shul in addition to cholent, crispy, grayish, but delicious potato kugel, made with onions, was stuffed into the ovens, along with delicately browned noodle kugel made with raisins, always sweet and moist, with hints of vanilla and lemon. These kugels would be wrapped in yards and yards of aluminum foil so they would stay hot without burning.The rebbitzen would come in early with some of her friends and slice long loaves of sweet/salty cold gefilte fish into ¾ inch thick diagonal slices, slip them onto thin paper plates with a sliced carrot placed just so, along with a sprig of parsley. A plastic fork would be put on the plate, too. The plates would then be stacked on each other in the fridge. The horse radish was red, the pickles were half sours, set out in jars.When the men got to saying the amidah for Musaf, the rebbitzen removed the kugels from the oven and carefully removed the foil. She and the women cut up to ten pans of kugel into 2x2 inch squares in record time and piled them on platters. The steamy, smelly cholent was ladled into deep bowls and passed around with thicker paper plates. Sometimes the rebbetzin would prepare “p’tcha,” also known as “galleh,” aspic made from chicken legs with lots of garlic and schmaltz. Only the really old folks would go near it. If it was Shevuoth, the kugel would be cheese kugel, there would be blintzes, cheese kreplach, cheese cake made with farmer cheese, fruit soup and herring platters—schmaltz, matjes herring in cream sauce and/or wine sauce with onions seasoned with lots of bay leaves. Sometimes, not often, there was lox with a square slab of cream cheese, but no bagels. Challah rolls would have to do.There were usually three or four men on the kitchen squad who could carry 30 portions of gefilte fish without trays, and who had the food-transfer system to the men’s section down pat. The women set out food for the women upstairs, with slightly more refinement. There were napkins. The moment a voice from downstairs made kiddush loud enough for everyone to hear, the hoards would descend, and every drop of food would disappear in moments. The rebbe would give a dvar Torah, people would say the version of grace after meals that applied, and off they’d go—to a real meal or a Shabbat nap.Sometimes the hosting family would stay behind with selected family members and friends to continue the celebration on site. Sometimes the festivities continued at home or in a rented hall a short walk away. Rarely did anyone stray from convention. The menus were practically static. Fruit cocktail with maraschino cherries was a luxury. Desert was usually ruggelach with a glass of tea.Today, influenced by our meticulous moms and the Food Network, the kiddush has dramatically evolved. You can still get the basics for a kiddush and so much more from food purveyors in Northern New Jersey and beyond. There are kiddushim for vegans, for carnivores, weight watchers, and for the rest of us who just love to eat good food. From deli platters to derma stuffed boneless chicken thighs, mini-danish to caviar, a kiddush can be simple and stylish, elegant and elaborate, Middle Eastern or Mexican. You are limited only by your budget and special needs, if any.FAR FROM TRADITION, AND DELICIOUSIn addition to the basics, there are millions of dishes to choose from if you’re planning a kiddush either at home, in shul or temple. Some unusual menu items you might want to consider: Chilled bowtie pasta with sautéed portobello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and olive tapenade dressing; an assortment of sushi and shashimi instead of gefilte fish, or as a complement to it. Marinated asparagus salad with fresh berries and lemon mint vinaigrette, served with cold poached salmon. Artichoke and Kalamata olive tarts and mini quiches make great finger foods, as do Moroccan cigars stuffed with ground lamb, Vietnamese spring rolls with Mandarin dipping sauce, and kubeh (which should be served with an international variety of dipping sauces). A fresh salad suggestion is sliced avocados dipped in lemon juice and diced citrus fruits topping baby spinach greens dressed with raspberry vinaigrette. Even the beverages can be different—iced green tea, fresh juices, chilled white wines from Israel—the sky’s the limit.A typical dairy kiddush could consist of bagels, cream cheese spreads and lox, fresh fruit platters, a pasta salad, a herring assortment, crackers and breads, mini muffins, assorted mini-danish, ruggelach and brownies. Beverages would be coffees, creamers and teas and sodas. To expand this menu, typically, you would add tuna, egg and potato salads, white fish, pickle platters, at least three kinds of kugel (choosing from white potato, sweet potato, regular sweet noodle kugel, salt and pepper noodle kugel, cheese kugel, kugel Yerushalmi, a kugel made with thin noodles, hot and sweet.) You might even add kasha varnishes (bowtie noodles with sautéed onions and kasha) or a variety of mini-knishes.There are many food purveyors who are ready, willing and able to meet your every kiddush catering need—from take-out menu selections to full service catering.SIDE BAR: About Kiddush The fifth “commandment” of the ten reminds us to keep the Sabbath and remember it. It’s the one day of the week when we are ordered to take it easy, spend some time with our families and our community in the synagogues or temples of our choice. We “keep” the Sabbath by refraining from work on that day, and we “remember” it with the rituals we use to sanctify it. We bless the wine, traditionally using a fancy silver cup or chalice, on Friday nights before the Sabbath meal, and again on Saturday morning after services. Today, kiddush cups or bechers, the Yiddish word for them, can be fashioned by artists in ceramics, hand-blown glass or other materials. They make great gifts for engagements, graduations, bar/bats and weddings. But that’s beside the point.A kiddush, an after- morning service celebration, could also be called a collation, a fancy word for a light meal, even when traditional cholesterol packed food is on the menu. It’s a social gathering with food that begins with a ceremony to sanctify the wine, grape juice or liquor that is used (if you would serve the drinks to a VIP, it qualifies for kiddush). The event usually marks an important lifecycle event, like a baby naming, a bris, an engagement, a birthday, a bar or bat mitzvah, or to mark the anniversary of the passing of a loved one, a yahrzeit. Most shuls have a kiddush on Saturday mornings, offering mini-danish and coffee, even when there’s no lifecycle event to celebrate. Other congregations have a Friday night Oneg Shabbat after services, which operates on the same principle.Ma’adan 446 Cedar Lane, Teaneck 201-692-0192 Stuart or Yossi http://www.maadan.com/Stuart Kahan and Yossi Markovic, owners of Ma'adan, have been friends since second grade. Both worked in food service and, in 1981, decided to open a small glatt “gourmet” take out place on Cedar Lane in Teaneck. Today that store has grown to 4,500 square ft. and is packed with anything you might want to offer your guests, especially for a kiddush. They stock staples and the latest trendy items. They do dairy and meat, and carry a fine selection of wine and liquor. Non-traditional items include Buffalo wings, Jumbalaya, lamb stew, bachts (a Bukharan beef dish with rice) for an interesting change of pace for kiddush.A Ma’adan specialty, particularly for kiddush, is the homemade herring bar, offering various spicy herrings, and old standbys: matjes, wine and schmaltz, served with sautéed onions, veggies and parve cream sauce. Baby-namings, bar/bat, brissim and other buffet kiddush events are a house specialty, and they offer full-service catering, including weddings. They’ll serve on paper plates, plastic ware or china and silver plate—depending on the hosts‘ needs. After 30 years on Cedar Lane, Stuie and Yossi pride themselves on providing customer service for foodies—no preservatives added.Foster Village Kosher Deli 469 S. Washington Avenue, Bergenfield In the Foster Village shopping mall 201-384-7100 Free parking. Call for orders and hours.Yossi and Rina have been serving the Bergen County Jewish community since 1979 as purveyors of quality kosher deli for Conservative and Reform congregations. Traditional and deli style kiddush is what they do best. As Yossi says, “It’s my cup of tea.” They also offer full service catering for business lunches, meetings, and dinners. Everything is homemade, including the corned beef, the brisket, the pastrami and soups. The deli platters are to die for. Side dishes include kasha varnishkes, egg barley (ferfel in Yiddish)—usually sautéed with diced onions and mushrooms. The soups are exceptional. And a food critic on the net suggests “that you ask Yossi to make an Israeli pot roast for your next Shabbos.”Noah's Ark 493 Cedar Lane, Teaneck Phone: 201.692.1200 Fax: 201.692.1890 www.noahsark.net and Rave Caterers 212-527-7059x3 www.ravecaterers.com noam@ravecaterers.com Noah’s Ark opened as a sit-down deli/restaurant on Cedar Lane in 1988. Since then, proprietors Noam and Shelly Sokolow have expanded the business to include Shelly’s Vegetarian Café (dairy) across the street, an old-fashioned kosher deli on the Lower East Side, an elegant, top-tier catering service called Rave, based in the Big Apple, and a brisk, mail order business that ships frozen kosher food cross-country. They have a vast menu that includes all sorts of party packages. When planning a meat-based kiddush, bang for the buck would be the Mid-Life Crisis Party. Crisis is averted when the package is a pre-packaged deli kiddush that serves 40-45 folks for under $600. Beverages are not included. Here’s what is: A 20-lb carved up turkey, 48 franks in blankets, 48 mini-potato knishes, 48 mini-egg rolls, 10 lbs. of cold cuts on platters, including corned beef and roast beef, 9 lbs. each of potato salad and cole slaw, a tray of pickles and relishes and 9 lbs. of sliced rye bread. Comes with mustard and Russian dressing. All you need to do is set it up on long tables, and maybe replace the rye bread with challah rolls for 48.Ariel's 18 Engle Street Englewood 201-569-1202 Craig Solomon crms99@aol.com www.arielskosher.com questions@arielskosher.com Catering@arielskosher.com Follow them on Twitter: Arielskosher It’s a newcomer to the neighborhood, but Ariel’s makes a strong kosher culinary statement that is a world away from cheese blintzes, veggie burgers and mushroom steaks, This unique eatery specializes in affordable, upscale cuisine, served in a casual, family-friendly atmosphere. Craig Solomon, the chef/owner, trained at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, a place that turns out the caliber chefs you see on The Food Network and Bravo. He takes his cooking seriously and says his dishes speak for him. Craig uses international ingredients, makes his own pasta and ice cream. Everything is under $20, except fresh fish entrees. Off-premise catering for a dairy kiddush, dinner meetings, birthdays and other parties, Sheva Brachot, bar/bats and other special events can be set up with a buffet, an a la carte menu or family-style meals.Craig’s reputation has attracted clientele from all around the county and rave reviews. In addition to gourmet pizzas and kid-friendly fare, the fish dishes rise above the pale: sesame-crusted salmon, cedar plank-roasted salmon, coriander-crusted tuna and blackened tilapia are only a few of your choices. There’s wild mushroom rissoto poppers, house-made gnocchi with pesto sauce, sweet potato tamales and grilled zucchini french fries. Go and sample.Petak's Glatt Kosher Fine Foods & Catering 1903 Fair Lawn Ave. Fair Lawn, NJ 201-833-8200 or 201-797-5010 Call for Daily Specials petaksfood@aol.com http://www.petaksglattkosher.comPetak’s has been serving food in the tri-state area for more than 75 years and catered a Chanukah party in the White House during the George W. Bush administration, they’re that good. They do deli like you wouldn’t believe, with overstuffed hot pastrami on rye like the old days. Traditional dishes, kreplach, matzoh ball soup like Bubbe made, gefilte fish, chopped liver, thin-sliced salmon, kugels, knishes and more are all available, as are a slew of international dishes from around the world: French, Italian, Oriental, Middle Eastern, and Latin American cuisine, are all prepared with close attention to kashrut, quality and culinary integrity. There are smoked fish platter packages including salads, cream cheeses and breads. There are traditional deli platter packages and sandwich and wrap packages, all suitable for the shul kiddush. There are also dairy options available, including cheese platters, fresh fruit platters, cake platters and much much more to choose from.Reuben’s Glatt Spot Catering 659 Eagle Rock Avenue West Orange, NJ 07052 Ph: (973) 736-0060 Fax (973) 736-8026 Email:Reubensglattspot@aol.com http://www.reubensglattspot.com/Over in West Orange, Reuben’s Glatt Spot offers traditional platter packages that are perfect for either a dairy or meat kiddush, along with a Middle Eastern kiddush called the Israeli Homeland Delight—a seven section platter filled with your choice of Middle Eastern salads like babaganoush, chumus, tehina, grilled eggplant, vegetarian liver, Turkish salad, Spanish eggplant, an ample supply of cut pita and a large bowl of Israeli salad. Minimum 10 people @ $9.50 per person.The^ Famous^ Kosher Nosh 894 Prospect St. Glen Rock, NJ 201-445-1186 http://www.koshernosh.com/ Classic Kosher Delicatessen, international cuisine, smoked fish and appetizing, soups and salads and diary section. There’s dining in, drop-off, catering and kiddush specials as well as condolence meals and platters for shiva. They also offer a stimulus package with coupons on their website, and a Shabbat Shalom special for $25.95 available from Thursday afternoon to Friday afternoon. They’ve got you covered from Jersey City to Franklin Lakes, from Ridgewood to Kearny.And for something that’s just a little different, there isFish of the C's 454 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, 201-928-1200 FAX: 201-928-1201 Clark Loffman http://www.fishofthecs.com/Fish of the C's is a kosher, dairy, fish restaurant providing quality food at a good price in a pleasant atmosphere. (There’s a big screen TV equipped with PC hookup for presentations. The party room iaccomodates 30 for great for birthday parties, anniversaries, baby naming, sweet sixteens, sheva brachot, engagement parties, graduations, office parties and business meetings. The restaurant seats 25.A Fish of the C’s kiddush consists of smoked, grilled, blackened or poached fish platters, house cured gravlax platters, wraps, General Tzo’s fish bites, crudités, fruit platters, cake and cookie platters, beverages and fixings. Call for details. Drop off and full service available.And don’t forget the add-ons:PICKELICIOUS PickleLicious is the place for pickle platters/gift baskets/gift cards: Robyn sells at many farmers’ markets around the region and has a handle on the hot and trendy, including very spicy, mildly spicy and unusual flavored pickled treats and olives. Pickel platters and displays are a specialty, a perfect accent for your drop-off or catered kiddush.PICKELICIOUS 384 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ 07666 Phone: 201-833-0100 http ://picklelicious.com/ ROBYN SAMRA Family Day Sunday`s (10am-5pm) Come on down with your family for sampling and every family member gets a FREE pickle-on a- stick).Northjersey.com: Students to interview Holocaust survivors living in Teaneck
May 26
Sunday, May 15, 2011 BY JAY LEVIN STAFF WRITER The RecordTEANECK — At Teaneck High School, students can visit a research center and a library collection dedicated to the Holocaust. Now, a group of 11th-graders will be interviewing Holocaust survivors, part of the worldwide campaign to recover the names of those who died. The school is partnering with the Classic Residence retirement complex in Teaneck to collect information for the central database of Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem is working to recover the names of 6 million Jews who perished; slightly more than 3 million victims are memorialized in its database. Robin Granat, Classic Residence's executive director, approached the high school about having students take testimony from her residents."I'm sitting on a gold mine of people who can offer information," Granat said. Two dozen residents lived under Hitler's regime and are considered survivors; a handful of those residents survived concentration camps.Fourteen students from a U.S. History II class will visit the Classic Residence next Sunday. They will interview willing residents in the morning. Others who know of Jews killed in the Holocaust can give their testimony in the afternoon.On Thursday, Granat prepped students for their interviews and showed them the one-page form from Yad Vashem they will fill out. She emphasized they are part of the last generation who will be able to speak directly to Holocaust survivors."Your children are never going to get a firsthand account of what happened during the Holocaust," Granat said. "This is a significant opportunity to pass along what you learn to future generations."Emotional subjectThree of the 14 students said they have known Holocaust survivors. Lailah Perez said she gleaned a bit from her late grandmother, a Catholic from Austria who was incarcerated for helping Jews. Lailah said her grandfather, a French Jew, also was incarcerated. He died before Lailah was born."My grandmother couldn't talk about it — it was hard for her," Lailah said.Granat told the students that Holocaust survivors are often reticent about their experiences. She also warned the students that their interviews could turn emotional."It's OK if you well up," she said. "Don't be surprised if you feel very upset."Holocaust centerTeaneck High School was a forerunner in offering Holocaust studies, now mandated by the state. Ed Reynolds, then the social studies supervisor, created the school's Holocaust center more than 30 years ago. The room, with photographs, articles, films and other resources, was rededicated in 2009. It is located in the school's student center.A New Milford couple, Jeanette Friedman and Philip Sieradski, recently donated hundreds of books about the Holocaust and genocide to Teaneck High. The collection is available in the school library.Pearl Markovitz, a retired New York City teacher and Holocaust expert who volunteers at the Teaneck High School Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center, said she was thrilled the 11th-graders will come face to face with octogenarians and nonagenarians who survived the evils of Hitler."There's nothing like meeting a person who survived, because it's a personalized, sensitized experience," the Teaneck resident said. And alluding to the age of the survivors, she added: "We don't have much time."
