Somewhere around yesterday, I realized that I'm serving five people dinner on
Saturday and I still haven't decided what to serve. Actually, technically there
will be seven people there, but the two littlest ones are bringing their own milk
bar. Or she's bringing them.
For the last several years, I have
celebrated the major Jewish holidays by having people over for dinner. Not
necessarily Jewish people, since most of our friends aren't, but we do at least
usually talk about the holiday a bit. For me, holidays are inextricably linked
with big family dinners and that's the thing about them I miss most, so this is
how I celebrate.
I'm sure about wine, salad, and cheesecake for
dessert, which I will cheat and purchase form the Cheesecake Factory. I like
baking, but I won't be getting any help with cooking dinner that night, because
Rudder has scheduled a marathon practice row (literally, 26.2 miles) for himself
and the other masochists people training with him. If I do have time to
bake, I'd rather make challah. Not sure how likely that is, though, because I
think I'd have to start the night before. For the goyishe kopfs out there, challah
is a braided eggy bread. It's gorgeous to look at, but not a quick bread --
requires kneading and rising time.
I'm sure about the cheesecake and
about serving a salad, and reasonably sure I'm making roasted vegetable (a la
Sundays at Moosewood. One guest is a vegetarian, and if I roast asparagus,
peppers, new potatoes, carrots, and whatever else I pick up, she'll have lots of
choice. If (when) I don't have time for challah, I can pick up good bread at the
grocery. (Between the produce and bread, I may be in for a trip to the gourmet
grocery.) So next, I need to figure: do I want to start with soup? If so,
traditional matzo ball soup or a good vegetable soup recipe also from Moosewood?
(It's African inspired, nice and light, and includes okra and lemon juice, among
other things.) What about the main course? I'm thinking maybe a brisket or roast,
but then what do I do with all the tasteless leftover chicken from the soup? Or I
could really cheat and add matzo balls to boughten chicken broth but I think my
great-grandmother might turn over in her grave. Bad enough already I skim off all
the schmaltz.
If I serve beef for dinner, I'll have the gravy from
it, and roasted veggies don't need gravy. Should I also make bowties and kasha or
mashed potatoes to use it up? That would be another dish for the vegetarian guest,
though I know from past experience she's not demanding about special foods.
Actually, that sounds good: beef, roasted veggies and bow ties and
kasha, in which case I might leave the new potatoes out of the roasted veggies.
Salad and a possible soup. If I do the veggie soup I don't have to worry about
whether the veggie guest will eat it, but I like the idea of serving at least some
traditional Jewish recipes. Note to self: Check if Wildflower Bakery or AJ's sells
challah.
One concern this year is that with all the business in my
life, I haven't been able to get into the contemplative mood I think is
appropriate for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Once I get my meal plans settled, a
day in the kitchen doing what my ancestors have done every year should help.