L'Shana Tovah, all of youse!

I somehow accidentally managed to make the best Rosh Hashanah dinner of my life this weekend. First, I didn't buy a brisket until Friday afternoon, and never made it to the good kosher butcher with the first cut brisket, but just bought the only big one they had in the supermarket. On Saturday, I cut up a large number of onions, seared the brisket on both sides with salt and paprika, and doused it liberally with the onions, Worcestershire sauce, red wine, garlic, and pepper. That braised its way into pure meaty nirvana -- for once holding together in beautiful slices and not falling apart when I cut it.

With that I made kasha varnishkes, also with plenty of onions, and for once did not overcook the bowties. I also made a carrot and sweet potato tsimmes that came out fantastic, much to my surprise because it was really improvised. I had no prunes, so I used raisins, and instead of honey, grated orange and lemon zest, and orange juice for sweetening, I used orange marmalade, brown sugar, and orange juice. It came out sweet and tangy and neither watery nor dry. I wonder if I can ever replicate this feat. The secret ingredient may have been my grandmother's enamel dutch oven, which was just the right size.

For dessert we had brown sugar-apple cake with vanilla ice cream, right out of the oven. I know, it's not honey (again) but it was a sweet ending anyway.

Merry Hanukkah and Happy Christmas!

Here at the Gateau household we're cheerfully celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas simultaneously (with a little Winter Solstice thrown in on Sunday for good measure, via a red velvet cake with a sun decoration and Happy Birthday to the Sun sung together). I have latkes frying while a pork roast with port-coffee cream sauce is in its final stages. Plus, Mr. Gateau made his wonderful Three Sisters Stew that I missed at Thanksgiving, and we have broccoli. I'm posting between latke flipping and snorts of eggnog with the good rum.

Tomorrow we'll have our annual chocolate chip pancakes with bacon, and then head to the grandparents, who will be doing up a standing rib roast, and I'll probably make some Yorkshire pudding to go with.

Happies, dear readers!

If they could see us now....

It is my recollection that in the days of yore, not to put too fine a point on it, Passover desserts sucked. My grandmother really did a bang-up job with the sponge cake, but even at its best it had a funny matzah-y texture and flavor that wouldn't let you forget it was basically an imitation of a good cake. The only other thing you could rely on getting were those weird fruit slice candies, and though I always have loved gummy fruit-flavored things, those always seemed a little off to me too.

But now we live in the era of flourless chocolate tortes and so forth, and the Passover desserts are actually getting good. You may recall this post last year. This year I made the matzah crack again, only I let the caramel cook for longer than the recipe calls for, so it has a richer flavor. I topped it with melted semisweet chocolate chips, a sprinkling of fleur de sel, and some toasted slivered almonds. It's GOOOOOD. Sticky and good.

Also to file under sticky and good, last night I made these French Almond Macaroons recently published in the Times accompanying an article about a new wave kosher chef. They're very elegant and light, with a chewy center, and that lovely, almost perfumey, almond scent. I didn't do a very good job of making them prettily round, but other than spooning the batter out more neatly, they're very easy to make. I think they'll be very good with the ice cream I made over the weekend, which is roasted strawberry with a hint of balsamic vinegar and port.