and that's the way the ball bounces ....

with less than two weeks left before the first seder, there is much to do before the night of april 2nd, 2007. every day counts at this point, and for some every minute — there are still ovens and stoves to scour, food to rid the house of before the end of the month, not to mention shopping to be done, guest lists to confirm, and final decisions on what to make for the holiday, especially on the first two nights.

something funny however seems to happen at this time every year. people start to get anxious over what to serve searching through tons of cookbooks, the internet, and magazines and often, in the end, after much racking of the brains, revert back to basics of what has been typically served since time immemorial. part of me thinks there is something comforting sticking with the old standards. i've usually ended up doing one night traditional and one non-traditional to curb, or rather, appease my need to make new things. i can't count how many times i've been at some seder where someone has served non-traditional dishes only to notice the questioning look of "so .... where's the brisket? what do you mean there's no brisket?!" i guess the rule of thumb is "know your crowd" before you get creative.

passover would not be passover without the classic soup addition of matzo balls, otherwise known in yiddish as halkes or knaidlach. while there are undoubtedly as many recipes for these as there are cooks, there are probably equal numbers of cooks with their own secrets as to how to make the perfect matzo ball. much of it comes down to three things:

• size: i have seen matzo balls at some of our delis taking up the size of the bowl itself, as big as a small grapefruit and in other instances as small as large marbles for a more refined and manageable size.
  
  
• texture: hard or soft is always the issue. i've often heard that if they're hard, they were not made properly. who knows, i like them both ways.
  
  
• taste: that's a personal issue but i tend to go with the "know your crowd" caveat before getting creative and having no one eat them.
  

in terms of tricks people use to make matzo balls come out perfectly, the common ones are beating the egg whites before adding them or using seltzer or soda water. i've never done it that way and don't need to since i use the following recipe. the other recipes are different in that one is stuffed with onions and baked before adding it to the soup and the other has ground almonds in it. which ever way you try it, i still firmly believe opening the pot before they've finished cooking equals matzo ball death!

i unfortunately can't post pictures until later on for the first two recipes as the kitchen's not ready [yet]! they will be added later. i will add pessah recipes over the next week and a half but, as i said, no pictures — for now you'll have to use your imagination.

before going any further though, a famous little story:

When Marilyn Monroe first visited Arthur Miller's parents for Friday night supper, her ignorance of Jewish food was all too apparent. "Gee, Arthur, these matzo balls [dumplings] are pretty nice," Monroe declared. "But isn't there any other part of the matzo you can eat?"

quoted from chicken soup, please article.

never-fail soft matzo balls

this recipe always works. not much more to say than that.

ingredients:

4 eggs
4 tbsp oil
4 tbsp ice water
1 c matzo meal

1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt
1/8 - 1/4 tsp pepper

salted water for boiling

method:

whisk together the eggs and oil then add the water with the salt and pepper. add the matzo meal with a spoon and then set aside in fridge for at least 2 hrs [overnight is best].

when ready to make the matzo balls, heat a large pot of water to boiling and add salt [~1 tsp]. fill a bowl with water to moisten hands while forming them. using a tablespoon, take the mixture and form smooth balls. make them all like this and place them on a plate. then add them to boiling water one at a time.

note before cooking all of them: it's best to take a small marble sized piece and let it cook for 10 minutes or so [covered] and then taste it before continuing with all of them to adjust for salt and pepper.

cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and set the heat to low. cook for 30 minutes exactly and don't open the pot to peek inside even though it's tempting.

remove the pot from the burner and still closed, let it rest for 15 minutes.

makes 12 large matzo balls or 24 smaller ones. they can be made before the holiday and frozen until needed.


stuffed & baked matzo balls

the following recipe is interesting in that each matzo balls has a little stuffing inside it and has been baked to a golden brown before serving in the soup. i've tried it on guests and the consensus was that they were very good. it is from joan nathan. it's a little more work than usual and not as soft texturally as the other two recipes here but it's worth the results.

ingredients:

stuffing:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp oil or shmaltz
2 tbsp matzo meal
1 egg yolk
salt, pepper to taste
1/8 tsp cinnamon

matzo ball itself:

4 eggs
2 tbsp shmaltz or margarine
1 c matzo meal
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp chicken soup or water

12 c water

method:

for the matzo balls:

beat eggs and fat together. stir in matzo meal, salt and parsley. add the 4 tbsp (up to 6) of chicken stock or water. put in fridge for 1 hour at least.

for stuffing:

fry the onion in oil or fat until very browned and crisp. remove from heat and put in small bowl. add the matzo meal and seasonings. mix in the egg yolk and stir well.

to make the matzo balls:

divide the matzo meal mixture into 12 portions. dip hands in water and make a ball. press a hole in the center with your thumb and wiggle it a bit to enlarge the hole. add 1/12 of the stuffing mixture, about 1 tsp, and close up the matzo ball.

do this to all of them. add the matzo balls to the 12 c salted water which has been brought to a boil. lower the heat to simmer and cook the stuffed balls well covered for 1/2 hour.

preheat the oven to 350F. oil a 12 portion KLP muffin tin.

remove the balls from water after 30 minutes. place each one in the greased muffin tin. oil the matzo ball a bit too before baking. bake them until they are golden brown.

serve these in chicken soup as you normally would.


knaidlach mit mandlen

this version has the addition of ground almonds [mandlen] in it. i usually make very small knaidlach with these by the tsp or 1/2 tsp. the final texture should be soft.

ingredients:

1 large egg
3 tbsp unmelted soft margarine, leveled

3 - 4 tbsp water or stock
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
pepper to taste

2 tbsp ground almonds, leveled
6 tbsp matzo meal, leveled

method:

beat the egg well with a wire whisk.

mix egg and margarine together.

add stock or water and seasonings.

with a spoon, mix in the almonds and matzo meal and stir well.

refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

take spoonfuls and form the balls with wet hands.

add them to boiling and salted water or the soup itself and cook covered for 30 minutes.

do not lift lid during cooking or they will sink to the bottom and chances are they will harden.

enjoy!

i will leave you with this question — is it just me or does almost everyone feel they can't eat anymore once the matzo ball soup part is done??

when chicken meets paprika

three sons of a yiddishe mama leave home to go abroad and prosper. they talk about the wonderful gifts they will be able to give their old mama.

AVRAHAM, the first, says: "i can build a big house for our mother."

MOISHE, the second, says: "i can send her a bentley with a driver."

DAVID, the youngest, says: "you remember how our mother enjoys reading the bible? now that she can't see very well, i'll send her a parrot that can recite the bible... all mama has to do is name the chapter and verse she wants."

a letter of thanks comes from their mama. AVRAHAM, she writes, the house you built is so huge. i live only in one room, but i have to clean the whole house! oy, my son.

MOISHE, she says, i am too just old to go anywhere. i stay home most of the time and i rarely use the car. and that driver you sent is a real pain in the tuchos.

but DAVID, she says, THAT CHICKEN WAS DELICIOUS.

today i needed to cook a chicken i had bought the other day. after flipping through several recipe books, i still felt uninspired and still had no idea what to make.

by chance, i found a recipe tucked away amongst the pages of one book that i was given from my friend's mother many years ago, a hungarian jew who survived the holocaust. this is her simple but delicious recipe for paprikás csirke, or chicken paprikash, as it is called in english. it is a jewish version in that it is not thickened the traditional hungarian way by adding sour cream to the sauce at the end of cooking. it also does not involve any tomatoes or green peppers as is often done with some versions. i am told this is the "real deal". it is made with only the very most basic ingredients which turn it into the most wonderful dish. you may, of course, change it to suit your tastes. the 3 tbsp of paprika sounds like a lot but really isn't after all is said and done. put less if you are uncomfortable with this amount.

chicken paprikash

ingredients:

1 large whole chicken, cut into approx. 8 pieces
2 large onions, halved and sliced thinly
chicken fat or oil

3 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp hot paprika [or regular]

2 c chicken stock
3 tbsp sweet paprika

method:

slice onions and set aside.

cut chicken into pieces skin on, set aside.

prepare the flour mixture in a ziploc-type bag: flour, salt, pepper and [hot] paprika and set aside.

add the chicken pieces to the bag, close it and shake until all is coated.

in a large heavy pot such as a le creuset on medium heat, put a little oil or chicken fat and add half of chicken or all if your pot is big enough. you may have to do this in two stages. you don't need a lot of fat or oil, a tablespoon or two.

fry the chicken til browned on each side, about 6 min per side. i usually cover the pot halfway or 3/4 to cut down on the oil flying out and letting the steam escape. carefully remove chicken to a plate and cook the second batch and place that also on plate when cooked.

in the same pot, add the onions to the oil from the chicken and fry the onions until lightly browned about 10 - 15 minutes. remove to the plate with the chicken and set aside.

to the same pot add the 2 c of stock [if you have a lot of oil left, discard it carefully before adding stock]. bring to a boil and cook the stock for 5 minutes on high heat to concentrate it. to the stock, add the paprika and cook it for another minute or two. it will be a deep red like tomato sauce.

turn down heat to medium low and add back the chicken and onions from the plate you set aside. place the lid on the pot and turn the heat to low and cook gently for 1 1/2 hrs.

after one and a half hours, giving a stir every now and then:

it will have thickened nicely.

taste the dish and decide how much salt, pepper — and even a pinch or two of sugar if it needs balancing — you need to add.

you may add "fake" sour cream at this point [or about 1/2 c sourcream if kashrut does not apply to you]. i have never had it with the tofutti type sour cream so i am not advising it here. let me know if it works, if you try it that way.

serve with small [spaetzle] dumplings or egg noodles.

chicken paprikash tastes even better the next day. big surprise.

note: you may also add sliced green bell peppers during the last 45 minutes of cooking.

enjoy.

& an afterthought ....

here is the recipe for the very quickly made and cooked dumplings that go with the chicken paprikash.

i know these as something called vaiyseh volken, probably somebody's inventive cutesy name for them. it is yiddish for white clouds. this recipe can be easily doubled. as is, it serves 3 - 4 only.

vaisseh volken [white clouds]

ingredients:

1 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp baking powder, heaping

2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c water or more as necessary


method:

put up a large pot of water to boil while you make the dumpling mixture.

in a bowl, beat the eggs, salt and water together. mix together the flour with the baking powder and add it in 3 additions. the batter will be kind of gluey and very sticky. you may need a bit more water if it is too thick.

working next to the boiling water, use a teaspoon dipped in the boiling water and deposit small spoonfuls of dough into the water. it will fall to the bottom and cook and then rise.

do this until you have no more dough, repeating the dipping each time.

when all have risen, let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes. drain and either add to the chicken dish or store for later use.