Shimmy in the Kitchen: A Culinary School Tale: Rosh Hashanah

Today we had off from school for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. I went home to go to temple and celebrate with my family. Jewish cooking has so much tradition in it, and is probably the real reason I love to cook. Growing up I was always around my mom and grandmas who cooked for the holidays. I hung around the kitchen to help, usually taking the role of slicing the pickles and setting the table. As I got older I was given more and more responsibility and was taught how to make everything from brisket to zucchini pie. This year I helped as much as I could, made mango chutney, but I still enjoyed taking the back seat and watching my family prepare the traditional way. Although no one has had any traditional training, there is something about Jewish women in the kitchen that is unbelievable. I think Jewish cooking is something that so many Jewish women teach their children to help keep the traditions alive. I am lucky that I had so many holidays with all of the women in my family who each taught me so much. I can give them (and my dad who is an amazing cook as well!) credit for teaching me everything I know up until this point, and opening my eyes to the beauty in cooking. Overall, if I could rate the Jew food my mom and grandmas made, I would give it a whopping 3 Michelin Stars.

Sweet Noodle Kugle

This years menu included: Vegetarian chopped liver, 3 layer gefilte fish, sweet noodle kugle, zucchini pie, mango chutney (from class), roasted vegetables, grilled vegetables, challah, brisket, Swedish meatballs, chicken in wine and mushroom sauce, and a huge display of deserts. There are a ton of other traditional dishes we normally make but there is only so much you can eat in one sitting!

As per usual, I ended up in a food coma post Rosh Hashanah dinner. As always, it was perfect! Unfortunately I began taking pictures when dinner was being served so I wasn't able to capture the real deal, but hopefully you can get a feel for the deliciousness.