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Today’s dish is in honor of the Jewish heritage in Budapest. Cholent, is a traditional Jewish-Hungarian stew (the dish traces back to 516 BC in Judea!)

One of the items Stanley Tucci consumed was Roman Artichokes, a la the Jewish Ghetto. Those suckers originated in the Jewish ghetto in Rome. I’m half-Italian. Roman Jewish Artichokes Try to find baby artichokes as their choke is either non-existent or edible,

Welcome to my Oscars’ Countdown! The past few years, I’ve done a tasting menu the night of the Oscars where I make as many installations as there are Best Picture Nominees. It all started as an idea in 2019, the morning of the Oscars, when I was nursing a hangover at a diner. I hastily scrambled during the day to buy all of the ingredients and make 8 different things that night, without ever watching one of the movies. Since 2020, I’ve made it my task to watch each nominee before coming up with a respective culinary offering. This year, though, I’m trying something a little different. Instead of posting everything the night of the big show, I’m going to lead up with daily posts, as well as two final posts on Sunday. This year’s Oscars menu should have been themed: there will be bread. I’ve always marveled at challah, and now was as good a time as any to make it. The lovely loaf appeared in a scene in The Fabelmans, during a meal, most likely at a Saturday Shabbat dinner with Spielberg’s dad’s friend. He was always around, and for a reason: he had a keen interest in Spielberg’s mother. Perhaps he was the only one interested in her, because I found her extremely annoying and the movie itself was kind of long and uninteresting. Anyway, here’s an easy, delicisous challah recipe. Challah adapted from Challah, Cook’s Illustrated Maybe my oven runs hot, but this was ready much sooner than I anticipated. I’ve adjusted the recipe for this reason. Be sure to have a thermometer at the ready. 3 cups AP flour ¼ cup sugar 2.25 tsp instant yeast 1.25 tsp salt 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk (white reserved) ½ stick of butter, melted ½ cup warm water, roughly 110 degrees Combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a larger bowl, briefly whisk. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook, mix the 2 eggs + 1 yolk, melted butter, and warm water until combined, on low speed. Then, add in the flour mixture and knead for about 4 or 5 minutes until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides. If the dough is still tacky after 4 minutes, sprinkle in a little more flour (wasn’t an issue for me). Lightly oil a bowl and dump the dough mass in, rolling it around to oil the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 2-2.5 hours, until doubled in size. Gently press the dough down, cover and allow to rise again, 60-90 mins. While the dough rests, whisk together the egg white and 1 tbsp of water. Cover and refrigerate. Once the dough has completed both rest/rise periods, lightly grease a baking sheet and very lightly dust a counter with some flour. Separate the dough into ⅔ and ⅓ portion. Cut the larger portion into 3 equal parts and roll into ~16-inch lengths. Lay the 3 ropes side-by-side, pressing 3 ends together, then braid the ropes and pinch at the bottom. Lay the braided portion onto the greased baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Repeat this process with the smaller ⅓-sized portion, placing it atop the larger half-loaf on the baking sheet (but don’t cover it in egg wash just yet). Loosely cover the entire loaf with cling wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes. With about 15 mins to go, place an oven rack in the lower third and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Once the loaf has rested, then brush on some egg wash on the top loaf. Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190 degrees. Remove to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 mins or until fully cooled if serving later. ______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.

Yes, not only is gazpacho served cold and warm, but there is a long history of Jewish presence in Spain (but, I learned that from my first boss who was a lawyer of Jewish-Spaniard heritage). While I do like some tasty, Jewish food, one thing I can’t get behind (outside of its presence in a matzo

Today is the last day of Passover. Last week, we all hopped in the truck (yes, Duke too) and headed up to my wife’s parents’ place for a Passover meal. There was matzo ball soup, brisket, haroset, kugel, and of course reading. I avoided the reading portion of the evening by preparing a salad for about 20 minutes (or so) in the kitchen. Fittingly, since the salad involved peeling/slicing up beets, along with segmenting some blood oranges, it looked like I had smeared the door frame with blood by the time we were ready to eat. Mazel tov! Beet and Carrot Salad 3 scallions, chopped ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp rosemary honey 1 tbsp dijon mustard 1 lemon, zested and juiced 5 oz arugula 2 small carrots, shaved with a vegetable peeler 3 beets, peeled and thinly sliced 4 radishes, thinly sliced 2 blood oranges, peeled and segmented ⅓ cup salted, roasted almonds, chopped Combine the scallions, oil, honey, mustard, and lemon zest/juice in a mini prep, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until emulsified and reserve. Add the arugula to a bowl and top with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, adding ⅓ of the dressing, then toss together. Top with the remaining dressing and serve. ______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.

It’s Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day. True to form of many of the recipes I enjoy to make, this is of the low-and-slow variety, but not a typical braise…a smoke! I started this dish preparation a week ago and literally just ate the results. A pastrami sandwich is as beautiful as its simplicity: smoked, brined beef brisket piled high onto delicious rye bread, a slathering of deli mustard, and a pickle. The high points: the flavor is incredible, like spicy, smoky, beefy, thick-slabbed bacon. The fat melts away as you chew the succulent and soft meat. The lows: I only wish I had consulted the video portion of this recipe as opposed to just the write-up as they were slightly different! Fortunately, though, the only difference is aesthetic in nature. The meat isn’t as pink as I would like it to be. But, that is because I should have, apparently, doubled the brine time! The original recipe, found at the link below, called for a 6-day brine. However, the tv airing, on Project Smoke, called for a 12-day brine. As a result, the pink Himalayan salt would have had more time to integrate into the meat. Instead of just a pink smoke ring that I achieved, the meat should be pink, even in the center, regardless of the fact that it is cooked to 195 degrees. Still, it is so delicious. I paired it with Rye bread from Zingerman’s, a treat unto itself, and of course, no hot pastrami sandwich would be complete without adding a nice schmear of spicy, brown, deli mustard. If you’d like to take a 12-day brining journey, followed by about 18 hours of other prep and smoking, feel free to take the plunge with the recipe below! Pastrami adapted from Barbecue Bible, Steven Raichlen If you watch Project Smoke, he brines the beef for 12 days, even though the written recipe calls for 6 days. I went with the written recipe…because I didn’t watch the video beforehand! The longer you brine, the better. So, if you have the time, do the entire brine. Hell, the infamous Katz Deli brines their brisket for 3 weeks! Using the pink salt is important so that your beef doesn’t gray as it cooks. I used a 16 qt. Igloo Playmate cooler for the brine and it worked out great - I cleaned it thoroughly with hot soapy water during the smoke so that I could also rest/hold the brisket after cooking. Brine 4-5 lb beef brisket Large container or medium-sized cooler 1 gallon water ⅔ cup kosher salt 1 tsp fine Himalayan pink salt 1 small onion, halved 8 garlic cloves, halved Rub Brined brisket ½ cup peppercorns ½ cup coriander seeds 2 tbsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp ground ginger Other 6 cups wood chips (Hickory, Apple, or Cherry, or a blend) 2 smoker boxes (if using a gas grill) or you can also use a DIY foil pack Probe thermometer Pink butcher paper - unbleached and no wax interior High quality rye bread for sandwiches, I had mine shipped in from Zingerman’s Spicy brown mustard Brine the beef. 6-12 days prior to smoking, unpackage your beef and rinse it under cold water. Drain and reserve. (If you don’t have 12 days, 6 days is fine, the meat will just not be as pink) In a large pot bring half of the water to a boil and stir in the salts until dissolved. Add in the remaining gallon of cold water along with the onion and garlic. Once the water has fully cooled, transfer to your container or cooler. Place the beef in the brine and cover. Set the brining beef in a refrigerator and flip once-a-day, for 6 days (or up to 12 days…or even 3 weeks!) until you’re ready to smoke the brisket. Prepare the rub and wood chips. About 45 minutes prior to smoking. Soak half of the wood chips in a bowl of water for 30 minutes. Then drain and divide among 2 smoker boxes or wrap up in a foil packet, poking holes in the top for the smoke to escape. Meanwhile, place the peppercorns into a spice grinder (or process through a pepper mill on coarse grind) and pulse several times until coarsely ground and transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with the coriander seeds and place in the bowl, adding in the mustard seeds, brown sugar, and ground ginger. Mix well and reserve. Smoke the beef. The smoke process and rest period takes approximately 16 hours. Place the soaked chips directly over one main burner. Preheat the grill to 250 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, until the chips start smoking. Be sure to clean the grill grate where you will place the brisket down. You’ll smoke using the indirect method, keeping the main burner under the chips lit the entire time and turning off the remaining burners. Remove the brisket from the brine and rinse under cool water and blot dry with paper towels. Apply half of the rub to the bottom of the brisket, massaging the spices into the meat. Flip over and repeat on the top/fatty side. When the chips are smoking, turn off all but the main burner and place the meat, fatty-side up, as far away as possible from the burner under the smoker boxes. Close the grill cover and monitor the heat - the ideal smoke-heat temperature is 225 degrees. I ended up having one burner left on under the chips all night and that held the temp around 225, even when it got down into the teens. After 5.5 hours of smoking, soak the remaining 3 cups of wood chips in water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain the chips. Carefully (using heat-proof gloves) remove the smoker boxes from the grill and dump out the burnt chips (NOT in the trash! Let them cool completely first.) Place the new chips in the replenished smoker boxes back on top of the lit burner. While the grill is open, place a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the brisket and run the wire out to the monitor and close the grill. At this point, I had to bring up the main burner for a few minutes and then adjust back to low. Continue to smoke the meat, undisturbed, until the probe thermometer reaches 175 degrees. It took my brisket almost 12 hours to reach 175. Lay out 2 long overlapping sheets of pink butcher paper. Place the brisket a third of the way up from the bottom. Pull the paper over the brisket, tuck in the sides and continue to roll the brisket over, wrapping fairly tightly. Place the wrapped brisket back onto the grill and insert the probe thermometer once more into the thickest part of the beef and continue to cook, covered, at 225 degrees. I had to adjust the heat slightly upward for the remainder of the smoke. Be sure to monitor the heat closely as you don’t want to go over 250 degrees. The brisket will need about another 3-4 hours to reach the ideal temperature: 195 degrees. My total smoke time was 15.5 hours. When the brisket reaches 195 degrees, remove the probe thermometer, and transfer the wrapped meat into a cooler. Allow the meat to rest for an hour prior to slicing. When ready to serve, slice only what you need and let the remainder fully cool. Wrap the leftovers and place them in the fridge, you can then thinly slice the meat later for more sandwiches or to eat on it’s own. Since it’s hot pastrami sandwich day, I ordered some authentic rye loafs from Zingerman’s Bakery in Lansing, Michigan and heated it briefly in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. To make the classic sandwich, slice the meat about ¼-inch thick and pile it on to the bottom slice of bread. Give a nice coating of deli-style (brown) or horseradish mustard on the top slice. Serve with kosher dill pickles. ______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.

quality recipe, and as I like to say, it’s not that much of a stretch because she puts the “ish” in Jewish

Happy first night to those of you who celebrate Hanukkah. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well...I got sick and couldn’t enjoy family time. My big feat was going to the last weekend of my local farmers’ market and hitting the grocery store today, which was about all of the physical activity I could muster. This was the second time I’ve attempted to make a brisket and this time was much more successful than the first. I tried rushing it the first time and you just can’t do that on a braise. This recipe is super simple, resulting in tender and flavorful meat. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Braised Beef Brisket 5-6 lb beef brisket 2 tbsp dried Italian herb blend 1 tbsp paprika 2 tsp ground black pepper 2 tbsp Kosher salt 4 onions 2 cups beef stock 1 cup tomato puree ½ cup balsamic vinegar ½ cup aged red wine vinegar 6 garlic cloves, peeled 10 peppercorns Bay leaf 2 large bulbs fennel, trimmed and quartered Unpackage and dry your brisket with paper towels. Trim any section of fat cap that is over ½-inch thick. Set aside. Combine the dried herbs, paprika, ground black pepper and salt in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly and season the brisket, rubbing the spice mixture into the meat. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Place a large roasting pan over 2 burners set on medium-high heat. Add in a couple tablespoons of oil. Once the oil shimmers, add the brisket in, fat-side down, and sear the meat for about 5 minutes on each side. If your burners aren’t the same size, you should rotate your pan to ensure even cooking. When the meat is sufficiently browned, place the meat aside in a baking sheet. While the meat browns, peel, halve, and slice the onions ¼-inch thick. Once you remove the meat from the roasting pan, toss in the sliced onions with some salt and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until softened and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Then, stir in the remaining ingredients, except for the fennel, and raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Place the meat, and any accumulated drippings, back into the roasting pan fat-side up. Then add the quartered fennel around the roast. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 6 hours, flipping the meat every 2 hours and turning the oven off for the last hour. When the meat is fully cooked. Place on a cutting board to rest and loosely tent with foil. Pour the pan contents, through a fine mesh strainer, into a large bowl. Place the contents of the strainer back into the roasting pan and back into the cooling oven. Pour the sauce from the bowl into a fat separator and let sit until separated, then pour the strained pan juiced into a serving bowl, reserving the fat. When ready to serve, thinly slice the meat and serve with the reserved vegetables and sauce. Be sure to call your mother. ______________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.

More than just your standard “Jewish recipes”...you know, the ones on the sites that limit the entire The recipe, from Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook, is an adaptation of a recipe from Joyce Goldstein this morning’s CBS Sunday Morning, a show my fiancé has gotten the girls and me into, talking about “Jewish Moroccan Hen Stew adapted from Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook, Cornish Hens with Apricots, Tomatoes

The main premise is that one Hitler Youth tries to come to grips with his family hiding a Jewish girl What you may not know is that this dish is also a Jewish-German dish.

I’m not Jewish, but I make some bangin’ matzo ball soup.