and sauté onions until nicely browned. At the last minute, add garlic, which browns quickly.
2. In a large bowl, combine onion-garlic mixture with all other ingredients, and blend thoroughly.
CHEESE FILLING
1 cup farmer cheese
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and blend thoroughly.
Matzo Balls
MAKES 12 TO 14
Abe experimented until he came up with the lightest, fluffiest, most Jewish-motherly matzo balls imaginable.
1 tablespoon plus ¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
â cup schmaltz
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon baking powder
1â cups matzo meal
1. Fill a large, wide stockpot three-quarters full of water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, and bring to a rapid boil.
2. While water is boiling, crack eggs into a large bowl and beat thoroughly. Beat in schmaltz, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, and baking powder. Slowly fold in matzo meal, mixing vigorously until completely blended.
3. Wet hands and, folding the mixture in your palms, shape perfect balls about 1¼ inches in diameter (they will double in size when cooked). Gently place the matzo balls in the boiling water, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place 1 or 2 in each bowl of soup. Serve immediately.
A WARD-WINNING AUTHOR and food critic Mimi Sheraton began her career as a home furnishings writer for
Good Housekeeping.
However, it wasnât long before this child of a food-loving Brooklyn family (her mother was a great cook, her father in the wholesale fruit and produce business) found her true bent and became
Seventeen
magazineâs food editor. Though best known as the restaurant critic for
The New York Times
(from 1975 to 1983), she also has written for many major magazines (
New York, Town & Country, Time, Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, Harperâs Bazaar, Vogue,
et al.), lectured widely, and authored a dozen books on food and travel, among them
From My Motherâs Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences, The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup,
and
Food Markets of the World.
Because as a restaurant critic I always tried to remain incognito, I never got to sit down and have a face-to-face schmooze with Abe, although we had several long telephone conversationsâgenerally about the fine points of kashruth or New Yorkâs changing deli scene. But he never recognized me, and one day when I needed a chicken soup fix, I was seated within hearing distance of Abe explaining Jewish food to a young Japanese journalist. The idea of matzo balls stumped her, and to completely explain them, Abe had to go into matzos, Passover, the Exodus from Egypt, and, as far as I could tell, the entire Old Testament. Only when she tasted one did a glow of understanding come over her face.
Mimi Sheratonâs Favorite Matzo Balls
MAKES ABOUT 12
3 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons cold water
3 heaping tablespoons solidified schmaltz
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground white pepper, to taste
â to ¾ cup matzo meal
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley leaves or 1 tablespoon finely minced dill
Handful of coarse kosher salt
1. Using a fork, beat eggs with cold water. Stir in schmaltz until it dissolves. Add salt and a pinch of pepper.
2. Gradually mix in matzo meal, 2 tablespoons at a time, until mix is the consistency of soft mashed potatoes and is a little spongy. Add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in parsley or dill. Cover bowl loosely, and chill for 5 to 7 hours.
3. About 30 minutes before serving time, remove matzo ball mix from refrigerator. Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil, and add the handful of kosher salt. Wet the palms of both hands, and shape the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Drop gently into boiling water. Cover pot loosely, and boil at a moderately brisk pace for about 25 minutes, or until 1 ball tests done. Remove all carefully with a slotted spoon. Serve in chicken soup, allowing 2 matzo balls per serving.
Brisket
Brisket with
2. In a large bowl, combine onion-garlic mixture with all other ingredients, and blend thoroughly.
CHEESE FILLING
1 cup farmer cheese
¼ cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and blend thoroughly.
Matzo Balls
MAKES 12 TO 14
Abe experimented until he came up with the lightest, fluffiest, most Jewish-motherly matzo balls imaginable.
1 tablespoon plus ¼ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
â cup schmaltz
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon baking powder
1â cups matzo meal
1. Fill a large, wide stockpot three-quarters full of water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, and bring to a rapid boil.
2. While water is boiling, crack eggs into a large bowl and beat thoroughly. Beat in schmaltz, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper, and baking powder. Slowly fold in matzo meal, mixing vigorously until completely blended.
3. Wet hands and, folding the mixture in your palms, shape perfect balls about 1¼ inches in diameter (they will double in size when cooked). Gently place the matzo balls in the boiling water, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place 1 or 2 in each bowl of soup. Serve immediately.
A WARD-WINNING AUTHOR and food critic Mimi Sheraton began her career as a home furnishings writer for
Good Housekeeping.
However, it wasnât long before this child of a food-loving Brooklyn family (her mother was a great cook, her father in the wholesale fruit and produce business) found her true bent and became
Seventeen
magazineâs food editor. Though best known as the restaurant critic for
The New York Times
(from 1975 to 1983), she also has written for many major magazines (
New York, Town & Country, Time, Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, Harperâs Bazaar, Vogue,
et al.), lectured widely, and authored a dozen books on food and travel, among them
From My Motherâs Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences, The Whole World Loves Chicken Soup,
and
Food Markets of the World.
Because as a restaurant critic I always tried to remain incognito, I never got to sit down and have a face-to-face schmooze with Abe, although we had several long telephone conversationsâgenerally about the fine points of kashruth or New Yorkâs changing deli scene. But he never recognized me, and one day when I needed a chicken soup fix, I was seated within hearing distance of Abe explaining Jewish food to a young Japanese journalist. The idea of matzo balls stumped her, and to completely explain them, Abe had to go into matzos, Passover, the Exodus from Egypt, and, as far as I could tell, the entire Old Testament. Only when she tasted one did a glow of understanding come over her face.
Mimi Sheratonâs Favorite Matzo Balls
MAKES ABOUT 12
3 extra-large eggs
6 tablespoons cold water
3 heaping tablespoons solidified schmaltz
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground white pepper, to taste
â to ¾ cup matzo meal
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley leaves or 1 tablespoon finely minced dill
Handful of coarse kosher salt
1. Using a fork, beat eggs with cold water. Stir in schmaltz until it dissolves. Add salt and a pinch of pepper.
2. Gradually mix in matzo meal, 2 tablespoons at a time, until mix is the consistency of soft mashed potatoes and is a little spongy. Add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in parsley or dill. Cover bowl loosely, and chill for 5 to 7 hours.
3. About 30 minutes before serving time, remove matzo ball mix from refrigerator. Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil, and add the handful of kosher salt. Wet the palms of both hands, and shape the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Drop gently into boiling water. Cover pot loosely, and boil at a moderately brisk pace for about 25 minutes, or until 1 ball tests done. Remove all carefully with a slotted spoon. Serve in chicken soup, allowing 2 matzo balls per serving.
Brisket
Brisket with
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