Jewish Cooking Boot Camp: The Modern Girl's Guide to Cooking Like a Jewish Grandmother (13 page)

(Courtesy of Brosia restaurant owner Scott Engelman and Chef Arthur Artilles)

Mix all ingredients and let sit for couple of hours in the refrigerator to marinate the fruit
before serving. Pour into a large rocks glass with a lot of ice. Finish off with splash of Cava.

When serving a relatively heavy meal, we generally prefer to serve a lighter appetizer.
December is apple and pear month. We like Gala apples, and Bartlett pears, but it really is personal preference. Granny Smiths are great but a little tart, and Red Delicious are sweet but not as
crunchy. Also, if your grocery store has seedless red grapes, they are fabulous to serve.
Red grapes are sweeter than green and look prettier when serving.

First, slice the fruit into wedges and serve with the following cheeses, which you can buy at
any grocery store or wine and cheese shop: sharp Cheddar (get a good one-we like Cabot
or Montgomery's-it makes a difference); Monterey Jack; havarti; Colby; Gruyere; and
Roquefort (which goes great with apples).

Put the cheeses out on a large serving platter or cheese board before everyone comes, and
when guests start arriving place apples and pears at opposite ends of the platter with the
cheeses in the middle. Serve a variety of crackers alongside in a basket.

To keep apples and pears from browning for at least 1 or 2 hours, take a mist bottle and fill
it with 1 quart ice-cold water and 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice. After cutting the fruit,
mist it lightly and keep it refrigerated until right before serving. There are commercial products you can buy as well to keep fruit from browning for a couple of hours.

Faced with a spread of cheeses, it never hurts to ask for help when choosing a good pairingwe find that most shop owners are more than happy to impart their knowledge.

For some groups, fruit and cheese just won't cut it as an appetizer. This recipe is a little messy and
a lot delicious, and seriously could not be easier to whip up.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray or a little oil, and place the chicken
wings in the bottom.

3. Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken.

4. Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until the chicken is done (and a golden brown color) and the
sauce has caramelized.

Chanukah Playlist

Chanukah is a social holiday, and the time of year just begs for parties, parties, and
more parties. For those sick of the holiday classics, we asked our own musical experts, brothers Nick and Peter Rosenberg, for an updated take on the old Chanukah
playlist. So if your taste runs more Snoop Dogg than Rudolph, here are their suggestions to spice up your party.

Eight Songs for Eight Nights

1. "Shamrocks and Shenanigans"-House of Pain: Okay, the title doesn't scream
Chanukah, but I have thousands of hip-hop records, and I can assure you that this
is the only one that has a menorah reference. "If I were a Jew I would light the menorah," Everlast says. Needless to say, this is a great way to kick off your party. It
should ease any of your overbearing relatives' concerns that your choice of tunes
isn't Chanukah friendly. And if you must play House of Pain's anthem, "Jump
Around," while you're at it, play Pete Rock's remix-it's a classic.

2. "Donuts"-Jay Dee aka J Dilla: There are a million reasons to love Chanukah.
When I was a kid the best thing was the presents, but as I got older the presents
went from being Transformers and GI Joe to socks and three-packs of boxers. It
was at this point that the jelly donuts aka soufganiot became my favorite thing
about Chanukah. And "Donuts" is one of my favorite things about J Dilla (RIP),
my favorite producer of all time. Not only does this album relate to Chanukah with
its allusion to the most delicious of Chanukah foods, but the bonus for you is that
this album is all instrumentals and, as a result, certain not to offend your Aunt
Pearl. Dilla's "Donuts" is not a reference to the greatest food of all time, but rather
the 45s that Dilla sampled to make this phenomenal album.

(continued)

3. "Fried Chicken"-Nas, featuring Busta Rhymes: This one probably will offend
Aunt Pearl, but it's a must. This is a song about both how delicious and how unhealthy fried food is. Probably not something you want to hear about as you dunk
your tenth latke in a tub of sour cream. But then again, if you care, you're probably not going to eat ten latkes anyway and I don't even want you at my Chanukah
party.

4. "Songs in the Key of Hanukkah"-Erran Baron Cohen: Yes, he's related to Borat,
Ali G, and Bruno's alter ego, Sacha Baron Cohen-he's his brother. And he's a
DJ, producer, and composer as well, who put out an album of offbeat hip-hopinfluenced Chanukah music, complete with a new up-tempo version of "Chanukah
Oh Chanukah," sure to get your preschool-age attendees amped. Featured prominently on the album is Y Love, an African-American rapper who rhymes in
Yiddish. Only in America. Or England. Or something.

5. Anything by Asher Roth: Not only does he exuberantly shout "mazel tov" in his
version of Jay Z's "Roc Boys," but if any of your guests object to what they are listening to, just tell them the name of this artist is Asher Roth, and that should put
any objection to rest. They'll think it's the president of their shul's men's club and
probably leave you alone.

6. "I Got Five on It"-The Luniz (pronounced, "loonies"): The name of this group
could apply to any gathering of more than five Jewish family members for
Chanukah, or any other Jewish holiday for that matter. Plus, when I was young, a
kid in my Hebrew school, Drew Shteynfarb, told me that "having five on it" was a
reference to participation in high-stakes street dreidel games.

7. "Brooklyn Queens"-3rd Bass: MC Serch of 3rd Bass is not only a Jew, but arguably, the greatest Jewish rapper of all time and an encyclopedia of hip-hop history
and lore. Not to mention, the original version of this song was called "Great Neck
Princesses," which was rejected by the label because it wasn't street enough. Okay,
the second part isn't true. But MC Serch and 3rd Bass are definitely worth checking out for your Chanukah playlist.

8. "Back to the Grill Again"-MC Serch: Did I mention that Serch is Jewish? This is
Serch's solo hit, also a classic. The refrain of this track, "back to the grill again,
the grill again" during the chorus will remind you to check on those latkes and
brisket. Serch definitely knew about the dangers of a house full of hungry Jews.

Peter Rosenberg is a radio personality on Hot 97 in New York City and the host of
"Noisemakers" at the 92Y Tribeca, where he regularly interviews the brightest talent
in the hip-hop world. Nick Rosenberg is a New York-based entertainment lawyer and
avid hip-hop fan.

A true original out of Roz's kitchen, Sweet and Tangy Brisket was born of her own frustration in
re-creating a famous chef's brisket recipe (let's call him Mobby Play). Thinking she saw it on a
morning show, Roz searched the Internet far and wide for the recipe before enlisting the help of
her husband, Allan, and Andrea in her quest. No dice. Desperate to stop Roz's endless searching,
Andrea took it upon herself to e-mail said chef asking for the recipe and including ingredients from
Roz's memory. Within days the chef responded. He had never heard of such a recipe. Undaunted,
Roz started experimenting, and the result was a sweet and savory treat we enjoy every year.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Peel the garlic clove and slice it really thin.

3. "Plug" the brisket all over with the garlic slivers on one side (you can do this either the day
before or right before cooking).

4. Heat a large skillet with oil, enough to just cover the bottom.

5. Rub the brisket all over with pepper.

6. Brown the brisket on both sides. Each side should take 2 to 3 minutes.