Holiday Menus

[southendmd]

Wow, Lee, that's quite a meal! 

As for appetizers, I would keep it simple, given what's to come.  Maybe some crudités and a simple dip (I recently had a hummus flavored with harissa).  Also, I think chicken liver paté is reasonably kosher, and very good with cornichons. 

While whole-wheat rolls sound good, I always like popovers with beef.

[Monika]

Please snap some shots of your dinner, if you can, Lee!

[Sason]

Hi Lee. Don't know to what degree your guests are keeping kosher, but if they really are, you can't serve any cream, whipped or not, for dessert.

Also, there's no kosher reason you can't serve fish, as long as it's a kosher fish, which actually most fishes are.

And as for the meat, if your kosher guests are going to eat it, it has to be kosher.
And if they are, no dairy products  in any of the other dishes they are supposed to eat!

If your guests are very  kosher, they won't eat the food, even if kosher, that's been cooked in your pots and pans. In that case, you can use disposable aluminium tins to cook in the oven.

Any more questions, you're welcome to ask.

Best wishes

Sonja's kosher advice agency. 

[Front-Ranger]

Thanks for all your thoughts, friends! It has been great cooking today...I have kept my computer on the kitchen counter, just out of reach of flying food, lol (it is a white Mac after all). Great suggestion on the crudities Paul, that's exactly what I'll do. I have never had the courage to do popovers at this altitude, and my oven is a little temperamental, so it's somehting I'll have to try for a family dinner first.

Sason, my guests are just kosher in certain areas. They won't eat any pork or shellfish, but they love all dairy foods. My daughter explained to me that the prohibition against eating dairy foods with meat was a historical thing brought on by economics...it was not a good idea to eat the young animals but instead they should be raised to maturity first. (It sounded to me like a bit of rationalization, but I'm not complaining!)

Another thing is that, although fish are kosher, I can't serve it since one of my other guests hates fish of any kind; in fact she has to leave the house if she smells fish. It takes all kinds I guess.

[Jeff Wrangler]

If your guests are very  kosher, they won't eat the food, even if kosher, that's been cooked in your pots and pans. In that case, you can use disposable aluminium tins to cook in the oven.

Oy! If I had guests like that, the only thing I'd make for dinner would be ... reservations.

At a kosher restaurant, of course. ... 

[Sason]

Oy! If I had guests like that, the only thing I'd make for dinner would be ... reservations.

At a kosher restaurant, of course. ... 

 

That's a good solution IMO, if you live somewhere where there are kosher restaurants around.

I had an uncle, now long gone, who brought his own food when he came to visit my parents.
He was a very modest and unassuming man, happy to come for a visit, just didn't eat anything
unless he was 200% sure it was absolutely kosher. To each his own.....

[Jeff Wrangler]

That's a good solution IMO, if you live somewhere where there are kosher restaurants around.

I had an uncle, now long gone, who brought his own food when he came to visit my parents.
He was a very modest and unassuming man, happy to come for a visit, just didn't eat anything
unless he was 200% sure it was absolutely kosher. To each his own.....

Oh, I do. There is even a restaurant near my home that's described as glat kosher. I don't really know what that means, but I assume it's something like "super kosher."

[Sason]

Oh, I do. There is even a restaurant near my home that's described as glat kosher. I don't really know what that means, but I assume it's something like "super kosher."

Yeah, some people think glatt kosher is the real thing. Others think that kosher is kosher, there are no degrees. Either it's kosher or it's not.

Sounds like you're well equipped for all kinds of guests!  

[Ellemeno]

Will they eat off your plates and forks that have had both dairy and meat on them?  Will they sit at a table that is serving meat and cheese at the same meal?

Best wishes to you all.  My mom and sister are coming to our vegetarian household for the week of Christmas, some similarity, although they are the ones who have to be more flexible, which we appreciate.  And we do make reservations so that people can get their fixes.

[Front-Ranger]

In the newspaper today, the question was asked, How would you prepare a nontraditional Thanksgiving? I'm all for the traditional approach (with a few upgrades) but I enjoyed reading about the answers, especially this from our only (as far as I know) Scottish gastropub in Denver, Argyl:

Fruition Farms sheep's milk ricotta and orange-stuffed dates, wrapped in bacon and baked

Colorado hops smoked whole trout stuffed with risotto-style barley and mushrooms

Lamb "steamship": Leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, studded with black peppercorns and red wine

Pappardelle pasta with wild mushrooms, butternut squash, pine-nuts and sage

Potato & celery root puree

Cauliflower and Brussels sprouts gratin with pepitas and Colorouge cheese

Haricot vert (green beans) with smoked paprika and almonds

Cream cheese and chipotle cornbread (see denverpost.com/recipes)

Pumpkin bread pudding with chai spiced ice cream, hazelnut brittle and cinnamon apple chutney


Read more: Slaying the sacred turkey: Imagining a world without the traditional feast - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_16621556#ixzz15asgNVNa
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse