Linda Lombroso had an absolutely terrific story in yesterday’s paper — a riff on the Food Network’s show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” I’ll just let her tell the story:
The smells and tastes of Jewish holiday meals tend to linger in the mind for years — even if they’re memories of gefilte fish served straight from the jar. We decided to set the bar higher.
Adam Kaye and his mother, Avril Kaye, at Adam’s home in Mamaroneck. (Matthew Brown/TJN)
For this Rosh Hashana, which begins at sundown on Sept. 28, we’ve taken our cue from Food Network’s “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” and asked seven local chefs, restaurateurs and food experts to tell us about the best Rosh Hashana dishes they’ve ever had. From Israeli poppy-seed babka to crispy potato kugel from the suburbs of Philadelphia, everyone had a dish that still gets them excited — and reminds them of happy holiday meals with family.
Adam Kaye, chef and kitchen director, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills
Favorite dish: Chicken roasted with fall vegetables, fruits and honey, made by his mother, Avril, owner of Avril Kaye Caterers in Scarsdale
The story: Kaye, who lives in Mamaroneck, has long adored his mother’s roast chicken, a dish he describes as something along the lines of a chicken tzimmes. “I am a big fan of sweet and savory combinations, and this dish is all about the combination of sweet and earthy flavors,” he says. “The veggies add so much to the flavor of the bird, and of course the vegetables get to soak up all those wonderful chicken drippings. It is also a smart move on her part — this is essentially a one ‘pot’ (or in this case, ‘casserole’) dish, which is always helpful at a Rosh Hashana meal, where you seem to inevitably have so many pots and pans in action.”
Tip: Kaye says his mother rubs the chicken with olive oil, garlic and fresh herbs before roasting it on a bed of root vegetables tossed in sweet wine. “She also bastes the bird occasionally with all the wonderful sweet juices in the roasting pan, which gives the chicken this lovely glaze.”
Jamie Geller, author of the “Quick and Kosher” cookbook series and editor of the magazine “Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller”
Favorite dish: Potato kugel made by her father and grandfather
The story: “This is literally one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth,” says Geller, who grew up in Abington, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, and now lives in New Hempstead. Geller’s father would grate the potatoes by hand and never measured anything. “My mother was always like, ‘Please make that kugel,’ and we would salivate and watch him as he would make it. We always wanted to dig into it right when it came out, and he would always hold us back because it was too hot.” The dish, she says, has its roots in Eastern Europe — and Geller is still trying to duplicate it at home. “I haven’t yet figured out that fluff, that lightness, that height. It’s baked in a loaf pan, which will give you four to five inches of height. We used to fight over the end, the corner piece, because you get all that extra coveted crunch around the edges.”
Tip: Geller likes to make potato kugel in individual cups to make it more festive, and she always warms the oil in the oven before adding the potatoes, eggs and onions, a technique that assures you’ll get that “coveted crunch” on the outside, she says. Never freeze potato kugel, says Geller, because the potatoes get waterlogged. “This is one of those things you want to make fresh, especially on the holidays.”
More, including recipes from Abigail Kirsch, Scott Weiss of Fig & Olive, Ethan Kostbar of Moderne Barn, Dan Glickberg of Fairway and Dorit Kramer of Art Cafe, after the jump.
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