Teacher blog

photo taken by jspatchwork, on October 9, 2011, CC licensing

Yield: 8 generous servings

Dried mushrooms flavor the brisket as it cooks, then fresh mushrooms are sautéed and added to the gravy just before serving, so they retain their meaty succulence.

1 ounce dried wild mushrooms, preferably boletus--that is, porcini or cèpes; shiitake don't work well here (1/2 to ¾ cup)

photo taken by Aelle, on July 24, 2005, CC licensing

Adapted from Cucina Ebraica by Roberta Anau and Elena Loewenthal

photo taken by Olga Massov, on October 27, 2008, CC licensing

Yield: about 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 large egg
1 cup kasha, preferably medium- or coarse-grind
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Schmaltz (rendered poultry fat), butter, or margarine

photo taken by sierravalleygirl, January 18, 2006, CC licensing

From Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover's Treasury of Classics and Improvisations by Jayne Cohen (Wiley)

Yield: About 10 servings

photo taken by di.wineanddine, on February 19, 2011, CC licensing

From "A Festival of Latkes," by Jayne Cohen,
Bon Appetit Magazine, December 2008
Yield: about 2 cups

Ingredients:

photo taken by Mr. Usaji, on February 3, 2008, CC licensing

Recipe adapted from 

Jewish Food: The World at Table by Matthew Goodman (HarperCollins 2005)

Serves 6 to 8

photo taken by TheDeliciousLife, on January 11, 2010, CC licensing

"This part of Fifth Avenue always seemed fat to him, fat and prosperous: like chicken schmaltz."--Henry Roth, Mercy of a Rude Stream

And as if all of these weren’t enough, the Dan Şova case popped out (Romanian politician, History faculty graduate who, during a TV programme in March 2012 denied the Holocaust (deflective denial); he later apologized; he was later appointed minister). On the website of Evenimentul Zilei newspaper an article was posted on March 9th  2012 Victor Ponta: Dan Şova, ignorant, not anti-Semitic (Victor Ponta is the leader of the political party Dan Şova is a member of).

Happy the author who finds the appropriate sources! And, indeed, without much trouble, the relevant sources for the issue raised by the title revealed themselves to me and helped me shape an image. The story began when surfing – naively enough – the Internet and found the article The journalist Hal Vaughan:” Coco Chanel was a Nazi spy. She hated the Jews.” (author: Iulian Ioncea) posted on the website of the newspaper Adevărul (August 14th 2012). An article like any other, nothing special, about an anti-Semitic Coco Chanel.

photo taken by VancityAllie, on August 1, 2010, CC licensing

Tidbits savory with garlic and vinegar or satiny with schmaltz may pique the appetite, but for many Jews, no real meal begins without soup. So for much of the calendar, stocks simmer on the stove for hours, and out of the oniony fog come golden chicken soup, earthy mushroom and barley, tangy borscht--brought to the table steaming hot.