Rosh Hashana Dinner

September 18th:

This is the first year Douglas and I have hosted Rosh Hashana dinner! The past 5 years we have been together we had dinner in the following locations; my family in Florida, Chabad of Sonoma and dinner at the Rubinstein's.

With a lot to do, Douglas and I split the menu carefully and put together our action items. Douglas was in charge of the beef, Steve (Douglas' dad) made the fish and finally I was to make all the brachot (blessings in Hebrew). Since I had many components to complete, Jan (Douglas' mom) came over Friday morning to help. Her task was the Leek & Mushroom Quiche.

The week before dinner I could not help and think how easy it was going to be with all the Kosher markets being in driving distance. My shopping day quickly approached and I was a little mistaken. Who knew you needed to call in advance to order a fish head?? So unfortunately I didn't get a fish head :(

To get descriptions of each brachot I Googled traditions. I printed this link and shared the descriptions at my dinner table.

The Menu:
Round Challah
Apples & Honey
Olive Tapenade
Humus
Beet Salad
Citrus Fish
Apple Kugel
Squash Quiche
Leek & Mushroom Quiche
Glazed Apricot Carrots with Peppers
Honeyed Roast Beef with Sweet Potatoes
Honey Chiffon Cake
Dates

The Guests:
Jan, Steve, Rhonda, Beth and Mariana.

Thank you guests for completing my table and for the beautiful flowers Mariana!!

Shana Tova Umetuka,
The Kruschen Family

Nice to have family close by...

September 11th:

The main reason Douglas and I moved to Southern California was to be near family. So when Jan invited us for a Kosher dinner, I was thrilled! Cooking a Kosher dinner has a lot of restrictions and takes a lot of time. To summarize Jan's effort this Shabbat; beautiful!

Not only was her Shabbat table set up to the nine's, but every dish she made was lovingly constructed with her family in mind.

The Menu:
Humus
Peach Salsa
Herring
Guacamole
Fish
Stuffed Chicken
Apple Strudel

My favorite has to be the stuffed chicken. The stuffing consisted of rice, raisins and honey. This dish is definitely something I'd like to make at my Shabbat table.

Great job Jan! Thank you Jan and Steve for inviting us to your table. Too many more beautiful Shabbat dinners together!

Sephardic Family Cooking!

September 4th:

This Shabbat was spent in New York. Douglas and I attended Shira and Joe Kelmanovich's wedding in Long Island. Shira and Joe are our friends from Northern California. My cousin Ravit invited us to stay in her home while we were in NY. Douglas and I were so happy to have been invited not only to have Shabbat dinner in her home, but to meet 4 more cousins I have never met. Ravit has 2 kids; Jonathan and Itai. Tali has 2 kids as well; Ely and Lily.

As soon as you walked into Ravit and Ilan's dining room you could smell the Sephardic cooking!! I felt like I was home. From numerous salads to the food arrangement everything felt all so comfortable, just like I was in Florida.

First we started with little Jonathan reciting the wine blessing. Then we moved on to the menu salads and the Moroccan Fish. Mmmm the fish was amazing!! after we had ate our appetizers, the table was covered in savory and sweet dishes. There was sweet potatoes and chicken, meatballs and green beans, rice, and the most amazing dish of the night; brisket with onions. this brisket was to die for! It just melted in your mouth!!!

Thank you so much Ravit and Ilan for hosting us in NY. Tali thank you for coming to see us. I know it must have been hard with your recent birth of baby Lily.

Love you and miss you guys!