Shabbat Dinner

I have moved into a new over 55 community in Florida. This is my first winter without bone chilling cold and dangerous walkways. The weather changes from 70's to 80's with an occasional dip into the cool 60's. I am feeling younger and moving without the stiffness of my age of 65. The community I am in is full of active seniors who like myself want to meet new people and enjoy their retirement years by joining groups and enjoying common interests. 

I joined the Shalom Club and volunteered to host a Shabbat Dinner for 10 members. Deciding on the menu sent me to my memories of how my mother who wasn't raised to celebrate Shabbat so as an adult. she made a soup from Goodmans dry mix with added flan ken and marrow bones that add a warm, silky,  and smooth collagen that sticks to your ribs and instantly and satisfies any hunger. By the time we ate the baked chicken and noodle kugel we were stuffed and then rolled ourselves into tea and rugeloch and babka. 

This is the menu I chose... I found recipes that kept the same flavors but kicked up since my mom was not really a cook.

Israeli Salad and Gefilta fish to start.

1 lb Persian cucumbers diced

1/4 cup minced onion

1 cup chopped tomatoes 

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

salt to taste (1/2 tsp)

Split Pea vegetable Soup With Beef Flanken

2 lg onions, yellow

6 celery stalks

6 carrots

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 lbs beef short ribs (flanken)

1 lb dried split peas

1/2 lb pearl barley, uncooked

3 Tbsp dill (dried)

salt and pepper

1. Chop the onions, celery and carrots 1/2 inch pieces.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot and brown the ribs on all sides. Remove the ribs to a plate and add the chopped vegetables to the fat in the pot. Stir for a few minutes until everything is coated in fat and starting to soften. 

3. Put the meat back in the pot, then add the split peas, pearl barley and dried dill. Add enough water to cover it all and bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and simmer the soup nat least 2 hours, until it is thickened and meat is fork tender.

4. Shred the meat and fish the bones out from the bottom and season with salt and pepper. 

Really Good Chicken

4 Chicken bottoms and 4 breasts

2 large onion, sliced into rounds

ingredients:

1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1-2 cloves garlic minced 

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

2. Place onion slices the bottom of a pan

3. Mix together the rest of the ingredients forming a paste. Smear all over chicken and cover with aluminum foil.

4. Bake for one a half hours, covered and half and hour uncovered. After chicken is uncovered, baste once or twice.