[Sca-cooks] Matzo Balls

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Maggie MacDonald wrote:
>I learned about matzo balls and chopped liver from THL Gillian of Lynnhaven
>during long social lunches at a jewish deli. The chopped liver was a
>delightful surprise, as was the sweet and sour cabbage soup. I still don't
>"get" the matzo ball soup or the joy of it.  The one presented to me was
>the size of a baseball, in a decent quality chicken broth and little bits
>of noodle.  It was okay, but it sure wasn't anything special or worth
>getting poetic over.

Like many of the foods served at Christmas, matzoh ball soup is 
"holiday" food. For some, it's every Friday night Shabat (Sabbath) 
dinner; for others, it's served only at major holiday meals. So it 
has a "special occasion" association.

I've never understood the baseball sized ones either. They're usually 
ok for the first few centimeters, but the center is a dense dead 
weight.

I'm one of those who whips the egg whites separately and who lets the 
mixture soak for some time before forming the balls. I make mine with 
about two spoonfuls of dough, but not shaped like Adamantius's faux 
quenelles. But, hey, i was just following the recipe on the side of 
the matzoh meal box... (i think it was Maneshewicz)

My daughter said mine were better than her stepmother's (which were 
big and heavy, apparently), and my daughter is not the sort to be 
kind to me just 'cuz i'm her mom.

I don't put noodles in my matzoh ball soup, either.

And the chicken soup is simple, i make mine like my mother - good 
meaty chicken, a few large onion chunks, carrot rounds, and coarsely 
chopped celery stalks and the leaves, salt, and pepper - simmer until 
the broth is richly colored, strain. My mom cooked it long enough 
that it would gel when chilled, and then she could just peel the fat 
off. Of course, my daughter has been a vegetarian since she was 11 or 
12, so i've used vegetable or, more recently, vegetarian faux chicken 
broth, for the soup since then.

-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita