Being kosher in New York was miserable, I say this, of course, as a chef who was trained in some of the best non-kosher kitchens in NY and who has had his share of unimaginable delicacies. As someone who has derived immense pleasure from snails smothered in a garlic butter on a Christmas Eve in San Francisco (oh yes, once you get passed the slimy vision of a slug trail on the sidewalk, they are the most delightfully soft, tender and sweet creations you could imagine), it is difficult to keep kosher. I can sooth myself by lamenting over the apple smoked bacon I had in that Vermont inn on Lake Champlain. Real Macintosh wood from the forest around the inn slowly smoldering while a thick slab of pork belly gasps for air for fourteen hours until it finally gives in. Eventually, it absorbs the flavor, allowing it to blend with its own natural sugars - recreating the forbidden fruit in its own flesh and passing it on to the fat and eventually my palate (don’t knock it till you’ve smelled it - and I promise if you did, you would want to try it - no matter how devout you were). Bacon is God’s joke to His chosen people - anyone who has had it knows it, which is why many returnees cannot wait for the messiah to come, legend has it that Elijah will be handing out BLT’s upon his return - he better use Hellman’s - to me this is nonsense though and I am proud to say I had it, loved it and miss it terribly.

Why am I here now? well, I keep hearing from people that kosher food can be just as good as non-kosher food, its all in the way you prepare it - that is crap, it is not possible. There are too many ingredients that we Heebs cannot use in combination with one another or, as with my favorite slimy appetizer or smoked mud-rolling boar tummy, cannot eat at all. There is no substitute for cream - if you ever heard me say that soy milk can do the trick I was lying - there is no substitute for butter either (mmmmm…..butter). Try a pat of 42% Dutch churned beurre over a pan seared entrecote and tell me that margarine can do the same thing, then you will be knowingly lying too. Fact is, kosher food cannot be as good as non-kosher as long as kosher food is trying to emulate its gentile relatives.

Sure, a Margherita pizza we can do just as well as those in Italy (or Grimaldi’s - under the Brooklyn Bridge - my personal favorite); a terrific Gazpacho or French Onion soup is also within our reach (though some argue you need the veal stock for the latter, I tend to disagree); even a Salmon en Crut is doable - but do you see the pattern here? Where is the meat? Most non-kosher dishes that have meat in it also have some sort of dairy product in it - and with few exceptions you cannot substitute the creamy rich texture of butterfat or add by some other means the silkiness of a heavy cream. Kosher food should be true to itself without trying too hard to be something else - something that it cannot be. My point is, Kosher food should not try and be like non-kosher food - it should be a cuisine in itself.

On the advice of a good friend and neighbor, I am using this space to write about what I do best - cooking. Even though I no longer do it professionally, I do it well - and I am passionate about others doing it right too - and I am passionate about establishing the genre of “kosher food”. My mission is to let people know that kosher food sucks when you have something to compare it to, but, if you make it original, make it its own brand of cuisine, then it can be great as it stands alone. I am not saying “no” to Chinese or French foods, what I am saying is that we have to stop trying to emulate the Mu Shu Pork and Beschamel sauces on meat because it cannot be done well. US Jews have traditions and the foods we eat come from the countries we originated in, my grandparents were Russian and German, and my grandmother never used Tofutti sour cream on top of the cabbage she made - but she made that cabbage beautifully, tender with a slight kick to its sweet based tomato sauce. Why try and do things that you will only make the dish pale in comparison to its original? Why not stick to the ingredients we can use and make the best that we can instead of trying to simulate the ingredients we cannot?

There is no problem, in my opinion, with taking a recipe that does not have any “non-kosher” ingredients and making it - Osso Bucco is an example of one (some finish it with cream, but the original does not have it. The marrow is what gives it that silky texture - the ones who put cream in it are deviating from tradition). I think this is a fitting recipe to start off with as it is pure - and it is a great alternative to the Shabbat cholent - it is a long, slow cooked dish that melts in your mouth. It can impress your guests, or your family - or you are like me, it can put a smile on YOUR face - and the first thing we all need to learn about cooking; the key in the passion is to put a smile on your own face - cook with love and cook with flare and most of all, cook for YOUR OWN enjoyment - people can taste it, trust me on this one, they really can.

Osso Bucco

“Osso Buco” means “hole of bone” because this marrow provides the rich flavor to the sauce. A marrow spoon, one of those long skinny spoons found in your bubby’s old silverware sets, would come in handy with this dish (although they probably used it for cholent bones, unless they were Italian of course), as the tender marrow can be tricky to extract (I personally don’t eat marrow, but it adds a wonderful depth to this dish while cooking – on the other hand, my wife puts it on her challah like butter as her Hungarian father used to do and she swears that it is the creme de la creme of spreads). This is a truly authentic recipe from the tenements of little Italy in New York, it is unique in that it uses extra virgin olive oil, for the browning of the veal and cooking of the vegetables. (The one I had eaten at my friend Kenny’s house had pancetta bacon - but that was his own addition which he claims responsibility for - although I know that Da Nico’s on Mulberry street used it first). This recipe is authentic Italian - you can make it your own if you want, but I suggest trying the original first - it makes the development process that much easier.
The gremolata (parsley, lemon zest and garlic) is an important garnish for this dish that adds flavor and a brings out the earthiness of the dish - it also adds nice color for plating - which also adds function to the flavoring.

– Ingredients for 2

1-2 cups brown veal stock (1 veal bone, all your garbage + 1 carrot, 1 leek, ½ turnip)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 veal shanks 1 diced carrot ( ¼ inch cubes) 2 diced celery ( ¼ inch bias) 1 medium onion, diced ¼ inch pieces1 Tbsp (about 2 cloves) chopped garlic 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried) 1 cup dry red wine Flour for dusting the meat before browning and developing a roux Salt and Pepper2 Tbsp Minced flat (Italian) parsley 1 Tbsp grated lemon zest 2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced½ onion brunoise ½ red and ½ green pepper brunoise 1 cup corn meal

– Production

Brown Veal Stock

You want to take your misenplas (ingredients - literally, French for “put in place” or “all in its place” - you will see this word often here) for the stock (listed above) and sauté them in your stock pot with a little oil until they become nice and brown – as an alternative, you may also use the oven to roast the veggies and bones, and then deglaze the pan (the first way is quicker – the latter way is proper – the end result….the same). Deglaze the pot after browning has happened using ¼ cup of wine and add 2 liters of water to your stock pot. Add a few peppercorns and a bay leaf. When boiling occurs (or just before), skim the scum off the top, leaving as much liquid as possible. After stock has cooked at a low-med boil for 30 minutes, strain and discard all but the liquid.

1 Preheat oven to 155°C.

2 Heat a pan on the stove top over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the olive oil to the pan stirring the oil around occasionally until a little smoke happens.

3 Season the veal shank well with salt and pepper. Dredge the veal shanks through some flour, shake off any excess, and add the meat to the hot olive fat in the pan. Increase the heat to medium high and cook the meat on each side until well browned (about 5 minutes per side). Remove the shanks to a plate, set aside.

4 Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pan oven. Cook the onion mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent (about five minutes) and toss in the garlic and rosemary. Continue cooking until the vegetables just begin to brown (about 10 minutes).

5 Add the shanks back to the pan. Pour in the remaining wine, and then add enough stock to cover up the sides of the shanks. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and put it in the oven to cook until the meat is tender, about an hour. OR lower the oven to 100 Celsius and cook for 16 hours (for Shabbat lunch service)

6 Combine the gremolata ingredients, place in a separate small serving dish.