Food Friday–feeding the crowds edition

Tomorrow, we are sponsoring Kiddush for our community in honor of our son’s return home. Kiddush for those of you who are not used to synagogue life is technically the prayer said before the Shabbat meals. It’s also the to the food one eats in synagogue after that prayer.  In some synagogues you might have a sip of wine and a dry cookie and call it Kiddush.  At our synagogue it’s basically lunch.

 

So I have spent the last couple of days putting together lunch for about 85 people.  It will be a mix of home cooked and store boughten food.   We also are having a full table tonight.

 

I decided to make an Eastern European specialty that my mother learned from the fine cooks of Halifax, NS. Apparently all of the housewives in Halifax used to make pickled salmon during the June salmon run.

 

My mother generally made it only for the dairy lunches we ate during Passover.  I generally make it when I need a make ahead meal, particularly during the summer.

My mother makes it in a much more complicated way than I do which requires both top of the stove and oven time.   Perhaps it is better for making that repulsive fish jelly that I know some people prize as a delicacy.

 

Pickled Salmon

in a deep skillet put 1 c vinegar

1T sugar

1 t salt

spices, juniper berries are amazing  here but I didn’t have any handy, whole black pepper, cloves, bay leaves whole coriander all work well or just add a few hefty shakes from a jar of pickling spices

Boil mixture until the sugar and salt are well dissolved. old time cook books will tell you to boil the mixture for something like 30 minutes. that seems excessive to me.  If you do not hate onions as my husband does, you can add thinly sliced onions to the boiling mixture. My mother was sure that the onions were all in pretty rings.

 

When sugar and salt are melted away add the fish which is cut into pieces. My mother used to use sliced salmon on the bone. I tend to use chunks of filet. Yes you can pickle any firm fleshed fish. Yes, you can use brown sugar or balsamic vinegar.

simmer until cooked

Put in a non metal containter and keep in the fridge for atleast several hours before cooking but up to two days.

 

Eat

 

I also made a pasta dish for tonight that I basically threw together out of what was around. What was around was hard boiled eggs, greens and mozzarella cheese and lots of pepper and salt. It’s also a vaguely Eastern European mixture.

 

 

I made a big salad:

The sugared walnuts I made for the salad are dangerous.

Just letting you know in advance. They are really hard to stop eating.

 

Shabbat Shalom!!! And please come to Kiddush if you are in the neighborhood.