Iron Chef-Kosher

Iron Chef is great entertainment. For those of you who haven't discovered it yet, it is (originally) a (Japanese) show where two great chefs face each other in a 'kitchen stadium' hosted by the 'Chairman'....or in America, the 'Chairman's nephew'. One contestant is an 'in house' Iron Chef, a specialist in a particular cuisine; the other, his or her challenger. The two must make a meal in 60 minutes using the 'secret ingredient' in each of their 4 or 5 dishes. The winner's cuisine reigns supreme! The entire event runs something like a sporting event, with the play-by-play being announced along the way. It's fantastically hokey. Truthfully, the American version doesn't hold a candle to the Japanese one, mostly because (a) we lose the horrible dubbing from the original, which is worth the watch in and of itself and (b) we are constantly wondering how the actor who played Jean Valjean in the Japanese production of Les Miz has suddenly been transformed into a Chairman.

Watching this show gives me a huge chuckle. Here are these chefs with their one or two underlings creating genius meals as the clock ticks down.  That in and of itself is not funny. But what is funny (at least to warped-minded me) is what I see in my mind's eye. While the TV chefs run around the kitchen so brilliantly focused, I envision every observant Jewish man or woman I've ever known or heard of, attempting to get a Shabbat or Yom tov meal cooked before it is time to light candles, when cooking must, by Jewish law, stop. I call this population, Iron Chefs-Kosher.

I don't know why it is, but no matter how early I begin cooking on a Friday, it's always the same;  Groundhog Day meets The Frisco Kid. As the sun begins to set and candle lighting draws near, I am always finding myself calling out 'Time?' or 'How many minutes?'. As I fly from pot to stove to oven, my eyes dart around the kitchen, from what I'm cooking, to the window to check how much sunlight remains, to the clock on the wall and back to what I'm cooking. At 60 seconds to candlelighting, I'm checking the soup to see if it's hot and making sure that everything in the oven is cooked. And when the timer hit's zero, just like the Iron Chefs on TV, the spoon goes down, the towel gets tossed, and voila, the meal is cooked and ready to be served.

The Iron Chefs on TV are exhausted preparing a meal for the Chairman and three judges, but just imagine if you will, making Shabbat for 75. No, this story isn't about the life of a caterer; it's about a McGill University student and her quest to prepare for the 'Ghetto Shul', her student-run synagogue's 'Sustainable Shabbat' dinner.

Ghetto Shul in Montreal has been around now for 11 years, catering to the student community at McGill University and Concordia. This year, The Ghetto Shul started a new initiative as a result of a grant. Instead of catering Shabbat meals, the students now cook the meals for their congregation.

This new initiative added a twist--it designated that the food be sustainable as well as Kosher. The task would be to create a meal that would use ingredients from the Montreal area, a challenging endeavour since this rules out staple ingredients such as soy sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, and margarine. The only exception to the Sustainable Shabbat project was the use of spices, which did not have to be local.

My daughter, Elana, offered to cook dinner and play Executive Chef. Elana has made dinner for the shul before, but not with the new sustainability rules. As we discussed the menu possibilities, we soon realized that coming up with the menu would not be difficult as we first imagined. Elana quickly assembled her ingredients and her sous chefs. So as the clock struck Thursday, with sustainability as the 'secret ingredient', the countdown to Shabbat began.

From Elana's numerous play-by-play phonecalls, it seemed that Ghetto Shul's 'kitchen stadium' was pretty heated. A small army of helpers came throughout Thursday night and Friday. Needless to say, things didn't always run smoothly. The clock ticked faster than expected.  But as the sun started to set and candles were ready to be lit, spoons were dropped and the aprons were tossed.

Indeed, thirteen hours later, the dinner was 'blech (hot plate) ready'. The menu included: 100 homemade challah rolls served with apple onion chutney and warm potato cabbage salad; 'Hoser' chicken, roasted potatoes and vegetables, and - the most interesting of the dishes - squash perogies previously known as ravioli (some improvisation was required). For dessert, apple biscotti.

The empty plates and lack of leftovers proved that the Sustainability Shabbat was a complete success. The Chairman would have been proud!

Enjoy 3 of the recipes, tailored for the Sustainable Shabbat!
Hoser Chicken
Chicken cut in 8ths
Montreal Chicken Spice
1 bottle strong beer
Maple Syrup

Place chicken in pan. Sprinkle Montreal Chicken Spice on to coat.
Pour bottle of beer over chicken.
Pour generous amount of maple syrup
Roast uncovered at 400 for an hour or until done. Baste half way through.

Apple Chutney (original recipe from Epicurious.com)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Onion-Apple-and-Raisin-Chutney-10347#ixzz1jvBJP7zr)

3 Tablespoons Apple juice

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1/8 tsp. dried mint

pinch of dried cloves

2 pounds red onions, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin crosswise (about 4 cups)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 local apple

In a small bowl combine the apple juice (cider vinegar would be preferable), the maple syrup, the mint, and the cloves and let the mixture stand while cooking the onions. In a large skillet cook the onions in the oil, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, remove the lid, and continue to cook the onion, stirring, for 30 minutes, or until they are very soft. Stir in the remaining mixture and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, until the liquid is almost evaporated and the apple is tender, and season the chutney with salt and pepper. The chutney may be made 3 days in advance, cooled, and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chutney at room temperature.

Spicy Potatoes, Cabbage and Carrots- http://localfoods.about.com/od/sidedishes/r/potcabcarrot.htm