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2007 - Soul-Soothing Food |
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Jewish dishes don't last very long at annual festival, but now you can make them at home
By Stephanie Jordan (Contact) - Corpus Christi Caller Times
Originally published 03:57 a.m., November 7, 2007
Updated 03:57 a.m., November 7, 2007
Original Article located: http://www.caller.com/news/2007/nov/07/soulsoothing-food/
Rikki Schmitchel (left)
and her daughter,
Jessica Schmitchel, 20,
prepare rugelach for the
Jewish Food Festival Saturday and Sunday.
The duo are just a part of a large group who
began preparing food weeks
ahead of time
in preparation for the event.
Going out for Italian? Pasta is in order.
Have an inkling for Chinese? Rice is a likely side dish.
Craving Jewish food? Let the heart lead rather than the taste buds. That's what Rikki Schmitchel does.
"It's good, home-cooked food. It soothes the soul," she said. "There's something about it. It just makes the whole house smell good."
And South Texans eat it up -- literally -- each year at the Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood's Jewish Food Festival.
The food is prepared from the congregation's family recipes.
Each year's fest raises money for a cause. Last year's $35,000 went toward sending youth to camps and conventions.
This year's take will go toward updating the synagogue's kitchen.
Schmitchel and committees filled with able-bodied cooks have prepared for weeks for the festival. Some made split pea soup.
Some prepared the brisket. Others baked sweets.
The cabbage rolls alone take 80 pounds of meat, eight dozen eggs, 40 pounds of onions, 100 heads of cabbage and 22 pounds of brown sugar to prepare.
Even with enough to feed the sailors on an aircraft carrier there aren't any leftovers.
"Every year we make a little more and we always sell out," Schmitchel said. Other popular items include the rugelach, kugel, brisket and split pea soup.
The fest includes a silent auction, a raffle and a sweet shop.
Dorothy Heffler, perhaps more than most, is familiar with the camaraderie of cooking with large groups. She has worked the fest since its inception 21 years ago.
At 87 she's in charge of handling the briskets -- all 350 to 400 pounds of them.
"I do everything except lift the meat," she said.
Helping in the kitchen is a family tradition.
"My mother was very involved in trying to help," Heffler said. "She was a very diligent worker.
"It's fun to get together. Somebody's always bringing supper for everyone who is working.
A lot of my dear friends are not here anymore so it's nice to be around all these people."
If you go
Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood 21st Annual Jewish Food Festival
New York style deli, silent auction, entertainment from 6 to 9 p.m.
Saturday by Los Klezmeros. Homemade food includes cabbage rolls,
brisket plates with kugel, matzo ball soup, and items in the sweet shop
including rugelach, strudel, cheesecake, pies, cookies and challah
bread.
When: 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Temple Beth El, 4402 Saratoga Blvd.
Admission: Free. Food prices vary.
Information: 857-8181 or foodfest.cbisisterhood.org/.
Recipes are located in our Jewish Recipe Section
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Food fest South Texas version of Jewish deli |
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David Kassabian Caller-Times
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Link: http://www.caller.com/news/2006/nov/11/food-fest-south-texas-version-of-jewish-deli/
If You Go:
* WHAT: 20th annual Jewish Food Festival
* WHERE: Congregation Beth Israel, 4402 Saratoga Blvd.
* WHEN: 5 to 9 p.m. today,
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
* COST: Free admission; $10/brisket dinner
* INFORMATION: 857-8181
Members of the Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood assembled stacks of baked goods edge to edge on two banquet tables Friday -
the last major task before it eating time today.
More than 100 people help in preparing the 2,000 meals for the two-day Jewish Food Festival, members said.
Cooking starts at the beginning of October for the festival, which is an opportunity to share traditional Jewish food with the community, said Barbara Schwamb.
"This is the closest thing in South Texas we have to a Jewish deli," Sisterhood member Iris Lehrman said while sitting
at a banquet table in the congregation's function hall. "Most people who come in that have never tried this food before ask,
'Where can I buy this on a regular basis?' "
Brisket with potato salad and green beans, matzo ball soup, cabbage rolls and chopped liver are on the menu along with other entrees, sides and desserts.
The cabbage rolls are the most time-consuming to make, Lehrman said, with total prep-time for a family taking a few hours.
The dish involves meat put into a steamed cabbage leaf and then rolled together, she said. The entire dish then is baked or
cooked in sauce. Making enough for the entire festival requires three days of work.
"The food's part of our history," Schwamb said. "The recipes are passed down from one generation in this community to the next."
Last year, the Sisterhood raised $25,000 for the congregation, a mark members said they hope to beat. Each year,
the group helps send children to national events to give them a chance to connect with others of the same faith.
Contact David Kassabian at 886-3778 or kassabiand@ caller.com
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Jewish festival - food and more |
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You may charge your purchases in shops this year
Megan Arredondo Caller-Times
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Link: http://www.caller.com/news/2006/nov/09/jewish-festival---food-and-more/
If you go
* What: 20th annual Jewish Food Festival
* Where: Congregation Beth Israel, 4402 Saratoga Blvd.
* When: 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
* Cost: Free admission; $10/brisket dinner
* Information: 857-8181
What’s at the festival
Deli
Brisket dinner with kugel and green beans, Cabbage rolls with sweet challah, New York-style corned beef sandwich with potato salad, Split pea soup, Matzah ball soup, Kosher hot dogs, Chicken salad plate
Sweet shop
Rugelach, Strudel, Challah, Mondel bread, Hamantashens, Breads and muffins, Pies and cakes, Nut loafs, Cheesecake
Judaica shop
Religious artifacts, Kiddush cups, Menorahs, Mezuzahs, Dreidels and toys, Books, Cards, Jewelry, Music
No cash? No worries at this year's Jewish Food Festival.
For the first time in 20 years, the festival will be equipped to accept credit cards in the deli, sweet shop and Judaica shop, said Rikki Schmitchel, co-president of the Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood, which organizes the event each year.
"It seems to be the wave of the future," Schmitchel said about the change. "We're excited to see the difference."
Last year, the Sisterhood raised $25,000 for the congregation, not to mention the thousands of dollars that went to the temple's youth groups.
Each year, the group helps send children to national events to give them a chance to connect with others of the same faith.
"We have such a small Jewish population in Corpus Christi," she said. "It's nice to give them a chance to visit with hundreds of Jews around the same age."
While the children will get to bond at different events throughout the year, the weeks and months before the festival provide a perfect opportunity for the rest of the congregation to get together.
"What I enjoy most about food fest is working with the congregants in the kitchen," Schmitchel said. "We get together on a weekend and cook. It's a lot of fun."
The fun continues this weekend with the Frankie Stroub Trio performing Saturday; Texas A&M University-Kingsville professor Maurice Schmidt signing copies of his book "Maurice Schmidt: A life in Art" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday; and a silent auction and raffle being held each day.
The festival will still have all the same tasty treats and Jewish trinkets as in years past, she said.
Cabbage rolls seem to be the favorite each year, Smitchel said.
"We sell out every year," she said. "And every year we make more than the year before."
This year, 576 were made.
Contact Megan Arredondo
at 886-3763
or arredondom@ caller.com
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Festival offers a taste of Jewish food, sweets |
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Festival offers a taste of Jewish food, sweets
Event is first since two congregations decided to merge
Four musicians serenaded a bustling crowd bidding at a silent
auction, purchasing boxes of sweets and sharing a meal at the
Congregation Beth Israel's 19th annual Jewish Food Fest after sundown
Saturday.
The festival is the first event Temple Beth El and B'nai Israel
Synagogue have celebrated together since their first service together
Friday night. The two congregations decided to merge in September to
form Congregation Beth Israel.
Congregation members, neighbors and guests lined up for the split
pea soup, chicken soup with matzah balls, corned beef sandwiches,
potato salad, brisket, kugel (a noodle pudding) and kosher hot dogs.
They filled boxes with fudge, cookies, little cakes, muffins, pies and
bread from the sweet shop.
The festival continues through Sunday afternoon and serves 1,000
meals both at the festival and to go.
"We love to have a lot of people in our building," said Rabbi
Kenneth Roseman. "It's just out and out fun."
He said the community anticipates the event each year as soon as the
signs announcing its approach go up and even call in take-out food
orders if they can't attend.
"It's the pet project for all the women in our women's group," said
Davie Lou Solka, who has seen the event grow over nearly two
decades.
Contact Mari Saugier at 886-3623 or saugierm@ caller. com
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Jewish Food Festival, 5:30 to 9 p.m. beginning Saturday Nov. 5
Bring a hearty appetite to the 19th annual Jewish Food Festival
Saturday and Sunday at Temple Beth El, 4402 Saratoga Blvd.
Get ready for recipes perfected over generations, such as kugel,
matzo ball soup and kosher hot dogs - sure to excite the taste buds.
For dessert, hungry festival-goers can indulge in sweet challah bread,
strudels, muffins or one of the many varieties of cookies.
A fair featuring books on Jewish history, holidays and Torah study
along with the L'dor Vdor Gift Shop will be set up with items such as
dreidels, jewelry, Kiddush cups and Chanukah cards.
On Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. the Frankie Stroub Trio will perform.
Admission is free.
Mary Ann Cavazos
Jewish Food Festival, 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday Nov. 5 and from 11
a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Nov. 6 at the Temple Beth El, 4402 Saratoga Blvd.
Free to attend. Information: 857-8181.
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Sisterhood in the News