February 17, 2004 at 9:36:46a.m.

I would like to tell you what the stuff is, but I don’t read Polish. So working by what the pictures look like, we shall endeavor to describe the products.

First of all, the name. These goodies come from KOPERNIK of Torun. Certification is, as we said before, OU, and the product is Dairy. Every package has the Kopernik of Torun on it. That should make it a tad easier.

KATARZYNKI (Catherine’s Gingerbread) simple cookies in a small bag.

PIERNIKI RATUSZOWE (Town Hall Gingerbread covered with chocolate and jelly in the middle) a fancier version.

PIERNIKOWA NUTA W CZEKOLADZIE (Gingerbread Note covered with chocolate and with a nut inside) a still fancier version.

PIERNIKOWA NUTA W GLAZURZE (yup- glazed version of the above)

These next ones look sort of like a topless linzer torte: The cookie is wide and round, and there is jelly in a depression on the cookie’s surface.

PIERNIKOWE RUNO in the following flavors:
Roza- cranberry
Borowka- cherry
Truskawka- strawberry
Malina- raspberry
Poziomka- wild strawberry

Finally, we did get to taste the TORCIK PIERNIKOWY. Give up? It is a chocolate covered gingerbread cake with a marmelade filling. We tasted it and it was great!!

So, where do you buy this stuff? We haven’t a clue. Not a single one of our many sources had even heard of the product. So, you read about it here first boys and girls. And a hearty yashar koach to the first person who can reliably report having found this one!!

Happy hunting.

(JR)

February 26, 2004 at 9:28:52a.m.

Reynolds Wrap? Release? won “Best New Non-Food Specialty Item” at the Kosherfest New Product Competition in New York City last fall. At the time, Ruth Mack, President of Alcoa Consumer Products, said, “We are very pleased to be the recipient of this prestigious award. It acknowledges our continuing commitment to bringing meaningful innovation to meal preparation through the development of quality new products.”

Best of all, this stuff – certified by the OU, by the way – really works! If you’re like me and like to save cleanup time by lining baking pans and things with foil, this foil is great. Things just slide right off it. The acid test, so to speak, was when I was heating up breaded mozzarella sticks. Usually at least one of them will start oozing sticky cheese all over, but when I used this wrap, even those sticks came right off. Give it a try!

(DW)

February 25, 2004 at 1:13:52p.m.

Go to the bank and take out a small loan so that you can then go to the kosher butcher and buy a brisket. Three or four pounds is a good size.

Ingredients:

1 cup of ginger ale (ginger kale for those of you of the right wing persuasion)
1 cup of barbeque sauce (we prefer Bone Suckin’ Sauce)
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
2 or 3 medium onions, sliced
1 brisket

Mix the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Artfully arrange the onion slices on the bottom of a roasting pan. Gently and lovingly place the brisket on top of the onions. Pour the sauce over the brisket. Cover tightly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until tender.

Enjoy!!

(RJR)

February 24, 2004 at 11:59:02a.m.

Mad Cow, LLC makes a sauce called Karma Licious. It is an amazing sauce. All natural and vegan, the sauce contains five grams of non-GMO soy protein. The sauce actually debuted at the Natural Products Expo back in 2002, but we have only just now found it. For a meatless “meat” sauce, it is truly extraordinary. Purists might prefer Original Recipe, we prefer Original Recipe with ‘Shrooms (white button mushrooms). Certification is OU.

Company owner Tama Herman describes herself as a “devout vegetarian.” We’ve heard of devout Christians and Frum Yidden, but devout vegetarians?? Reminds me of a scene in the Village about 30 years ago: a tall man stood on the corner with a bunch of bananas on his head. He was carrying on and on about worshipping the banana in the sky. I guess he was a devout bananatarian.

The second sauce is from Robert Rothschild Farms. This fine purveyor of upscale products has come through once again with a wonderful Roasted Portabella and Roma Tomato Pasta Sauce. They also offer an Artichoke Pasta Sauce with a blend of artichokes, tomatoes, olive oil, onions, celery, and herbs and spices. Both sauces are superlative, but we prefer the Artichoke sauce. Both taste as if you had worked for hours in your kitchen. Fool your guests into thinking you are a five star sauce maker! Certification is Q-Kof.

Mad Cow LLC is at 420 West 42 Street, NYC NY 10036. The phone number is: 212 868 1104.

Robert Rothschild Farms is at 3143 East St., Route 36, Urbana, OH 43078. The phone number is: 937 653 7397.

(RJR)

February 23, 2004 at 4:40:27p.m.

If you read my review of the original Village Crown, you know I love this place. The staff uptown claims that this one is even better than the original. I don’t know about that (I’ll just have to test them both a few more times), but it is at least as good. Lunch specials are $9.95 or less, and include soup or soda. My Moroccan chicken (melt-in-your-mouth chicken with raisins, almonds, and prunes) came on a bed of vegetable couscous; there was definitely a full day’s worth of food there. My lunch companion had the moussaka, which was equally delectable. I have yet to sample their desserts, because after eating the main courses, I just have no room left…

Enjoy!

DW