Perhaps you might recall that back in July and August of ‘04, we ran a series of articles on Kosher Pets, so called kosher pet food. We even ran a letter from the cRc asking for input from us.

Well, now it is official! The cRc no longer c ertifies KosherPets pet food as kosher for animals!

Although the company’s web site still claims that they are kosher for pets BUT NOT FOR HUMANS, they do not list any certification for their products.

All along, we have been waiting for the dog paw K to appear on their product. Maybe now that the cRc no longer certifies them, our suggested kosher for animals only mark will appear on their label!

We claim no credit for this development, but we sure are pleased that the cRc no longer certifies the company.

We got this recipe from the Jewish food list. It sure caught our attention. We have not yet tried it, but we have elevated it to front of the fridge status so that we can make it soon!

We often eat milchiqs during Chanukah (in honor of the story told in the Book of Judith), so this recipe will fit right in!

1/2 lb. medium noodles or chocolate noodles
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream (or vanilla yogurt)
1/2 lb. cottage cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup butter or margarine, butter is better
3/4 cup chocolate chips
cornflake crumbs

Boil noodles and drain in cold water.

In bowl, beat together eggs and sugar. Then add cottage cheese, sour cream and vanilla. Melt butter and use 1/2 in the mixture; (save the rest). Fold in the noodles and chips to the mixture.

In 9″x13″ pan put rest of the melted butter on the bottom and sprinkle corn flakes over the butter. Fold in the noodle mix.

Bake at 350?F for one hour or until brown.

“Don’t farshame yourself by not having enough food.”

Once again, the “I’M NOT MARTHA” list comes to our rescue. Lizzy (the author) went to all the trouble to answer that perrenial question:
How much do I prepare for X number of people?

Hors D’oeuvres

* 6 bites when preceeding a meal.

* 4 – 6 bites per hour when hors d’oeuvres are the meal.

* The longer your party and the larger your guest list, the greater the number of selections you should offer.

The Main Meal

* Poultry, meat or fish – 6 ounces when you have one main dish, 8 ounces when you offer two or more main courses.

* Rice, grains – 1.5 ounces as a side dish, 2 ounces in a main dish such as risotto.

* Potatoes – 5 ounces

* Vegetables – 4 ounces

* Beans – 2 ounces as a side dish

* Pasta – 2 ounces for a side dish, 3 ounces for a first course, 4 ounces for a main dish

* Green Salad – 1 ounce undressed weight

Desserts

* 1 slice cake, tart or pastry

* 4 ounces creamy dessert such as pudding or mousse

* 5 ounces ice cream

* When serving two of the above, reduce each by a little less than half.

So there we were, spending a most delightful shabbat in West Palm Beach as a scholar in residence, lecturing on Kashruth and the UTJ.

Considering that when we left NYC it was a cold day, the 77 degree Florida weather was a welcome relief.

Motzei shabbat, our host took us to Eilat Cafe in Boca Raton for a wonderful meal.

We have given this considerable thought. We are not exactly sure of what to write about this restaurant. Yes, the food was quite good, but the rest of the story is not quite as clear.

Our first thought was that we might be guilty of NYC snobbery. The more we thought about it, however, the more we thought that that was not the case. The restaurant serves very good food. The rest of the package leaves something to be desired.

As you approach the restaurant, you are confronted by a young tootsie seated outside the tightly closed door of the restaurant. Apparentlly, she is the guardian of the door as well as the keeper of the royal reservation log and waiting list. And, yes, you will wait for a table. We waited close to twenty minutes for a table (at 10:00pm no less) and that was in spite of the fact that none of the porch tables was reserved nor were they filled.

The tables are nicely set and comfortably spaced. The chairs are the same stackable plastic chairs that you use for your back yard BBQ. No heavy, wooden chairs here- just cheap plastic. In addition, each person who walks through the porch section causes the floor to bounce. Hang on to your bread!

Servers are clearly well taught and know their jobs. The food, of course, is the star of the show. The food is fantastic. Prices are a tad high, but then again, almost every Kosher pasta house (the only kind we do visit) we have eaten in charges way too much for what is essentially a bowl of noodles with sauce.

Portions are large and very tasty. We had the Penne Ala Vodka. As the menu promised, it was loaded with mushrooms (at least three kinds so far as we could tell), onions and garlic. The serving was huge- we struggled to finish it all! And it was taam gan eden.

Our host had an appetizer for dinner- the portabello mushroom. It is marinated and served with sundried tomatoes, garlic and spinach. It, too, was a huge portion.

Desserts at Cafe Eilat are in a class by themselves. First of all, if you go there, order one dessert for two people. It is quite impossible for one person to eat an entire dessert (after a full meal) there. The patisserie is stocked with enough carbs and sugar to send a diabetic into insulin shock! But, ooh la la, are they good! Of course, what dessert would be complete if it didn’t come on a “painted” plate? Ours was painted with chocolate sauce and raspberry sauce. To die for, simply to die for.

The decor inside is fairly non descript. The porch is the place to sit. Service is a bit on the slow side, but well worth the wait. Prices are, as we said, a tad too high. The restaurant claims to be Zagat rated.

According to our waiter, one off -menu offering that night was Chilean Sea Bass. We were quite skeptical as to what the fish really was as CSB is pretty much off of every one’s menus now due to international restrictions. Yet, at $34, we were not willing to take a chance. The restaurant did not inspire that kind of confidence.

Typically of kosher restaurants, one lady decided to share her cell phone conversation with the entire porch. Not one waiter suggested that she absent herself from the porch.

The restaurant is good. It has aspirations of greatness. As good as it is, it does not live up to those aspirations.

Eilat Cafe: 6853 SW 18 St.
Boca Raton, FL 33433
561 368 6880

From the I’M NOT MARTHA email, come these great hints for super latkes. Martha apparently knows nothing about kashruth, but, still, her observations are good.

FOUR KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PANCAKES:

1. Once you peel and grate the potatoes, work as quickly as possible to prevent discoloration ? after a few minutes, they’ll start to oxidize and turn brown.

2. Squeeze all the liquid you can from the potatoes and onions ? lingering water will keep the pancakes from holding together and cooking properly.

3. You can cook latkes in either oil or butter, but a mixture of the two will combine the flavor of butter with oil’s high smoking point (which helps protect against scorching or burning). We like a one-to-one ratio.

4. Potato pancakes are best served as soon as possible, before they lose their crunch. Of course, if you’re frying them in batches (as in these recipes), you’ll need to keep the first batches warm in the oven while you cook the rest.

As long as you work somewhat quickly, they’ll retain most of their texture and flavor. Using two pans can lessen the holding time, but be sure you’re comfortable with the frying process ? you’ll need to watch both pans closely to prevent burning. Or, if your kitchen is close to your guests, offer the latkes as they come out of the pan, after a brief drain on paper towels.

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A wonderful Chag Ha-Orim to you and yours. May your dreidyl always land on Gimmel!