Shabbath Leftovers - Ki Thavo 5769: Duck, Duck, Goose....

18 of the Sixth Month 5769

This Shabbath I had dinner in Me'ah She'arim, with a fairly standard group of cohorts: A non-meshichist Lubavitcher/Yerushalmi, his wife, his son, another non- (if not anti-) meshichist Lubavitcher, a Belzer, his wife and kids, another Belzer, another generic, yet interesting Jew, my Vizhnitzer friend, and (right wing, super extremist, former "settler") me.

The food was too much, as usual, and I came away stuffed. I really must learn moderation! (...next year, and after the haggim...) The meal included a cake which our host decided would double as my (belated) birthday cake. (8 Ellul - for future reference...)

I had a guest spend the night, but he already made other arrangements for his "spiritual growth and development" this Shabbath, and thus, did not accompany me. He may come for Rosh HaShannah, and so may come with me to Me'ah She'arim after all. I plan to be there for dinner on the second night.

For years, I have noodged that friend of mine in Me'ah She'arim to prepare duck for Rosh HaShannah, ever since I heard that Rav Landau's team of shohtim (kosher slaughterers) slaughtered ducks just before the fall haggim. However, I never to seem to be able to find any duck. Granted, I have never made much of an effort to search for it,...but so what.

Once I got nervous, and pissed-off, when I heard my friend's sons-in-law, who works for Rav Rubin, that the Israeli government outlawed the slaughter of ducks. That didn't make any sense. And, since he (like I) couldn't give a rat's tuchus. about any Israeli law which contradicts the Torah, maybe he could shecht me one secretly, off site. He just rattled off something quickly in Yiddish, and sauntered away. I believe I caught the word meshigana in there someplace. Well, he and I never DID get along. But I digress...

Now that I'm in Jerusalem, I don't want to have to shlep back up to K'far Tapu'ah to get someone to shecht me a duck. And besides, where the heck am I gonna get a live duck??

Once in the overpriced super market in the Azrieli Center, Tel-Aviv, I found a whole goose for sale. It was imported from France. I didn't recognize the French heksher, but was not in a position to buy or prepare, let alone in the small toaster oven which was available to me, anyway.

So, readers (all 12 of you), this is your mission, if you decided to accept it. FIND ME A SHECHTED DUCK FOR ROSH HASHANNAH! (No, molded tofu doesn't count.)

Wait a minute. Now I remember. Didn't a fellow blogger shecht a goose, and post about it? Yep. And since a duck is much easier to shecht than a goose, maybe I'll ask him to "look into the duck situation," and see what he comes up with.

But, just in case, please think, brainstorm, and snoop around for ideas. An actual duck would be preferable, but do your best.

In the meantime, I won't let you down. You obvious clicked on this link to check what tasty Shabbath leftover recipe I have left you. You won't be disappointed...

My guest and I never ate the egg salad which I made as one of the items for se'udah shelishith (third Shabbath meal). So, I ate it this morning.

I'm still not down with the whole "provide precise measurements in a recipe" thing. So, I am afraid you will have to be inspired to create your own version, using my suggestions as to how to season it.

Egg Salad
eggs, hard boiled
mayonnaise
salt
garlic, crushed
parsley, chopped
dill, ripped

Mix together the mayonnaise, herbs and spices first, using very little dill. (You can always add more later, but you can't remove any extra!) Next mix in the finally chopped or crushed yolks from the hard boiled eggs. Last but not least, add in the whites, chopped as finely or as coarsely as you prefer.

Enjoy!

(Tip o' the week: If you're not going to be able to use up a whole package of fresh herbs before it all goes bad, store it in the freezer, rather than depending on dried herbs. Fresh is better. This works for any cooked dish and some salads where the herbs are mixed into a condiment.)