Great Performances Citrus Spiced Honey Cake. Photo courtesy of Great Performances
Say, “Shana Tovah,” and treat your family to these delectable holiday offerings.
Whether you plan to cook or cater, here are three ways to make this year’s Rosh Hashanah celebrations extra sweet. (Spoiler alert: One option involves an exclusive recipe from a NYC institution.)
Ibiza Kitchen
76 King St, Chappaqua
914.458.5044
Ibiza Kitchen in Chappaqua pivoted from tapas to Jewish delicacies at the height of the coronavirus outbreak to help local families enjoy Passover, and now on September 18 and 19, they’re offering a family-style, take-out dinner of matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, and a mixed green salad with aged sherry honey vinaigrette, along with entrée choices of roasted organic chicken, slow-cooked brisket, or grilled Faroe Island salmon; side dishes like cabbage mashed potatoes with mustard; and flourless almond tart for dessert.
$185/serves six; order by September 16.
Great Performances
2417 3rd Ave, Ste. 300, Bronx
212.727.2424
Great Performances, a Bronx catering and events company that provides the fare at notable venues like Caramoor, Wave Hill, and The Plaza, is delivering five-course, family-style meals to Westchester on September 18 and 19, with an arm’s length list of choices, including: chicken liver mousse, sour cherry noodle kugel, grilled branzino, red wine and port braised brisket, wild mushroom and tarragon farrotto, and citrus spiced honey cake and tarte tatin. Complimentary in every order: Hudson Valley apples and artisanal honey, homemade challah, cheddar paprika puffed cheese straws, crudites, and lemon drop and shortbread cookies.
$125/pp, four-person minimum; order by September 13.
Do-It-Yourself
Knock the socks off your guests by making your own brisket with an exclusive recipe from Tavern on the Green and beef from Piccinini Bros, the nearly 100-year old NYC meat purveyor that services top restaurants like Gramercy Tavern, Daniel, and Pastis, and now makes Westchester deliveries on Wednesdays. Tavern’s Executive Chef Bill Peet says he’s been working with Piccinini for almost four-decades. “I know their brisket is going to be the best cut and it’s not going to be too fatty. You do need a certain amount of fat, that’s the beauty of it. Brisket needs to be cooked long and slow. Piccinini’s meat is not going to be grizzly after you cook it.”
$12.99/lb; order by September 15
Peet shared his exclusive recipe for brisket with Westchester Magazine in an effort to wish readers Shana Tova:
Tavern on the Green’s Autumn Braised Beef Brisket (serves 8)
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Heat ¼ cup canola oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until hot.
- Season (to taste) a 1- to 3-pound brisket (trimmed of fat) with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- In pot, brown brisket on both sides; transfer to a plate and set aside.
- To the pot, add 1 large white onion cut in long slices, 1 large celery stalk diced large, 2 large peeled carrots diced large, 1 cup quartered button mushrooms, 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed; stir constantly until mixture begins to brown.
- Stir in ¼ cup tomato paste, 1 tablespoon honey, and ¼ cup all-purpose flour; let brown slightly.
- Add 2 cups fresh, unfiltered apple cider; scrape browned bits from bottom of pan and reduce cider by half.
- Add 3 cups beef broth, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, and 1 bay leaf; bring to a boil.
- Return beef to pot, and cover with aluminum foil slightly larger than the opening of the pot; place cover on tight, and smooth down excess foil on outside of pot.
- Bake for 3 to 3.5 hours until meat is fork tender.
- Remove beef and vegetables to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm and moist (discard thyme and bay leaf).
- Strain sauce, bring to a boil, and skim off scum and fat that rises to the surface.
- Return vegetables to sauce; check and adjust salt/pepper.
- Slice meat against the grain onto a large platter; garnish with vegetables and sauce.
- Serve hot, family style.