Ashkenazi Cuisine: Identity, Memory and Culture
September 9, 2020

Join culinary mavens Leah Koenig, Michael Twitty and Jeffrey Yoskowitz as they share the story of Ashkenazi Jewish food which began on the Lower East Side of New York city. Jewish immigrants from Poland and other eastern European countries brought with them culinary knowledge, traditions, and recipes that they attempted to translate to a new land. The culinary guests will discuss the fascinating story of Jewish food and explore its role in Eastern European life then and now and investigate how the diaspora experience can shape our food culture, and how we can better understand our culinary roots. This webinar will include a 45-minute discussion, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session in which you can ask questions submitted before or during the broadcast.

Leah Koenig is an acclaimed culinary author and writer published in The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. She authored six cookbooks, including the most recent “The Jewish Cookbook.” Michael W. Twitty is a culinary historian and food writer from Washington D.C. He runs a popular blog at Afroculinaria.com. He has served as a judge for the James Beard Awards. Jeffrey Yoskowitz is a food entrepreneur and an acclaimed cookbook author, who reimagines and revitalizes Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine through his culinary venture, The Gefilteria. Presented with best wishes from Warsaw, thanks to The Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation, which is a Polish non-profit organization established in 2009. The Taube Center offers innovative tours, educational programs, and extensive resource materials with the goal of connecting Jews from around the world with their Eastern European heritage and supporting Jewish life in Poland.

Information
Taube Jewish Heritage Tours Newsletter
taubejewishheritagetours.com

Photo courtesy of The Taube Center Team in Poland

Exploring Art Through Sound and Motion From Your Home

The digital doors are always open remotely at Stanford’s art museum. Inspired by artist Nick Cave’s Soundsuits, “Exploring Art through Sound and Motion” is a marvelous video created by the Cantor Art Center at Stanford, which offers inspirational art project ideas that students and families can enjoy at home. Each academic year, thousands of scholars rely on the Cantor and Anderson Collection at Stanford University for research, teaching and learning. While there is no substitute for experiencing art in person, the museums are committed to providing curricular support for the students’ work no matter the circumstances. As courses transition online, they invite students and faculty to engage with their collections remotely and to reach out to its education team with questions and ideas.

Information
museum.stanford.edu

Photo courtesy of Stanford Art Museum

Dance from Everywhere

Now that we have been cocooned at home for the past 5 months and often missing the enrichment of our cultural life, dance magazine Pointe has an excellent website, frequently updated, with listings of recorded online performances and other point-and-check content. Among the current offerings: Pittsburgh Ballet’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” weekly releases from London’s Ballet Black, new and archived work from the Dutch National Ballet, and midweek “Hump Day Ballets” from the Bay Area’s Smuin Contemporary Ballet, which I personally have been keeping you informed about quite often in this weekly column.

Information
pointemagazine.com/online-ballet-performances

Photo courtesy of Smuin Ballet

Selena Gomez Cooks!

Even celebrities are intrigued at discovering their talents in the kitchen. HBO Max is following actress/singer Selena Gomez into the kitchen as part of a new original series, Selena + Chef, via the streaming service. The 10-episode series, which debuted mid August, features Gomez as she is joined (remotely) by a different chef to tackle cuisines of all varieties, including cheese souffle and fish tostadas. Each episode will highlight a food-related charity as the series embraces both the struggle and the joy of learning to cook. Did you know that you can firm up the shape of your just-cooked omelet with the help of a damp towel? – as hinted by chef Ludo Lefebvre. You may not learn to sing like Selena, but you may learn how to create some delicious dishes. Buen Provecho!

Information
HBO MAX
hbomax.com
Photo courtesy of HBO MAX

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England, she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.