New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv

New Year's Eve is a "non-holiday" here in Tel Aviv. It is better known as "Sylvester" in Europe. You won't find any public events ala New York City's Times Square in Tel Aviv but a few restaurants offer special menus for the evening.

Here are a few Tel Aviv establishments that will be celebrating:

Adora: Chef Avi Biton's restaurant will offer two seatings (19:00 -21:20 @175 NIS per person or 21:30 @250 NIS person). The menu includes appetizers such as tuna sashimi in an Asian vinaigrette, goose liver baklava and main courses such as porcini mushroom risotto with white asparagus and beef filet in a chestnut/shallot caramel sauce.

For reservations: 03-605-0896, Ben Yehuda 226 (Tel Aviv

Shaked Ice Cream: Located in the Tel Aviv Port, Shaked will kick off it's "Praline Festival" on New Year's Eve with pralines by Yael Milstein and Chokolada. along with their superb ice cream. The shop will be open all night and at midnight shots of ice cream will be served. Special items on the menu include chocolate/mocha soup with seasonal fruits, Champagne ice cream and candied chestnut ice cream.

03-6760438, Tel Aviv Port – Main Entrance

Avant Garde: This restaurant will celebrate the New Year with a D.J., bubbly for all guests and fireworks at midnight. In addition to the regular menu there will be specials on the menu such as mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese and pistachios (48 NIS), veal chop with pineapple and saffron (125 NIS) and bread pudding (36 NIS).

For reservations: 03-648-0082, Habarzel 3 (Ramat Ha Hayal)

Sufganiot – Jelly Doughnuts for Hanukkah

If you ignore the calorie count for your average sufgania you will enjoy these tasty morsels that are served during the holiday. Each bakery proudly displays their unique flavor offerings. T in Tel Aviv has noticed that the sufganiyot are getting smaller every year as customers become more calorie conscious.

At חטאים מתוקים ("Sweet Sins" – 67 Shabazi, Neve Tzedek) they are making small sufganiot in flavors such as cinnamon and mocha. The Roladin chain is offering the classic chocolate, caramel and chocolate with sprinkles plus unique offerings such as "Pistachio" filled with patisserie pistachio cream, covered with Belgian chocolate and a "Halva" sufgania filled with a halva ganache, covered with white chocolate and sweet pecans.

For a fun holiday family activity here is a sufgania recipe from The Children's Jewish Holiday Kitchen cookbook by Jewish cooking "ultra chef" Joan Nathan. These must be eaten within a few hours of preparation!!!!

Yield: Makes about 12

Ingredients

1 scant tablespoon (1 package) dry yeast
4 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup lukewarm milk or warm water*
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter or pareve margarine, softened*
Apricot or strawberry preserves (or chocolate cream or caramel filling of your choice)
Sugar
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
*Use butter and milk if serving at a milk meal, and water and pareve margarine for a meat meal

Equipment

Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Mixing bowls
Spoon
Sifter
Clean dish towel
Rolling pin
Juice glass
Deep fryer or heavy pot
Slotted spoon
Paper towels
Tiny spoon

Preparation

Child: Mix together the yeast, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the milk. Let sit to make sure it bubbles.
Child: Sift the flour and mix it with the remaining sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg yolks, and the yeast mixture.
Adult with Child: Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Add the butter or margarine. Knead some more, until the butter is well absorbed. Cover with a towel and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Adult: Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch.
Child: Cut out the dough into 24 rounds with a juice glass, or any object about 2 inches in diameter. Take 1/2 teaspoon of preserves and place in center of 12 rounds. Top with the other 12. Press down at edges, sealing with egg whites. Crimping with the thumb and second finger is best. Let rise for about 30 minutes.
Adult: Heat 2 inches of oil to about 375°. Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 5 at a time. Turn to brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Child: Roll the doughnuts in sugar.


Eat them as soon as possible!!!

Kurtosh?

Imagine a delicious, buttery, thinly rolled dough wrapped around a wood spindle-like stick. Unroll the dough, slice it into strips and sprinkle it with various condiments such as cinnamon, sugar, thinly chopped walnuts, chocolate and caramel. Roll the dough onto the spindle once again and let it bake standing upright. Salivating yet?

The results are mouthwatering giant "rugelach" (aka "Kurtosh) that are now available at branches of the Hungarian bakery Kurtosh. There are three branches in Tel Aviv (Lincoln, Dizengoff near Ben Gurion and Borgashov), two branches in Rishon L'Tzion and one in Ashdod.

Prices of the Kurtosh range from 22-25 NIS depending on the fillings you request. They take about 20 minutes to bake so you can custom order, go for a walk and return to a freshly baked cake. They will stay fresh for about 3 days and I was told NOT to try to slice my Kurtosh. This is a pull apart dessert.

Various other Hungarian bakery items are available including a Dobos Torte for 50 NIS.

The Friendship Stone

The Friendship Stone is a strong reminder about the joy of giving to one’s friends and loved ones. As Helen Keller said, “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”

Cathy Raff, the Israel based President and Founder of My Stone Company writes "I feel very lucky to have so many real and loyal friends. Friends give each other so much – of their time, of their hearts and of themselves. " In these uncertain economic times The Friendship Stone has a special message of showing the people around them how much they are appreciated and loved. It is also a strong reminder to always look at the positive in life, regardless of circumstances.

Take a look at The Friendship Stone website which features videos, a new jewelry line, blogs and more – and spread the word to all your friends and family. You can even send your friends far away an e-stone to show your own gratitude.

10% of all profits go back to the South African village from where the stones originate.

Chanukah and Christmas are just around the corner. Remember, good things come in small packages.

wePapers – A New Israeli Startup

A new Israeli startup recently opened their website to the public. wePapers is a free online service created by two Israeli Hebrew University students. wePapers is an ever growing archive of unpublished papers on a multitude of subjects.

Let's just say that these are not your mom's Cliff Notes! Some documents currently available on the site include a paper about William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, from Hebrew University – Diseases of the Eye. From MIT, T N Tel Aviv found lecture notes from a class on The Classical Concerto and Opera: Mozart, a tutorial from a Linear Algebra class and a final exam from a Management Accounting and Control class of Spring 2003.



A plethora of information is available to share with other students and the knowledge thirsty. Ultimately the founders would like to form the world's largest online study group. wePapers filters the content to make sure that only quality material makes it on to the site. wePapers is now in Beta form but clearly there is no limit to how much information will be shared via the site.


Let your research begin!

Tishbi Junior 2008

At one past midnight on the third Thursday of each November, from little villages and towns in France, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau begin their journey to Paris for immediate shipment to all parts of the world. By French law, Beaujolais Nouveau is to be released no earlier than the third Thursday of November.

While visiting Israfood 2008, T in Tel Aviv had an opportunity to taste the Tishbi Winery Beaujolais Nouveau equivalent called "Junior". Cute name!

The Israeli Wine Portal comments "...a young wine, refreshing and fruity, made using the same method as in the Beajolais region." It's ready to drink NOW! Available at most wine shops for 32 NIS per bottle.

More about Israfood 2008 in the weeks to come.