Yoo-hoo! Mrs. Goldberg!

For Chanukah this year I got yet another Jewish cookbook.

I don't know why, but I seem to have a real attachment to these books. I think that I most identify with my religion through cooking. I am not a traditionally observant Jew at all. I don't go to synagogue. I don't observe Shabbat. I don't fast on Yom Kippur.

But when Rosh Hashanah rolls around, I bake challah. When it's Passover, I can lay out a Seder like nobody's business. Come Chanukah time, I make latkes. Good ones. Purim? Hamentaschen.

So maybe the kitchen is my synagogue? I bond with my ancestors there. I have my great-grandmother's rolling pin. I have my grandmother's hand-written recipes. I have my mom's copy of Elegant Essen, a cookbook put together by a local synagogue that she always brought out when company was coming for the holidays.

I also have way too many other Jewish cookery books, including my latest...

If you are under the age of 65, you may not know who Molly Goldberg is. All I knew of her was that she had a television show in the 1950's that my mother had loved. The opening line on each of her shows was "Yoo-hoo! Mrs. Goldberg!"

Oy, is that some big challah!

Actually, before I even knew that she was a celebrity, I thought she was a friend or relative of my grandmother's. In her hand-written recipe collection she had something called Molly Goldberg's Pickled Peppers. I had no clue that she was a groundbreaking icon!

Molly Goldberg's real name was Gertrude Berg.  She was one of the first women to create, write, produce and star in a long-running hit show....The Goldbergs. She won an Emmy and a Tony award. She was a song writer that was recorded by Patsy Cline, and she also had a very famous cookbook!

Amazingly, they are still printing copies of it. It came out in 1955 and was the bible of Ashkenazi Jewish cookery. It has everything from bagels and knishes to brisket and rugelach.

Sticking with my diet, I chose to make Cabbage Soup. Molly had some interesting ideas on how to make this classic....very different from how I've been doing it. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and followed as closely as I could with the exception of rye bread and beef bones. I also subbed a different cut of meat because I wanted to use something leaner and something I cut cut into bite size pieces.

Also, I halved the recipe. Additionally, I had to make a guess with the tomatoes, as I was unsure what the heck a can of #2 1/2 tomatoes would be.

Here's the original recipe, I will note my substitutions:

Cabbage Soup

3 pounds of beef (plate flank, breast flank, or brisket) - I used something called Petite Beef Tender Chuck Filet Steak
Beef Bones (didn't use this)
2 1/2 quarts water
1 can #2 1/2 tomatoes
2 onions, chopped
4 pounds of cabbage, coarsely shredded
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 T sugar (I used 1 packet of Truvia)
1/2 pound sauerkraut, drained (optional...but I tried it!)
2 slices rye bread, trimmed (I left these out too)

Combine the beef, beef bones, water, tomatoes and onion in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Skim the top. Cover and cook over medium heat for one hour.  Add the cabbage, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for one hour. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and sauerkraut. Cook for 15 minutes.

Soak the bread in water for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the soup. Correct seasoning. The soup should have a more sour than sweet taste. Cook for 15 minutes longer or until the meat is tender.

Serve the soup and the meat at the same time. This makes a complete meal in one dish.

While this didn't knock my socks off, I did like the unexpected addition of the sauerkraut. I think I may stick to my basic cabbage soup recipe with the beef broth and add some of Molly's sauerkraut to the mix.

I'll be keeping cookbook #9 of 99 for sure. I mean, I already thought Molly Goldberg was a relative of my grandmother's anyway...I might as well have her stick around!