Posted June 14, 2021
Please Join our New Project Breaking Bread: Jewish Stories and Recipes from the JBFC Community
As a member of the JBFC community, you know all about the power of story to connect people—it’s at the heart of everything we do. And I’m guessing you’re well acquainted with the power of food to do the same thing. (What a joy it is to eat together now after so many months apart!)
To celebrate both story and food—and to commemorate the 20th anniversaries of both the Jacob Burns Film Center and our Jewish Film Festival (which I’ve curated since 2015)—I am excited to invite you to join a new community initiative, Breaking Bread: Jewish Stories and Recipes from the JBFC Community.
We hope you will add a story and recipe to the collection. You definitely don’t need to be Jewish to participate, and you don’t need to stick to conventional recipes, either. What is Jewish food to you? We’d love to hear about memorable sandwiches, Chinese food, snacks, drinks, anything that evokes a good story—though we certainly would love to hear about your great chicken soup recipe as well.
Below is a sample entry I wrote. Please click HERE to share your own story and recipe by Friday, July 9. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Bon appétit,
Bruni Burres
Curator, Jewish Film Festival
PS The 20th Anniversary Jewish Film Festival will be held virtually this year, Sept. 23–Oct. 14.
Please add your Jewish food story and recipe to Breaking Bread: Jewish Stories and Recipes from the JBFC Community.
Here’s my entry. Hope you enjoy!
A few years back, in hopes of seeing my adored first cousins and their extraordinary grown-up kids from my father’s side of the family before the next Rosh Hashanah, I decided to host Bruni’s Alternative Shabbat Dinner at my house. Alternative? Well, the truth was that I’d never actually hosted any kind of Shabbat dinner in my life. I did everything I could think of to allay my fear of messing up and entice the 20-year-olds to spend a Friday night in NYC with their first cousin once removed. My cousins Nancy and Kenny drove in from New Jersey carrying scrumptious homemade cakes; velvety, oak-tinted French wine; Shabbat candles and candlesticks; and challah from their favorite bakery. Cousin Dave drove in from Boston, gifting us a bottle of Pinhook Bourbon. He swore by it. (He had to leave at around midnight, so it was saved for another occasion.) My first cousins once removed, now living in NY, brought their boyfriends and more wine.
We laughed, ate, drank, laughed some more, told silly stories about our parents, and made a group blessing for the candles, challah, and wine. It was the best Shabbat dinner of all time.
Oh, and for dinner, I made a creamy, gingery baked salmon, recipe courtesy of my dear friend and restaurateur-turned-film-
Paco’s Dreamy Salmon
(serves 4)
Ingredients
Olive oil
Herbes de Provence, enough to cover flesh side of the salmon
Salt and pepper to taste
4 teaspoons sliced/shaved ginger root
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 – 3/4 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 lemon, juiced1. Rub salmon with olive oil, herbes de Provence, and a pinch of salt and pepper.2. Broil or bake the salmon at 400°F, skin side down, for 14 minutes or according to preference.
3. For the sauce, peel the ginger and then thinly slice it (or shave it with a vegetable peeler).
4. Melt butter in a small pot on the stove. Add ginger and cook over medium heat until the ginger is lightly browned.
5. Add heavy cream, dill, and lemon juice, and stir till mixed.
6. Pour sauce over cooked salmon and enjoy!
