Senator Has a Favorite Kosher Dish

By COLlive reporter

This African American politician loves kosher – and those that eat it.

Residents of the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn received this week in the mail a “Quarterly Newsletter – Winter” from their New York State Senator Jesse Hamilton.

It began by wishing them a Happy Chanukah. “I look forward to seeing all the menorahs on the cars in the neighborhood,” Hamilton wrote about the Chabad custom to spread the light. “It helps bring the holiday spirit to everyone.”

Carefully crafted for Jewish constituents, the newsletter announces its picks for Business of the Month (Benz’s Gourmet), Organization of the Month (Friendship Circle of Brooklyn) and even Constituent of the Month (Rabbi Lazer Avtzon).

In explaining why Avtzon was chosen, it describes how the director of the Global Jewish Assistance & Relief Network met a group of families from Israel while he was vacationing in Orlando this past summer.

These families who have a child with cancer were given a trip to the U.S. but found themselves without plans for Shabbos. “Lazer contacted friends from Crown Heights and sponsored hotel rooms for the families next to a local synagogue and gourmet meals for their families,” it reported.

The newsletter also reported about a meeting of Senator Hamilton with the family of Mendy Reiner who is the founder of Renewal, an organization dedicated to assisting people suffering from various forms of kidney disease.

The centerpiece of the newsletter is without a doubt “Jesse’s Kosher Roast Beef” with the maven’s suggestion that the dish “serves great with latkes or Yerushalmi kugel,” staple Jewish delicacies for Chanukah and Shabbos, respectively.

“Living in Crown Heights, I couldn’t help but learn about kosher cooking,” Hamilton writes. “One of my favorite Jewish dishes is a kosher roast beef on a winter night.”

He says the trick is how long you cook the meat, even if the cut isn’t the highest quality.

Here are his ingredients:

Go to The Marketplace or House of Glatt and pick up a deckel roast (about $10/pound), a bottle of beer, fresh garlic, a large white onion, carrots and instant coffee.

And the instructions:

Wash off your meat, and put into baking pan or a disposable tin foil pan. Chop the onion into slices, add 5 crushed cloves of garlic, ¾ of a bottle of beer, half cup of water or chicken broth, carrots, a spoon of salt, a spoon of pepper, and a spoon of coffee. It is important to tightly seal the pan. Bake on 350 for 20 minutes, and then lower the oven to 215 and cook for 6-12 hours, depending on the size of the meat. Remove from oven and leave till cool. Slice thinly against the grain.

Mr. Hamilton, ess gezunterheyt!