{"id":12563,"date":"2009-03-25T05:37:29","date_gmt":"2009-03-25T05:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/chicken_soup_sinkers\/"},"modified":"2015-10-30T04:45:58","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T09:45:58","slug":"chicken_soup_sinkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/food\/cooking\/chicken_soup_sinkers\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken Soup Sinkers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image\"<\/div>\n

Passover\u2019s just around the corner and in an effort to wrap my head around the enormity of renovating, cause let\u2019s face it, getting rid of every scrap of \u201cchametz\u201d is a major overhaul to your blissful carbohydrate-filled domicile, I started picking away at my pantry. Stale boxes of crackers are always the first to go. And then I discover it<\/b><\/i>, that dusty, once almost cheerful, nay comforting orange, green and pasty-white box of Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. Oh, that juicy, fluffy knaidel on the box while tempting to some could very well be the bane of my existence. Why? Because the more dense and \u201crock-like\u201d the\u00a0knaidel<\/i>, the better it is, in my opinion. It\u2019s a texture thing. Needing a knife with a serrated edge to saw through it is sheer pleasure. And for some odd reason, the denser it is the better the flavor is too – like pasta that tastes better al dente.<\/p>\n

Growing up my brother\u2019s and I fought over the \u201csinkers\u201d as we called my mother\u2019s matzo balls. While her objective was to produce her ideal melt-in-your-mouth delicacy so necessary to complete the chicken soup, she often achieved, to her chagrin,\u00a0kneidels<\/i>\u00a0so tough my Zaide avoided them for fear of losing his dentures.<\/p>\n

Since I left my mother\u2019s house in Toronto and moved to Denver I have plumbed the depths of Denver\u2019s Jewish community for \u201csinkers\u201d. At every Passover table for 15 years I have, with great anticipation, sunk my spoon into Mrs so-in-so\u2019s matzo balls only to see the thing collapse under the weight of my utensil. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you make your own\u201d, you ask? My own matzo balls are disastrous, tasteless fluff balls that disintegrate if they even see a spoon coming.<\/p>\n

I have consulted with many surrogate mothers (my family and I have been adopted by several here in the Mile High City), but no one seems to know the secret. One suggested adding an extra egg to toughen up the mixture \u2013 they turned out lighter than ever \u2013 like clouds for floating on air. Another suggested I patchky<\/i> more with the mixture. I nearly beat it to death and yet against the law of gravity (and maybe even something in the Torah) it came out weightless, floating defiantly on top of my soup.<\/p>\n

Once at a Seder in 1997 I had a chimera of hope<\/i> when on the topic of hard versus soft, that is to say hawks versus doves in Israeli politics, we drifted into the consistency of knaidlach<\/i>.<\/p>\n

While we debated, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to face a woman I hadn’t noticed because she had been in the kitchen helping the hostess most of the meal. \u201cThe middle daughter of my first cousin twice removed makes hard ones,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d I leaned in conspiratorially. The woman\u2019s silver hair was wound into a tight chignon, but a few strands escaped and hung giddily around high cheekbones. Her eyes sparkled, like she had just shared the most wonderful secret. I was taken in. Maybe this was it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does she do it?\u201d I whispered back.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. You\u2019ll have to ask her. Her name is Myra Blickstein, the Idaho Blickstein\u2019s. She lives in Idaho, lots of potatoes there. Look her up.<\/p>\n

As Had-gad-ya<\/i> came to a close and Hirsh Lipsky banged his fleshy fist on the table to the beat, I noticed the sliver haired lady was gone – to the kitchen I supposed. After the holiday I called Myra Blickstein. Of the Idaho Blicksteins. I told her I\u2019d met her first cousin thrice removed in Denver and she said, \u201cI don\u2019t remember who dat is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlickstein, somebody Blickstein.\u201d Why hadn\u2019t I gotten the mystery woman\u2019s first name?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard you make amazing knaidlach<\/i> and I was wondering\u2026 well your cousin said you might give me your recipe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEstie!\u201d It blasted through my eardrum. \u201cShe\u2019s been trying to get my recipe for years. Tell her she can\u2019t have it. She\u2019ll never have it. I\u2019ll take it to the grave!\u201d<\/p>\n

I was so close, but could feel the secret slipping away.<\/p>\n

Still every year I continue to hold out hope for a revelation.<\/p>\n

And every year I get the same advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do anything, and do not use the box.\u201d Okay, so I don\u2019t use the box. I follow the \u201cFoolproof Matzo Balls\u201d recipe in an old cookbook I dig up and \u2018don\u2019t do anything\u2019 as my mother suggests, and low and behold I once again manufacture the incorrigible \u201cfloater\u201d. Maybe it\u2019s the fact that I\u2019m a mile high up here that\u2019s throwing the recipe off.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sick and tired of trying. The economy is bad, my wrist is sore from whisking eggs for practice chiffon cakes and bubelahs and my craving for \u201csinkers\u201d is stronger than ever.<\/p>\n

I was just home for my nephew\u2019s bar mitzvah and got to see the whole\u00a0mishpucha<\/i>\u00a0which was so nice. I cave. I pick up the phone and dial. \u201cMa, guess what? I have some good news. We\u2019re coming home for Pesach<\/i> this year.\u201d (She\u2019s kvelling<\/i>) \u201cYeah, it\u2019s great isn\u2019t it? Listen, I was wondering, will you be making your soup?\u201d (She wants to know, \u201cwhat kind of strange question is that?\u201d) \u201cNothing, Ma, it\u2019s nothing. I was just wondering. I\u2019ll see you soon okay. Bye.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mouth starts to water at the thought of her knaidlach<\/i>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Passover\u2019s just around the corner and in an effort to wrap my head around the enormity of renovating, cause let\u2019s face it, getting rid of every scrap of \u201cchametz\u201d is a major overhaul to your blissful carbohydrate-filled domicile, I started picking away at my pantry. Stale boxes of crackers are always the first to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":45271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking","category-pesach"],"yoast_head":"\nChicken Soup Sinkers - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The more dense and \u201crock-like\u201d the knaidel, the better it is. It\u2019s a texture thing. 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