Shavuot: The Dairy Holiday
Blintzes, Cheesecake--and a 2020 post revisited
Happy Shavuot!
I happened into Fred’s Bakery in Los Angeles’ Beverlywood neighborhood this week in search of some of the bakery’s famous corn rye, a staple of LA Jewish delis, including Langer’s and Daughters, and, sadly, the recently closed Greenblatt’s. What did I find but a single loaf of rye that required an additional 20 minutes of baking (I snapped it up!) and a few folks picking up cheesecakes, spinach and cheese bourekas, and other dairy items for a holiday, happening this weekend that I’d forgotten all about: Shavuot (pronounced “Shavuos” by some), commemorating the gift of the the Torah to the Jews on Mount Sinai more than 3,000 years ago. It’s also traditionally a dairy holiday.
For some of us it’s just an excuse to pull out our favorite recipes for blintzes, cheesecake, kugel or, in the case of my husband Jeff, grilled cheese and ice cream cake (which just happen to be his favorite dishes anyway, especially convenient when his birthday occurs the same week as this holiday). Shavuot is also associated with the wheat harvest, which makes baked goods containing cheese doubly appropriate.
Two years ago, shortly after I began publishing this blog, I wrote a post about this holiday that included a blintz recipe. Here’s the link:
Here are some other dairy recipes in my repertoire that may be appealing for this holiday—or any other time. They include a noodle kugel I made for Thanksgiving, a cheesecake made in an Instant Pot for Father’s Day, and a story about the secret of a great grilled cheese sandwich.
(I also have a new magazine on Flipboard that includes all of my Jewish food stories published on this site over the years. Please check it out! https://flipboard.com/@ruthstroud7/the-best-of-jewish-food-ulv2ga9ry)
Speaking of cheesecake, here’s a slice of memory (including some discussion of cheesecake) from the 1955 film, “Guys and Dolls.”
And just in case you missed it, here’s my recent post on Julia Child:
One of Julia’s quiches would be a great choice for Shavuot—or just for lunch! Her signature recipe for Quiche Lorraine includes bacon, definitely not kosher for a Jewish holiday, but you can leave it out and stir in 2 to 4 ounces (1/2 to 1 cup) of grated Swiss (or Gruyère cheese. Everyone will be very happy—except for the bacon lovers in your life!
For more Shavuot meal ideas, check out Leah Koenig’s The Jewish Table where she shares a sheet pan salmon dish with cauliflower and potatoes dish that sounds delicious, plus links to a poppyseed cheesecake recipe that I will definitely be trying soon. You can find a great recipe for Joan Nathan’s excellent spinach and cheese bourekas on my friend Patricia K. Rose’s Fresh Food in a Flash blog.
If you make any of these recipes, please do let me know!
As always, thanks for reading, liking, commenting and subscribing!
See you soon!
Hope you had a good weekend, Ruth! Here it's already 9.30 pm and we're about to go for a walk to the gelato place down the street. Favourite flavour is goat milk ricotta with pistachios, in perfect Shavout style, right? :)
When I first saw the title of your newsletter, I thought it was about having a break away from eating dairy (not that I have anything against diary), but I see now it's quite the opposite. I enjoyed reading it as usual. Some of those grilled cheese sandwiches look pretty good. My favourite cheesy pasta dish would be cannelloni with ricotta filling.