Debrah Marcus - Entertaining in Crazy Times

 What a delightful, colorful, creative and instructive evening we spent with Debrah Marcus, as she guided us through dining history, with some wonderfully simple and quick ideas for Entertaining in Crazy Times, on ZOOM. The event was organized jointly by ESRA branches, Five Towns and Ramat Aviv.

Debrah is the author of Tel Aviv FOOD, a unique cookbook combining her love for entertaining with the hectic pace of the city of Tel Aviv.

One could easily understand her love of entertaining and the care she gives to the planning and execution of her dinner parties judging from the gorgeous pictures of decorating ideas for the holiday.

Entertaining at home has many upsides. Pre-corona, when booking a restaurant, one was often informed that you could have the table for two hours only, which is guaranteed to spoil the mood. When entertaining at home this does not exist, and in addition, seconds are always available either at the table or discreetly in the kitchen. Stressing the positive about entertaining at home, Debrah pointed out, "There is no rush to vacate the table at a certain time."

She shared some clever concepts about how to plan for a dinner party, what foods to choose, table settings, and some wonderful recipes that looked like a million dollars and were simple to prepare.

She helped us to rethink whom to invite, how to entertain and what to make.

Besides the ideas for entertaining, Deborah also gave us a brief history of entertaining, which was very enlightening. Her attention to the details was riveting. She kept her explanations simple with some great pictures to illustrate what came before our type of formal entertaining. Did you know that the knife came before the fork as an eating utensil?

We were encouraged and stimulated at a time when we knew we would be having very small gatherings for Rosh Hashanah.

It was clear from her talk that Debrah cooks to entertain and she does it simply, elegantly and – literally - in good taste.

Mark your calendars: Debrah has agreed to ZOOM with us again on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. – Entertaining in Crazy Times - Passover.

Chopped Liver

*Courtesy of Tel Aviv FOOD recipe book [page 22]

Chopped liver also known as chicken liver pate is a traditional favorite. The difference between the former and the later lies in the number of pulses of the food processor and the optional addition of a generous tablespoon of brandy. I often serve chopped liver for holiday meals and chicken liver pate when entertaining.*

500g fresh chicken liver

4 large onions

Oil for frying

2 hard boiled eggs (peeled)

¼ teaspoon salt

Peel onions and slice into rings. Heat approximately ½ cup oil in a large pan and lightly brown the onions in the oil. Add clean chicken livers and fry until done. Remove from heat and set aside. Once liver and onions are completely cool, transfer to food processor. Pour in any liquid that might be left in the pan. Add eggs to food processor. Add ¼ teaspoon salt. Pulse and keep pulsing until required consistency is achieved, making sure to taste and add extra salt if required.

Transfer to serving bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until needed. Best served within 24 hours. Serve with red "chrain" (grated horseradish condiment - chazeret) or beetroot salad. (I like the Fio chazeret which is available at local supermarket chains).