À la Recherche du Temps Perdu

Montevideo, Uruguay – 1958 – A short, very fat, socially awkward, geeky 12 year old, played violin in a concert – as a soloist with the orchestra of the S.O.D.R.E. He got a standing ovation and did 4 short encores. The boy had played some Debussy, some Ravel and more, but what conquered the audience’s heart, came at the end when – against his music teacher’s orders – he played a superb rendition of Niccolò Paganini‘s Caprice Number 18. It was an extremely hard piece to play, especially for a little kid. Paganini is known for the devilishly intricate finger work his compositions require. The boy became very sick soon after and his parents (overly protective Holocaust survivors!) stopped his musical career right then and there, so as to take away any added pressure that might adversely affect him.

For more than half his life, since age 5, he’d studied the violin, practicing 3 hours a day after public school (in the mornings) and cheder (in the afternoon). During vacations, he often practiced 8 hours a day. Violin playing was his passion, suddenly, painfully, it was yanked away from him. It took a very long time to overcome the terrible void…

Kiron, Israel – 1968 – The socially awkward kid is no longer fat, no longer awkward, no longer a kid, he is a 22 year old married man who buys a violin. His then father in law – Bernard Fiedler, a”h – who had been a concert violinist in Vienna before WWII, encourages him. His wife proudly tells his parents; after a few days, the new violin disappears. “Your parents felt it was best,” says the wife.

Fast forward, Manhattan, New York – 2013 – The second act of David Rubertone‘s bar mitzvah took place yesterday at noon in The Bentley Hotel‘s Penthouse, at the beautiful Prime Grill Restaurant, I had the privilege of video taping and photographing it, as I did about 6 weeks earlier at the Manhattan Sephardic Congregation. Suddenly – as David entertained the guests – I, the once fat, socially awkward, geeky kid, was filled with emotions at the happy and the sad memories, the tears and the triumphs, that David’s violin playing brought back. Words fail me, but somehow I now feel that while the past is irretrievably gone, it is possible that my temps perdu, the days when I played the violin, might return yet.

One of the people who spoke at the bar mitzvah, addressing David, said that while he might think that it is his teachers who taught him over the years, it is really he who has been teaching them. I can’t speak for his teachers but, I do know that in the three times I’ve met David, I learned a lot and actually found that lost time I so painstakingly had been searching for, seemingly in vain.

Marcel Proust, whose multi – volume novel’s title I borrowed for this post, once said: The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.

Yesterday’s bar mitzvah boy, unknowingly showed me a solution, taught me how to see with new eyes, gave me new strengths, made me discover new regions within myself…

Thank you David, perhaps it’s time to take up the violin again!

The once short, very fat, socially awkward, geeky kid

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Yom Tov Recipes – From Prime Grill’s Chef David Kolotkin

[Chef David Kolotkin, Executive Chef at The Prime Grill (60 East 49th Street; New York, NY 10017; Telephone: 212.692.9292) has appeared before on these pages (here, here, here,  here, and here). Once again he graciously acceded to share three yom tov recipes with our readers. CS]

Rosh Hashana Duck Meatballs with Sweet Sauce

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs ground duck meat
3/4 cup chicken or duck fat
2/3 cup soy milk
1 3/4 cup-2 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme

-Combine all ingredients.
-Roll into 1 1/2 oz meatballs
-bake in 350 degree oven 8-10 minutes or until cooked through

Sweet Sauce

3 cups Pineapple juice
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/5 cup white Vinegar
1/4 cup Dark brown sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch
6 tbsp cold water

-combine the first 4 ingredients and bring to a simmer.
-combine the last 2 ingredients and whisk in to the simmering 4 ingredients. Bring back to a simmer.
-toss the meatballs into the sauce and serve.

Dry Rubbed Double Cut Veal Chop for Two

Ingredients

½ Tblspn Black Pepper
2 Tblspn Sugar
2 Tblspn Salt
5 Tblspn Porcini Pepper (dried porcini ground in spice/coffee grinder)

Mix all of the Above

1 Double Cut Veal Chop
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

Sprinkle the dry rub generously on the veal chop before searing. In a hot sauté pan, using the oil, sear the veal chop on all sides. Put onto an oven-ready tray. Roast in a 350 degrees oven for approximately 10-15 minutes. Medium is my preferred temperature.

Red Pepper Jam

2 Red Bell Peppers—seeded, ribs out, julienned
¼ cup Sugar
1/3 cup Rice Vinegar (White Vinegar can be substituted)

Combine all ingredients in a small pot. Bring to a simmer. Slowly cook down until a jam like consistency (almost dry).

Sweet Potato Soufflé

Ingredients

3 cups Sweet Potato Puree
1/3 cup Sugar
Pinch of Salt
3 Eggs
1 Vanilla Bean
½ cup Pineapple Juice
½ cup Flour

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Fold in the flour. Pour into a greased pyrex baking
dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 40-45 minutes.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Sweet Potato Soufflé