Brisket on a Budget

The Jewish High Holy Days have always been an important time for me. My whole family gathers every year on Rosh Hashanah for a delicious feast of traditional Jewish foods, namely brisket. Because the holidays fell so early this year, I spent my Rosh Hashanah in college, five hours away from my family.

At first I was upset, but then I had a bright idea: why not host my own Rosh Hashanah feast? My roommates and I decided to celebrate the Jewish holiday with a college kitchen and college budget twist.

Three days, one massive shopping spree and fifteen invitations later, we were ready to rock. Since Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and it is traditional to celebrate with bounds of honey (for a "sweet" year)so our feast began with apples and honey as well as a loaf of Challah, the golden, twisted Jewish bread.

I whipped up my Grandma's famous "sweet carrots," which were simple (and cheap) to make: after boiling baby carrots until they are soft, I added a little margarine and a lot of honey. For another veggie, we decided to make corn. Since corn on the cob is the cheapest corn to buy, I boiled the cobs, cut off the kernels and then sautéed them in a frying pan with a little butter and seasoning. The vegetable dishes were extremely popular and went very fast.
We also made potato latkes, patties of grated potatoes that are fried until golden and crispy.

The main course, the brisket, was a bit harder (and a little more expensive) to make. However, twelve pounds of brisket only cost around fifty dollars, and twelve pounds is more than enough brisket for a bunch of hungry college kids. Using a recipe from Emeril Lagasse, the brisket took about six hours in the oven to bake. It was covered with mushrooms, peppers and onions, as well as the perfect amount of spices and sauce. A cup of brown sugar gave it extra flavoring, as did a cup of ketchup baked inside the brisket. My roommate, who was in charge of the brisket, didn't leave the kitchen once during the entire six hours it took to bake, but it was completely worth it.

The brisket was extremely tender, flavorful and delicious. Fifteen friends wound up attending our little feast, each contributing between five and ten dollars to help pay for all the ingredients. The dinner was a huge success and ended with everyone inquiring as to our next feast and suggesting we have one every week. And the best part: two days later, all the leftovers were completely gone. Twelve pounds of brisket, four large side dishes and the baked goods were completely finished— it was just that good. Who says you can't cook a nice dinner on a budget? You can...just like Grandma used to make it.

— Written by Jennifer Alberts

Photo credit: Jennifer Alberts

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Tags : Brisket, Jewish, Jennifer Alberts

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