FELDB FRESH. FISH QUALITY MEATS Food PASSOVER FIXES from page 130 FREE SEDER BONES • Lowfat "Kosher For Passover" KISHKA Made With Matza Meal and Vegetables FRESH Turkey, Capon, Turkey Breast 100% Natural and Fully Cleaned • Veal Brisket; Prime Rib; Briskets 32902 Middlebelt Rd. • Farmington Hills Phone 626-4656 • Fax 626-5977 Serving The Jewish Community For Over SO Years! Share your HILAR(OUS IA, earnest, trAsic, kavvowilAs or any other kind of memory of traveling in Israel. If you have photos, all the better. We'll publish them in a special edition May . Contact JN News Editor Julie Edgar at (248) 354-6060, ext. 257, or send a submission, with picture, to Julie Edgar at the Detroit Jewish News 27676 Franklin'. Rd. Southfield, MI 48034. Deadline is April 17. Call The Sales Department (248) 354-7123 Ext. 209 3/27 1998 132 DWIEROIT MAISIE NEWS • Advertise in our Entertainment Section! tIN before serving (about an hour in a 250 oven). HARD MATZAH BALLS Rock-hard matzah balls are one of the most common mistakes a cook can make. While some like them on the harder side, no one likes them when they can bounce. Here are some quick remedies for making matzah balls the way you like them: Even though you drop the matzah balls into boiling water or broth, the liquid should be simmering, with bubbles just breaking gently on the surface. For matzah balls, or any dumpling for that matter, to cook correctly they must be cooked in a pot with a tight fitting lid. Do not open the lid during the cooking process, no matter how tempting it is. Don't crowd your matzah balls. In order to grow to desired fluffiness, they need room to expand. The matzah ball dough is sticky, so it's important to use wet hands to form them. Just be careful not to make them into hard spheres — they should be loosely rolled. For extra-fluffy matzah balls, use a recipe that calls for the egg whites to be beaten separately from the yolks. You may beat the whites sepa- rately for any recipe, but you may need to add more matzah meal. DRY, TASTELESS GEFILTE FISH Gefilte fish makers know that this delicacy is probably the easiest food to prepare for Passover. It's difficult, however, to season gefilte fish "to taste" without cooking it first. The solution to these and other gefilte fish dilemmas? Read on: Make a test patty first. Contrary to popular belief, gefilte fish cooks in about 20 minutes (not the usual 90 minutes), once the water reaches simmering temperature after the balls are added. To make a test gefilte fish, make a small ball and poach it in water or prepared broth until it's just cooked through. Chill slightly (it's difficult to discern flavor when the fish is hot) and taste. It's even a good idea to ask someone you trust to taste it as well. Adjust the seasoning of the mixture at this point. Remember, it's easier to add seasoning than subtract it. If your gefilte fish is dry, chances are you've added too much matzah meal, cooked your fish too long or are storing it without liquid. The liquid is important to keep the fish juicy. If your cooking broth had lots of fish bones it, your sauce should become a soft gelatin mixture when it chills. FLAT, CHEWY MERINGUE, HEAVY SPONGE CAKE Once you master the meringue and stiff egg whites techniques, you'll make meringue and sponge cakes always. They're Pesachdik, fat- free and cheap. To make meringues, the egg white must be beaten until stiff. Stiff egg whites will not slip or fall out of a bowl when the bowl is turned com- pletely upside down. This really works. If the eggs start to fall out, keep beating. Use only fresh eggs. Old eggs will not beat as fluffy as fresh eggs. Egg whites will not beat well if there's even one tiny drop of yolk in them. Egg whites will beat better at room temperature. Add the sugar very slowly when making meringues. Sugar added too quickly will flatten the meringue. Beaten egg whites don't store well — they should be beaten right before you use them or they will deflate and become moist or chewy instead of crisp. GRAY, GOOEY POTATO KUGEL Potato kugel is essentially potato latke batter poured into a pan and baked instead of fried. As soon as potatoes are exposed to air, they begin to change in color. To prevent the potatoes from turning dark, place the shredded potatoes in a bowl of cold water with some lemon juice added. The potatoes will remain white. The kugel must be completely cooked through, especially if you're making it ahead of time. If you don't cook it completely, the potatoes will change color and be gooey. If the potato mixture is too watery, the potatoes also will not cook properly. Be sure to drain as much liquid as possible from the potatoes before adding remaining ingredients. To make the kugel crispy, brush vegetable or olive oil over it during the last 15 minutes of baking. PASSOVER FIXES on page 138