thrown off schedule, your
woe will be contagious.
Bloomfield Hills interior
designer and builder
Roberta Madorsky hosts 20
to 40 guests any given
Thanksgiving — including
her two daughters, sons-in-
law and husband Erwin —
with little signs of trauma.
As a business person, she
learned long ago that
empowering others with
responsibilities such as
bringing appetizers, side
dishes and desserts, allows
guests to feel part of the
celebration, and frees her
to enjoy the occasion.
"We're all leading busy
lives — message machine,
pager, car phone, etc. —
having everybody bring
things makes Thanksgiving
g easier," said Madorsky. The
:3 process of creating brings
on the anticipation of the
holiday.
0
0
Madorsky does the big
stuff like setting tables, cre-
ating centerpieces and
organizing. Then she
decides what she'll cook
and then assigns. "I make
the turkey, cornbread stuff-
ing and an apple tart or
other dessert," she said.
"Then everybody brings
the rest. I feel if you're
going to return to the same
venue year after year, peo-
ple will enjoy it more if
they contribute. And
they're on stage for the
appetizer or dessert.
Anticipation is part of the
entertainment."
Like most at-ease hosts,
Madorsky doesn't comman-
deer the holiday meal or
dictate what others will
bring. "Certain foods are
brought every year," said
Madorsky. "My niece
makes manicotti for hors
d'oeuvres, someone else
makes stuffed mushrooms
and another brings spinach
dip. And we usually serve
the traditional Madorsky cookie, a
sugar cookie cut into gingerbread peo-
ple shape.
"I let people make what they want
to make, then I coordinate everyone's
dishes. People usually make what they
make best. Some people like to go out
l
A.NNA.BEL COHEN
vectal to The Jewish
7 \iretuss
hank good-
ness for the
help!
Thanksaivinc, couldn't
fall at a busier time of
ar. Practically on the
heels of the High
Holidays and Sukkot,
and just before a major,
mostly unproductive
holiday season, most
people are stuck in
overdrive until well
past the big ball drop
of 1999.
Holidays should be
fun — or at least sane.
To makes your holiday
entertaining successful,
for starters, a quick
plan of action is in
order. Then, you must
40"44*
do three important
r4TAWN"F.',164,.'
y Xfir#10W
tasks: delegate, delegate
,=,:zd delegate. Only
then, will a sane
your life simpler and you'll still want
Thanksgiving dinner
to give thanks at the end of the
celebration be yours.
evening. Don't over-regiment the
A quick plan is just that. Do write
evening. A rule-with-an-iron-fist, over-
down your guest list, what you must
ly organized gathering will feel artifi-
do, what you would like to serve,
cial and forced. And if you're the type
what cooking, flower arranging, table
who
crumbles at a timetable that's
setting you can handle. It will make
•
on a limb and make something they've
never made before, and some people
feel more comfortable making what
they know."
If you're not the devil-may-care sort
and like to know just exactly what
you're getting, you may want to assign
the things you'd like others to bring,
even providing amount guidelines.
On the whole, most folks enjoy
Thanksgiving with the works: turkey,
stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry
sauce. Madorsky's no different. "I'm
not a re-invent-the-wheel kind of per-
son," she said. "Generally, I like sim-
ple foods.
"It's what happens, and how people
feel, that matters. It's not important to
be fancy. It's just nice to enjoy the
aura of it all and the coming togeth-
er.
Some Thanksgiving recipes:
KASHA STUFFED MUSHROOMS
These can be made and frozen,
uncooked. You can then bake and
serve or bake them ahead of time and
reheat in the microwave oven just
before serving.
20 large mushrooms, stems removed
and reserved
2 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped
spinach, thawed, excess water
squeezed out
1 cup cooked kasha (buckwheat
groats)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup cream or coffee creamer
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400E Place mushroom
caps on a cookie sheet. Chop stems fine
by hand or in the bowl of a food proces-
sor. Set aside. Heat oil in a large non-
stick skillet over high heat. Add onions
and saute for 3 minutes. Add mush-
rooms and cook until they give up their
liquid and the liquid evaporates.
Add spinach, kasha and parsley and
cook for 3 minutes more, stirring.
Add the cream and cook until the
cream is evaporated and the mixture
appears creamy.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon this stuffing into the mushroom
caps and bake for 15 minutes until the
mushrooms are softened. Makes 20
stuffed mushroom caps.
ZUCCHINI AND
EGGPLANT BAKE
Nothing's easier to make or serve
than a casserole. This one's an interest-
ing combination that's surprisingly
good.
11/20
1998
Detroit Jewish News
113