92 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 

Arts&Life

DSO continued from page 89

me play in this concert,” says 
Feder, whose wife, harpist 
Cheryl Losey Feder, and son, 
Samuel, 5 months, enjoy listen-
ing to him practice at home.
“Having played in a lot of 
different halls, I understand the 
significance of this hall because 
not a lot of orchestras can be so 
lucky to call this kind of hall, 
with this kind of acoustics, their 
home. It is an absolute honor to 
be a part of the celebration.” 
The six-episode series about 
Orchestra Hall, from Detroit 
Public Television, will be 
released online throughout the 
fall with the TV airing of a 
full special in December. The 
DSO has partnered with the 
Detroit Historical Society and 
Museum to develop displays. 
Mark Stryker, former Free Press 
music critic, has researched and 
written Destiny: 100 years of 
Music, Magic and Community at 
Orchestra Hall. 
“The building of Orchestra 
Hall in 1919 was a moment 

of great civic leadership in 
Detroit,” says Mark Davidoff, 
chairman of the DSO Board of 
Directors and former executive 
director and COO of the Jewish 
Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit. 
“Our city, including many 
from our Jewish community, 
again came together in the 
1970s to save the building from 
the wrecking ball, ensuring that 
it would still be thriving today,” 
he said. 
“
As we celebrate this cen-
tennial of one of the world’
s 
premier concert halls, where so 
many have felt welcomed over 
the years, the DSO is commit-
ted to honoring Orchestra Hall’
s 
vital place within our commu-
nity and all who have helped to 
secure its future.” 
The presence of Ossip 
Gabrilowitsch, married to singer 
Clara Clemens (the daughter 
of Mark Twain), will be called 
upon during a Nov. 2 pro-
gram that is part of the Young 

People’
s Family Concert Series.
“The Ghost of Orchestra 
Hall,” for children ages 6 and 
older, introduces Gabrilowitsch 
as the friendly resident ghost of 
the venue through a program 

conducted by Chelsea Gallo 
and featuring actor Éva-Sarai 
Vesprini along with pianist 
Gavin George — and, of 
course, the Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra. 

“Orchestra Hall is extraordinary, 
and the sounds come out clear 
and warm; it’s like another 
instrument.”

— DSO VIOLIST GLENN MELLOW

ABOVE: Conductor/music director Ossip Gabrilowitsch with the orchestra,
1924.

7. Prepare the sauce: Saute the 
onion and olive oil until golden. 
Add the garlic and tomatoes. 
Cook until the tomatoes start to 
fall apart, but not so much that 
they start to lose their color.
8. Add the spices and a bit 
of water if needed to get a thin 
sauce.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning 
to taste, then pour over the 
stuffed chard.
10. Cover the baking dish and 
bake for about 20 minutes, until 
sauce is bubbly and the chard 
leaves are cooked through.
11. Serve with a garnish of 
chopped mint leaves and a light 
drizzle of pomegranate molasses.

APPLE STREUSEL 
HONEY CAKE
Chefs Rossella Jona and Amir 
Porat, Biscotti Bakery
What started out as a very 
small Tel Aviv business 15 years 

ago is now a booming catering 
business with a staff of 200 
workers and future plans to 
become an Israeli café chain. 
Now located in Bnei Brak, just 
east of the big city, they are 
committed to using high-quality 
ingredients to make their mark 
on the Israeli pastry shop scene. 
To replicate their famous 
apple streusel-topped honey 
cake at home this holiday, just 
follow this recipe, which we took 
straight from the head chefs.

Ingredients:
For the cake:
 4 large eggs
 ¾ cup vegetable oil
 ½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons 
honey
 ¾ cup sugar
 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
 2 tsp. baking powder
 1 tsp. baking soda
 1 cup strong fruit tea, brewed 

and cooled
 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
 1 tsp. ground ginger
 ¼ tsp. ground cloves
 1 green apple, peeled and sliced 
for garnishing the unbaked cake

For the streusel topping:
 ¾ cup sugar
 ¾ cup cold butter, cut into cubes
 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose 
flour
 Pinch cinnamon
 Pinch salt

Directions:
1. To make the topping: In 
a food processor, blend all the 
ingredients in short pulses until 
you get a coarse crumb.
2. T
ransfer the crumbs to a 
sealed container and chill until 
use.
3. To make the cake: Preheat 
oven to 350 F
.
4. Whip eggs with the sugar 

until the mixture becomes thick 
and triples in size.
5. Add the oil and mix to 
combine, then add the honey 
and do the same.
6. In a medium bowl, com-
bine the spices flour, baking 
powder and baking soda. Add 
to the eggs mixture and add the 
cooled tea. You can also add 
fresh peeled and chopped apples 
or pears or cherries to the batter 
at this stage if you wish.
7. Pour into 2 loaf pans and 
top with a light layer of streusel 
and 12-13 apple slices in vertical 
line down the center. Bake for 
about 40 minutes.
8. Cake is done when a tooth-
pick comes out dry with a few 
moist crumbs attached. 

Jessica Halfin is an American-Israeli 
baker, gourmet cook, food and culture 
writer and all-around foodie in Haifa, 
Israel, where she lives with her 
husband and three sons.

Israeli Recipes continued from page 91

DSO