Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Thank You / Good Morning America Feature!

Thanks everyone for your Thanksgiving orders! Had a great time delivering them in person, and a reminder for those picking up at Malt & Mold -- they're there and awaiting your pick up!

In case you missed the boat, there are some for sale at Malt & Mold, and if you really want to go crazy, go make 'em yourself! The fine folks at Good Morning America on ABC has posted our recipe on their website, so go check it out!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Now accepting Thanksgiving Preorders on our Pumpkin & Butternut Squash knishes! (KOSHER, too!)

Gobble gobble y'all

It's that time of year again: the biggest national food holiday is upon us! And what better way to make your fellow Thanksgiving folk kvell than with a savory pumpkin knish? 

Last year we did our very first special ordering offering for Thanksgiving: Pumpkin & Butternut Squash knishes.This year, we're doing it again. Place your order by 8am, Saturday, November 17th, and you will be able to either pick them up on Monday through Wednesday at Malt & Mold (221 East Broadway) noon-8pm,  on the Lower East Side, or have them delivered to your door on Sunday (afternoon or early evening) for a minimal fee.

AND for this week only, starting tomorrow (Tuesday), Malt & Mold will have a limited number of pumpkin knishes for sale! Go try one before you go all-in on an order. All knishes (including potato, pastrami, and kasha) are on sale for only $3 each this week!!

Special orders are:
  • 6 pumpkin knishes: $20
  • 12 pumpkin knishes $30
  • 18 pumpkin knishes: $40
And in VERY limited quantities: Kosher pumpkin knishes! Same knish, just made under the strict supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens in their commercial kitchen. 

  • 5 Kosher pumpkin knishes: $20
  • 10 Kosher pumpkin knishes $30
  • 15 Kosher pumpkin knishes: $40
Cash only at point of pick up/delivery. They will arrive cold, and will hold up in the refrigerator quite well until Thanksgiving. [Reheat in oven at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.]

To order, email knisherynyc(at)gmail.com; you will receive a confirmation email. We have limited capacity; orders placed will be filled first come, first serve.

Pumpkin knishes are vegetarian and dairy-free, not vegan (due to eggs) or gluten-free (due to wheat). Depending on availability, they are  made with about 95% organic ingredients.

Friday, November 9, 2012

THIS IS HARDCORE (kosher knishing!)

Rolling dough with found equipment, the Kosher Paddle of Punishment
The fine folks at Gefilteria got in touch with KnisheryNYC to a make some knishes for an event they were catering. The catch: it's gotta be KOSHER. Not "kosher-style" where you avoid the pork and don't mix the dairy and meat, but all-kosher ingredients in a kosher kitchen under the supervision of a kosher supervisor who keeps it all, uh, kosher.
As Jan Brady never said, "Kosher, Kosher, KOSHER!"
So what's a non-kosher knishman to do? All the ingredients were collected the day before carefully, which wasn't too hard -- potato and onion and vegetable are kosher by default, the eggs and flour I use are already kosher, just had to substitute one brand of shortening for another. However, I was not permitted to bring any equipment, and would have to rely on the equipment that was already in this kitchen I never visited. If I absolutely had to bring some equipment, it would have to be cleansed in a mikvah. Or, as the East River is considered a mikvah, "cleansed" in a mikvah. Yeesh!

The earliest snow storm on record killed our street fair debut last year, and this year Hurricane Sandy brought our Kickstarter to a shuddering halt. Now the night before the Kosher cooking session, a Noreaster blew through town. With thick wet heavy snow lying on the ground, gas stations still closed or with long, long lines, and over 14 miles between me and my supplies and the kitchen, what does one do? Go for a bike ride, of course.
Powered by beans.
Slow and steady won the race, and got me into the warm, ever loving arms of the Gefilteria...
Jackie, Liz, Peter the Masgioch & Jeff. Masgioch Pete & Jeff, coming to ABC on Wednesdays!
We toiled away like little Jewish grandmas all day, with our onions, our beets, our white fish and potatoes, while Masgioch Pete jumped in with the peeling, the cleaning and the APPROVAL FROM GOD. Dough had to be mixed by hand and odd things were used to roll it, but over-all knish production went smoothly along side the production of huge amounts of gefilte, kvass and other top-secret tools of mass Jewish deliciousness.  

While the 30 miles of biking 60 lbs of supplies in the wind, snow and cold wasn't ideal, it was well worth the effort to spend the day with people of the same spirit. And before you ask, "But Noah, I only eat kosher, I need a kosher knish, can you get me one?!" I say, "Hold tight, there is an announcement coming on Monday to make you AND your treif friends happy!"

Thanks to Jeff, Liz & Jackie for sharing their kitchen time with me, and Jeff for the two pics I didn't take myself! Gefilteria is at Zabars this weekend, go for taste and pick up a loaf!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Sandy ate all the knishes. Kickstarter to reboot for Spring!


Hello all you beautiful supporters,

I am sad to report I am pulling the plug on the KnisheryNYC Kickstarter project with about 3 days to go. Due to Hurricane Sandy, all the plans to promote and build excitement around the project in the last 10 days were delayed or cancelled, and I was too busy relocating my family to safety for the past week to give KnisheryNYC much thought.

There has been a really nice uptick in support in the past 2 days, but regardless I do not feel comfortable reaching out to friends, family, knish-lovers and NYC residents for money (or even the time to think about knishes) when our city is still reeling.

As this Kickstarter is incomplete, you will not be charged for your contributions. As much as I like to tease the borough of my youth as something I'd like to forget about, my heart aches about the ongoing fallout from the storm on Staten Island, affecting many families of the friends who, like I, left the Rock years ago. The funds you were going to contribute to KnisheryNYC, please consider donating to an organization like Tunnel to Towers, where you can direct 100% of your contributions to the relief those put out by the storm on Staten Island.

Do not worry, KnisheryNYC is ongoing. We are about to make a few announcements (hint: Thanksgiving knishes!) and will relaunch the Kickstarter in late February/early March, just in time to help us spring into the busy season! Please sign up for regular updates by going to our website  or liking us on Facebook!

Sincerely,

Noah Wildman
KnisheryNYC, Owner/Operator

PS - While I was a refugee on the Upper East Side at Hotel Grandma, I purchased some knishes from Gourmet Garage. In the midst of chaos, it was the off-flavored, mealy inspiration I needed to keep on knishin'