High Holiday Brisket. Always room for one more.
Submitted by Susan Reiner Lourie
All images courtesy Susan Reiner Lourie
Susan Reiner and Isadore (OBM) Lourie
As I think back on celebrating the Jewish Holidays, Rosh Hashanah has always been one of my family’s favorite holidays. We celebrated both days of the Jewish New Year. The table was always full with family and dear friends. We had soldiers from Fort Jackson and students from the University of South Carolina join us. We always had room for one more. There was never a dull moment at our table as the conversation covered two topics, football and politics. It was fun to watch our family and our friend’s families grow, with boyfriends, girlfriends, in-laws, and grandchildren.
Lourie family reunion at Hilton Head, 2016.
Isadore and I were married in 1959 in Savannah, Georgia. I am from Savannah, and Isadore was from St. George, SC. I went to University of Georgia and Isadore attended the University of South Carolina. Eleanor Rubin Neistat set us up on a blind date. The rest is history.
After moving to Columbia, we celebrated our first Rosh Hashanah with my in-laws, Annie (Lourie) and Hyman Simon. The Simons stayed at the Jefferson Hotel so they could walk to the Marion Street Synagogue. They were observant Jews, kept a kosher home, and would not drive on the High Holidays. We attended services and then celebrated our Jewish New Year’s meal at a restaurant downtown. The Simons would host Passover, and for years we would have the seder at their home at 234 Saluda Avenue. Gathered around this table in the 60s and early 70s was the entire Lourie Family - our family, as well as Sol and Mick Lourie’s family.
When Isadore and I moved to Westshore Road, we began to host the holiday meal. We celebrated both days of Rosh Hashanah. Louries would close their stores and Isadore would close his Law Office. We would have lunch after services for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and Nancy and Mick Lourie (OBM) would host the second day. We eventually decided to have an early dinner so the families didn’t feel rushed. Over the years, sitting around our table were our boys, Lance, Joel, and Neal, and their wives’ families, the Baums and the Druckers, Mick and Nancy’s children, Mary and Alvin Rittenberg, my brothers David and Larry Reiner and their family, Arline and Gerald Polinsky and their (OBM) family, Fran and General Bob Solomon (OBM) and their family, and Carla Donen Davis and her family, Inez and Sam Tennebaum and Cyndey Berry. There were other friends and family members over the years to fill the table and then some! My children and grandchildren would always invite guests at the last minute. We would include new Jewish people who moved to town, professors at UofSC, news reporters, soldiers from Fort Jackson, and of course UofSC students, many who were fraternity brothers of the boys. We would always have 30 or more people and would have to move furniture around to seat everyone. It was our pleasure!
Back row, left to right: Joel and Becky Lourie, Robin and Neal Lourie, Lance and Isabel Lourie. Front row, left to right: Sam, Rachel, Duncan, Susan, Izzy, Jessica, and Austin Lourie.
Today, I still host the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Joel and Becky (Baum) Lourie have Erev (evening before Rosh Hashanah) dinner. I host the Kol Nidre (evening services before Yom Kippur) dinner, and Neal and Robin (Drucker) Lourie host Break the Fast after Yom Kippur. I have now passed the Passover Seder torch to the next generation.
This year, because of COVID-19, we are having our Rosh Hashanah dinner outside and there will only be 10 of us.
I cook and prepare the meal, although I used to ask Florida Boyd to make the chopped liver. Some of the recipes are mine, and some are borrowed.
Our menu for First Day of Rosh Hashanah:
Apples/Honey
Chicken Soup
Chopped Liver (Florida Boyd’s recipe)
Brisket (See Susan’s recipe)
Apricot Chicken
Kugel
String Beans
Jello Mold
Fresh Fruit
Rainbow Sherbert Ice Cream (molded in plastic cups and then served )
Pound Cake (Rose Kline (OBM) recipe)
Brownie’s (Helene Kligman (OBM) recipe)
My children’s favorite dish was my brisket. I got the recipe from my sister-in law Nancy Lourie.
Nancy Lourie’s Brisket:
1 large first cut brisket
2 cans cranberry sauce
1 can Heinz chili sauce
1 package Liptons onion soup
Mix all together and pour over the brisket.
Bake 350 until tender.
I refrigerate it when cool and slice the next day. Freezes well.
Their favorite desert was Rose Kline’s cream cheese pound cake….of course we had to add chocolate chips and cinnamon with sugar.
Rose Kline’s Cream Cheese Pound Cake:
3 sticks margarine or butter
dash salt
8oz. package cream cheese
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 ½ cups chocolate chips
Cream margarine, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add salt and vanilla. Beat well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after addition.
Stir in flour and 1 ½ cups chocolate chips (optional).
Pour mixture into well-greased tube pan.
Bake 325 degrees about 1 ½ hours.
I wanted to include this recipe, because not only do I serve it at our Rosh Hashana meal, but it is my go-to recipe to take to neighbors, to sick friends, funerals and simchas!
Helene Firetag Kligman (OBM) Brownies
2 sticks of Butter
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of flour
½ cup of cocoa
4 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
Preheat oven to 325.
Mix all ingredients together except for butter.
Melt butter in 9 x 13 pyrex pan.
Let cool a little and pour into mixture.
Pour mixture into Pyrex Pan.
Bake for 35- 40 minutes.
Let Cool.
Shake Powdered sugar on top of Brownies.
Cut and serve.