CHULENT UPDATE:

This rabbi sure seems to be obsessed with CHULENT!!! On his Shuls website there is info about the Temple's "Mens Club". I wonder why they don't add the Shabbos Morning / Eating Chulent Activity to that list!!!!!! D & C: Rabbi Laurence Skopitz shares his recipes with congregants at Temple Beth David in Irondequoit through the synagogue's newsletter. Reisheet D'var, or first things first. Being used to making shul (synagogue)-sized amounts, I always end up making much more than I need at home. You will have to experiment with the amounts of ingredients. It can take a while to get it just right for your family, so give yourself at least several weeks. While you can freeze cholent, it is never quite as good as fresh. Use a Crock-Pot that has a low setting sufficiently hot enough to cook the ingredients. Rival and Hamilton Beach are two brands that seem to work. The Crock-Pot hot setting usually dries out the cholent or burns it, so it is to be avoided. Spray the liner with Pam or similar product so that it will be easier to clean later on. You are supposed to turn the Crock-Pot on just before Shabbat. Use a time clock to turn it off just before you want to serve it so as to not violate any Shabbat prohibitions. If you do not wish to use a Crock-Pot, you always have the option of a stove oven or a top element covered with a metal sheet (blech) kept on throughout Shabbat at the proper heat setting. Use a mixture of any kind of beans. I always try to include black and kidney beans. Note that lima beans have a distinctive taste that can be domineering if you use too many. Also add in lentils, chickpeas (for good luck), barley and brown rice. DO NOT use split peas or white rice — too mushy. The beans, etc. should be about 2 pounds total. See what works for your family. It is not necessary to soak the beans beforehand.Include one or two good-sized potatoes, diced. You can leave the skins on.Add more or less a tablespoon of oil. Olive oil is OK and very good for you. You can throw in one or two packets (two to a box) of Goodman's or Telma onion soup mix (not sodium reduced) if you are in a hurry.Otherwise, cut up one large onion (or more), a couple of garlic cloves, salt and pepper to taste (you can always add more later so don't go too heavy). You can put everything in the Crock-Pot in any order your want and don't bother to mix things until just before serving.Cover with water. Knowing how much water to put in takes time to learn. You may have to add water in the morning if too much gets absorbed. You do not want the cholent to end up too dry or burnt on the bottom. The ingredients are just ingredients until Chatzot Halilah (midnight). Then a miracle happens. The separate ingredients magically turn into cholent. You will be able to smell the difference throughout the house when this phenomenon occurs. A lot of Temple people like their cholent with a hot sauce. There are several kosher products available.For a change of pace, on Tu b'Shevat add in carrots, sweet potatoes and some dried fruit. It will give you a sort of tzimmes. I have been making cholent for almost 25 years at Temple. It took me a few months to figure out how to get it right, and I am still learning. So be patient and give yourself time: It is well worth the effort. If in the course of your experimenting, you should come upon any serendipitous discoveries, please pass them along. Happy cholenting!