food & dining
Get a Jump on Passover with
an Easy Brisket Dinner
T KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
ami Rona, a spunky grandma from New
Jersey who is active in the Temple Emanuel
Sisterhood and works as a travel consultant,
shared with me a few of her family’s favorite dishes.

Her brisket is locally famous, and no holiday celebra-
tion is complete without it.

Rona learned this the hard way: “One year, I
decided to try something different and special, so
I bought lamb. It cost me a fortune — this was
years ago, and I must have spent $80 on the meat
alone. My children and grandchildren arrived and,
when I served dinner, it was a disaster. The lamb
was terrible, everyone was disappointed to miss the
famous brisket and, to this day, I have not lived it
down. Every holiday dinner starts, with ‘Remember
the year Grandma served that awful lamb?’ Now I
don’t mess with the menu — brisket and potatoes,
and everyone is happy.”
Rona learned the recipe from her late husband’s
cousin Eva. One night, Eva served an eye of round
with this delicious gravy. Rona asked for the recipe,
thought it would be better with brisket, added some of
her own techniques and flairs, and the rest is history.

TAMI RONA’S BRISKET
Serves 8
This is an old-school brisket — pantry ingredients,
nothing fancy, but always a hit.

1 4-pound brisket
2 large Spanish onions, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon oil
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 soup can of water
Generous sprinkling of pepper
Heat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Coat a large skillet with oil, and sear the brisket
on all sides. Remove it from the pan and cook the
onions, scraping up browned bits, until the onions
are soft and beginning to turn golden.

Place the onions in the bottom of a roasting
pan, place the seared meat on top and gener-
ously coat it with pepper. Pour one can of soup,
one can of water and one envelope of soup mix
over the brisket, cover, and cook it in the oven for
3 hours. Turn the meat over every hour to ensure
even cooking and to avoid it drying out.

When done, cool the meat slightly, remove it
from the pan and slice it thinly on the diagonal
across the grain. Pour the gravy and the sliced
meat into a pot, and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the meat on very low heat, simmering for
2 hours, on the stove, and serve.

TAMI’S SMASHED POTATOES
Serves 8
In her own words: “These potatoes are always
a hit. They are wonderful with the brisket, but I
served them at a barbecue last summer, and all I
heard about was the potatoes. Forget all the other
things I made — everyone was going on about
these potatoes!”
You can make these with just olive oil if a vegan
or pareve dish is desired, or you can do a mix of
melted butter and oil for added flavor and rich-
ness if that conforms with your menu.

Rona uses the spice assortment described
below but says you can get creative; if you have
a particular flavor combo or spice blend that you
like, go for it.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water
and bring it to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes
until the potatoes are just done — soft but not
falling apart. Drain.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the oil,
butter (if using) and spices. Line a large baking
tray with nonstick foil or parchment, and spread
out the potatoes in a single layer. Using the bot-
tom of a cup, press the potatoes once to “smash”
them. Pour the oil mixture over the potatoes.

Bake for about 45 minutes until crispy. l
22 MARCH 3, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Lara Hata / gettyimages
4 pounds small potatoes (size of a golf ball)
4 tablespoon olive oil, or 2 tablespoons olive
oil and 2 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper



Local Kid David Sirota
Nominated for Oscar
D JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
avid Sirota is known as a longtime political
journalist and operative, having written for
The Guardian and Jacobin, among other
media outlets, as well as speeches for Bernie Sanders’
2020 presidential campaign.

As for the movie thing, Sirota said, “I honestly kind
of fell into it.”
It turned out to be a life-defining accident.

After pitching director Adam McKay on the story
for the 2021 apocalyptic black comedy “Don’t Look
Up,” Sirota received an Oscar nomination for Best
Original Screenplay.

The Abington kid, former Reform Congregation
Keneseth Israel member and William Penn Charter
graduate, who now lives in Denver, will attend the
Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 27. In
between looking for an outfit to wear, he’s reflected on
his accomplishment.

Sirota talked about how he got to this moment.

First and foremost, tell us about your Philly background.

I think it’s fair to say that I was one of the most
intense Sixers fans.

I grew up hating Michael Jordan for beating
Charles Barkley. Rick Mahorn and Charles Barkley.

The Sixers were sort of a mini, not as good version
of the (Bad Boys) Pistons when Mahorn came over.

Like a bruiser team.

This year, when the movie came out, my friend
got me a cameo of Rick Mahorn congratulating me.

David Sirota and his daughter greet Vermont Sen.

Bernie Sanders. 
Courtesy of David Sirota
OK, that was cool, now tell us about your
background in politics and journalism.

I went down to D.C. and got a job working for Bernie
The local kid used to dream about working in the Sanders. I applied to a bunch of congressional
White House. But he never imagined winning an Oscar. offices and had no idea who he was. He responded.

“My friend said, ‘This is the kind of thing they put
When I first worked for him, I was right out of college.

It helped me find who I was and what my values are.

on your obituary,’” Sirota recalled.

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