Food

TweetYourShabbat: Yom Kippur confessions of Shabbat cooking

Shabbat Worthy Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza Image by Carly Pildis

By Carly Pildis September 25, 2020

#tweetyourshabbat is a global movement founded by Carly Pildis, celebrating the struggle and joy of getting Shabbat on the table every week. This is a place for real dinners and real conversations about Jewish life. Join us at Forward in sharing what you’ll be eating and how your feeling this week at #TweetYourShabbat

The gates are closing, the names are being written in the Book of Life, and it’s time for all of us to repent and fast. This Shabbat Teshuvah, I am going to start by confessing my Shabbat cooking sins to you.

Ashamnu, bagadnu, gazalnu, dibarnu dofi. Al chet. Time to pound my chest and confess my transgressions.

For the sin I committed by making lockson kugel with low-fat cheese. It came out terrible and was still too many calories.

For the sin I committed buying bagels from Trader Joes, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks. They were just so convenient, staring back at me. I know better! I must support good local bagel stores! I have betrayed you Jewish Twitter, with my laziness for bagel convenience.

For the sin I committed lying and saying I made something from scratch when I definitely used premade puff pastry. I shamed my fellow cooks! It’s true sometimes I use a mix, it’s just so easy!

For the sin I committed forgetting to put my Passover sponge cake upside down to cool. It completely collapsed and no amount of strawberries will cover that mistake. Although I feel I completed teshuvah by forcing myself to eat one sad slice.

For the sin, I committed envying those with access to perfect seeded rye, or Montreal bagels, or beautiful shawarma. I shouldn’t covet another city’s food, especially since I wouldn’t want to pay rent in New York or Tel Aviv!

For the sin I committed by forcing my friend to take home half a cheesecake, leading her down the dark path to sin. It was triple chocolate cheesecake and I had to get it out of the house.

For the sin, I committed by adding mayonnaise to deli meat. Not corned beef or pastrami, I have standards! This year I lost my way and loved too many turkey sandwiches with mayo, not mustard. Duke’s mayo is incredible. I atoned at the 2nd Avenue Deli.

For the sin I committed by forgetting to cover my Passover brisket and accusing my mother of writing down her recipe wrong. Don’t worry, I managed to save the brisket and it still came out delicious, with a lot of added liquid and slow cooking.

For the sin I committed by lying and saying a recipe was easy, when really it was a huge pain in the ass to cook.

For the sin I committed in burning Shabbat dinner beyond repair after a particularly rough week, giving up on cooking and ordering a pizza. It was delicious

S’lach Lanu. May we all be forgiven for our sins, in the kitchen and otherwise. As part of my teshuvah, let me offer you this beautiful autumn pizza recipe.

The Shabbats between chaggim feel hard, with so much cooking and so many special meals. I was craving something vegetarian and cheesy, the opposite of the meat-heavy food that fills the happy days of Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot. I wanted something on a sheet pan, that gave tired cooks a bit of a rest. So for your first Shabbat of 5781, may I present, honey-roasted butternut squash and sage pizza.

It’s got beautiful seasonal squash, cinnamon, whole-roasted garlic and two types of cheese. This is a pizza that demands you slow down, pour wine, turn off the phone and properly enjoy it.

Shanah Tovah, may all your transgressions be forgiven, and may your fast be easy and meaningful.

How was your week? How are you spending Shabbat? Let us know at #tweetyourshabbat! Everyone is welcome at this table! Come hungry.

Shabbat Worthy Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza

40 ounces butternut squash diced
2 small sweet onions roughly chopped
1 cup full fat ricotta
1 cup shredded fontina cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
Olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
Store-bought or homemade pizza dough
Garlic powder
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss butternut squash and onions in cinnamon, sage olive oil, and honey. Spread on a baking sheet until vegetables are meltingly tender and sweet, about 30 – 45 minutes.

Pour olive oil on the baking sheet. Stretchpizza dough into a large circle. Oil both sides. Prick all over with a fork. Sprinkle with garlic powder and salt. Spread ricotta evenly and then top with shredded and fontina. Once the two cheese is evenly distributed, Cover with roasted vegetables.

Bake at 425 degrees until pizza dough is cooked, the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly and melted. Yum.

Carly Pildis is an organizing and advocacy professional living in Washington, D.C.

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