One of my favorite new shows.  The cast is remarkable especially Elizabeth McGovern as an American heiress bringing her money back to England with her to help finance her husband’s estate. Over the last few decades, most landed nobles in the UK have lost their estates entirely because they haven’t been able to afford the upkeep.

via Downton Abbeys second coming hailed by US critics | Media | guardian.co.uk.

Does the Socratic method still have a role in law school?

via Rethinking How the Law Is Taught – Room for Debate – NYTimes.com.

Traditional view

When the Second Temple in Jerusalem was looted and services stopped, Judaism was outlawed. In 167 BCE Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple. He banned circumcision and ordered pigs to be sacrificed at the altar of the temple.^[14]Antiochus’s actions provoked a large-scale revolt. Mattityahu, a Jewish priest, and his five sons Jochanan,Simeon, Eleazar, Jonathan, and Judah led a rebellion against Antiochus. Judah became known as Yehuda HaMakabi (“Judah the Hammer”). By 166 BCE Mattathias had died, and Judah took his place as leader. By 165 BCE the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid monarchy was successful. The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event.^[15] Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made. According to the Talmud, olive oil was needed for the menorah in the Temple, which was required to burn throughout the night every night. The story goes that there was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight day festival was declared by the Jewish sages to commemorate this miracle.

The version of the story in 1 Maccabees states that an eight day celebration of songs and sacrifices was proclaimed upon re-dedication of the altar, and makes no mention of the miracle of the oil.^[16] A number of historians believe that the reason for the eight day celebration was that the first Hanukkah was a belated celebration of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.^[17] During the war the Jews were not able to celebrate the these festivals, when lamps were lit in the Temple (Suk.v. 2–4).

Modern scholarship

Some modern scholars argue that the king was intervening in an internal civil war between the traditionalist Jews and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem.^{[18][19][20][21]}

These competed violently over who would be the High Priest, with traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias contesting with Hellenizing High Priests with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus.^[22] In particular Jason’s Hellenistic reforms would prove to be a decisive factor leading to eventual conflict within the ranks of Judaism.^[23] Other authors point to possible socioeconomic reasons in addition to the religious reasons behind the civil war.^[24]

What began in many respects as a civil war escalated when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the Hellenizing Jews in their conflict with the traditionalists. ^[25] As the conflict escalated, Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices the traditionalists had rallied around. This may explain why the king, in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times, banned a traditional religion.^[26]

Hanukkah Recipes – Slide Show – NYTimes.com.

November 26, 2010

A GOOD APPETITE

Small Latkes, Large Toppings

By MELISSA CLARK

ABOUT a decade ago I held a Hanukkah party with more people than I could fit around my dining table. I wanted to serve latkes, but the ones I typically made were saucer size, requiring plates and forks. That’s when it occurred to me to serve hors d’oeuvres-size instead.

Thinking about latkes as finger food opened up the floodgates of topping possibilities.

Sure, applesauce and sour cream were workable. But crème fraîche and salmon caviar were so much more festive. And smoked trout mousse made with whipped cream, chives and a touch of horseradish was unexpected and delightful.

Since then, serving tiny latkes with an array of toppings has become my Hanukkah party standard, and every year I change the toppings to keep them fresh and interesting.

Once, I even shredded some of the brisket, perching the threads of beef on a dab of applesauce (to act as glue) atop the latkes. Pomegranate seeds, which I bought already pried from their husks from the greengrocer, were a glistening garnish.

The ruby seeds were so pretty that the year after, when I didn’t make a brisket, I piled them on top of thick Greek yogurt. It was a huge hit with children and adults.

This year, I’m not planning a large holiday party, as I’ve had in years before the child. It will be just the three of us around the table. But even so, I’ll fry my latkes small, thin and crisp, and serve several toppings for mixing and matching.

It’s become an untraditional tradition at our house, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

To make party-size latkes, use your favorite recipe but fry them in 1 1/2-inch cakes (use a heaping tablespoon of potato). Drain on paper towels or a paper bag. When cool enough to handle, top with any of the following:

CRÉME FRAÎCHE, BLACK PEPPER AND PEAR BUTTER Add a dollop of crème fraîche, grind some pepper and top with a spoonful of pear butter — store-bought or put up. Pumpkin and apple butter work well here, too.

SMOKED SALMON CREAM CHEESE AND SALMON CAVIAR Spoon the cream cheese over the latke, topping with beads of salmon caviar.

SMOKED TROUT MOUSSE Whip some heavy cream until peaks form, and fold in horseradish, chopped chives and black pepper. Then stir in flaked pieces of smoked trout.

GORGONZOLA AND BRANDIED FIGS Cover chopped figs with just enough brandy to reach halfway up the sides of a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring and tossing the fruit, then turn off the heat and cover the pot; let sit for an hour. Drain figs and use them to garnish gorgonzola-sprinkled latkes.

POMEGRANATE SEEDS AND GREEK YOGURT Whisk thick Greek yogurt with a little honey. Spoon atop the latke, crowning with pomegranate seeds.

Audio report: GuardianScienceWeekly-Particles

via Science Weekly podcast: An accelerated guide to the Higgs boson | Science | guardian.co.uk.

Pieter Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow must be the best-loved winter scene of all, and with good reason. This imaginary landscape represents January in a cycle of the Months, and was painted in 1565. What makes it so beguiling? The human warmth and sense of community. For every snow-capped peak and bare black tree, Bruegel includes a skater on the frozen ponds. His village is a place of fun and games despite the harsh conditions – because of them. Hunters may hunch, but children are full of glee. Bruegel’s people are tied to the earth and to one another. No wonder astronauts have this on the wall in their space station in Tarkovsky’s film Solaris, to connect them with Bruegel’s frozen – yet human – planet

via Hunters in the snow: Pieter Bruegel’s pastoral idyll | Art and design | guardian.co.uk.

A small wild duck will serve two nicely, but choose a fat one as they are not always the meatiest of birds. Big meat eaters may want one each. You will need some stock for this, ideally game or poultry, but I used a vegetable stock last time and it did the job well.

As a side dish I would be tempted to serve a pile of lightly cooked spinach. It is very good with the sweet, slightly citrus gravy.

a mallard, about 500g or so
a lemon
liquid honey – 2 tbs
butter, melted – a thick slice, about 30g
stock – 150ml

Set the oven at 200°C/gas 6. Squeeze the lemon juice into a mixing bowl, then stir in the honey. Add a pinch of sea salt and a generous grinding of black pepper, then put the duck in a roasting tray and pour over the honey and lemon and stock. Brush the butter onto the duck, roast for about 10 minutes, baste with the pan juices, then lower the heat to 180°C/gas 4 and continue roasting for 30-35 minutes until the bird is golden. Its flesh will still be slightly pink.

Remove the duck from the roasting tin, pour the juices from inside the bird into the tin, then put it somewhere warm to rest. Place the roasting tin over a moderate heat. Bring to the boil and reduce over a high heat for three or four minutes. Season carefully with salt and black pepper then pour over the duck and serve.

via Nigel Slater’s Christmas for two | Life and style | The Observer.

Orange and ginger glazed goose with traditional fruit stuffing and roast potatoes

1 goose – about 4.4kg, plus giblets

For the stuffing:

4 red onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
handful of sage, chopped small
300g bag of mixed dried fruit (like apricots, prunes, apple etc) whizzed to a small chop in the food processor
1-2 handfuls nuts – almonds, pine nuts, cashews, whatever, roughly chopped
salt and pepper
big pinch allspice
big pinch/good few scrapings of nutmeg
juice of an orange

For the roasties:

sea salt
goose fat
For the glaze:
50g ginger, washed, hard bits trimmed off and grated finely
4 tbs marmalade

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/Gas 6. Take the giblets out of the goose and set side for the gravy. Season it well on the outside, put it

breast-side down in a large roasting tray, with splash of oil on the bottom and once the oven is up to temperature, put the goose in, on the middle shelf.

Tear up the bread into nuggets, spread out on a tray and toast in the oven above the goose for about 10-15 mins, giving it a shuffle halfway through; take it out to cool once it’s golden and crunchy.

Chop the onions, garlic and sage, and by now some of the fat should have come off the goose. Using all your dexterity, tip all the melted fat into a heavy-based saucepan, then put the goose back in and heat the pan on the hob.

Fry the onions, garlic and sage in the fat for about 10 mins over a medium heat with a lid on.

Once these are softened add the chopped dried fruit and give it all a good stir. Tip into a bowl with the toasted bread and the other ingredients for the stuffing and put outside to cool until a handleable temperature – about 10 minutes.

Drain all the fat out of the bottom of the goose pan again, but this time leave the bird out as you incorporate the fat into the stuffing bowl. Use your hands to really squish this mix together, breaking up any large pieces of bread as you go – the goose fat is what makes it stick together.

Use a spoon to stuff the goose, really packing it in with the back of the spoon: it should all just about fit, then pop it back in the oven, again breast-side down.

Put the prepared spuds into a saucepan of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 mins until only just cooked – a knife should meet just a bit of resistance when you stick it in. Drain very well, and depending on how falling apart they are give them a bit of a shimmy in the colander to get the edges fluffy.

Now get the goose out again, and put the spuds in the bottom of the tray. Get a cooling rack or trivet and rest it on the tray. Sit the goose on it, again breast-side down and put back in the oven.

From when the bird went in for the first time you want to give it 1hr 45 mins; during this time turn your spuds once or twice.

Once your goose is cooked take it out of the pan and rest it, still breast-side down, on an ovenproof tray covered in foil. Jack up the temperature in the oven a bit and let the spuds really get some colour on them and crisp up for the last 10 minutes.

When you’re happy with the colour of your spuds then put them in a serving dish, again covered with foil. Pour out most of the accrued fat – pure gold.

To make the glaze, mix the grated ginger with the marmalade. Brush the glaze on to the breast of the goose and pop back in the oven while you make your gravy. Keep an eye on it though – it should take about 15 mins to reach peak glazed perfection.

Small carving tip – the legs are easier to get the meat off if you take them off the body. Don’t forget to make a big stock from the carcass … instant valuable flavour.

Adam Levine’s Rock-Star Yoga: Details.

Dancing in the streets: vintage movie musicals posters – in pictures | Film | guardian.co.uk.