KOSHER TAILGATING — When the gates to Lot M opened bright and early at Arrowhead Stadium for the Chiefs’ home opener against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 9, Isaac Gortenburg and his friends were there to fire up his kosher smoker for a kosher BBQ pre-game tailgate. Gortenburg, a graduate of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy who now lives in Chicago, hand-carried his specially-ordered, hand-cut, glatt kosher beef brisket from the Romanian Kosher Sausage Co. of the Windy City to Kansas City particularly for this special event. He has been experimenting in kosher smoked and BBQ meats for more than two years. His sous chefs for the day included his father, Michael Gortenburg, Isaac Chopp and Ryan Amalah.
NETANYAHU ON ‘MEET THE PRESS’ — I was busy cooking Sunday morning but took a short break to watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on “Meet the Press.” I was personally struck by a couple of different things. Netanyahu kept repeating that Iran is in the “red zone,” meaning the country is very close to getting what it needs to produce a nuclear bomb. The red zone is football technology, cleverly used on a football Sunday in the United States, when a team is getting close to scoring a touchdown. During the interview the Israeli prime minister was clear it wasn’t his place to talk presidential politics. I completely stopped what I was doing when I heard Gregory call Netanyahu “the leader of the Jewish people.” I never knew the elected leader of the state of Israel was thought of by others as the leader of the Jewish people.
LOCAL DOC QUOTED IN WASHINGTON POST — Jay M. Portnoy, M.D., was quoted in an article in the Sept. 15 issue of the Washington Post, “Weather pushes allergy and asthma miseries to new level.” Dr. Portnoy, who is chief of Children’s Mercy Hospital’s allergy, asthma and immunology section, commented on what allergists here in the Midwest are seeing following this very hot summer and resulting drought. He’s quoted several times, including this comment: “My guess is probably it was a worse year than other years . . . because it was a perfect storm of hot, dry, low humidity.” Dr. Portnoy served as president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology from 2007 to 2008 and is a member of Kehilath Israel Synagogue. To read the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/weather-pushes-allergy-and-asthma-miseries-to-new-level/2012/09/15/ad2d46be-fd03-11e1-a31e-804fccb658f9_story.html?wprss=rss_national.
WALK FOR ALS — Several members of the Jewish community are involved in the effort to raise money to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The Kansas City Walk to Defeat ALS will be Sept. 29 at Berkley Riverfront Park. It is a family-friendly event designed to celebrate the lives of those living with ALS and the memory of those who have passed away but are not forgotten. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will include activities for the kids, fellowship and friendship for the adults, and coffee, bagels and other snacks. The walk itself begins at 10:30 a.m. and is a 1-mile stroll through Berkley Park. The Walk to Defeat ALS is the ALS Association’s biggest annual event, which raises funds to sustain patient care and support research for much of the following year. For more information call Nellie Feehan at 913-648-2062.
JDC FACEBOOK APP — The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) has launched its first ever Facebook App — https://www.facebook.com/TheJDC/app_235031903285313 — allowing you to send e-Recipe cards to family and friends. Connecting you to Jewish communities far and wide, you can share JDC global holiday recipes — from leek fritatas from Turkey or cornflour-coconut halava from India — and your own holiday favorites. You can also become a fan of JDC’s Facebook page and show your support for JDC in its historic and ongoing mission of caring for Jews and Jewish communities overseas. Become part of our movement of global Jewish responsibility and say Shanah Tovah to millions of Jews in the more than 70 countries, including Israel, where JDC works. You can also channel your inner Joan Nathan or Claudia Rodin and download JDC recipe cards-spanning the organization’s global reach from Argentina to Tunisia-at: http://www.jdc.org/recipes2012.