Critics have denounced Downton Abbey as gaudy, a-historical, and a bit too apologetic about the fusty elitism of Britain’s upper crust. But to fans of the period drama—and I count myself among them—Downton has been four solid years of soapy goodness, topped off with surprisingly incisive writing and some seriously fabulous hats. Those of us who have remained loyal to the Grantham clan are in for a special treat this season: the show’s first Jewish character is about to make an appearance at Downton’s stately halls.

This past Sunday night we were introduced to The Honourable Ephraim Atticus Aldridge (played by the very gentile and very hunky Matt Barber), who strikes up a romance with Lady Rose as she is fetching cake to serve to exiled Russian aristocrats. We learn that Aldridge’s great-grandparents settled in England after fleeing the Odessa pogrom of 1859, and went on to amass a considerable fortune in their new home. Upon learning the year of the Aldridge family’s arrival in England, one of the aristocrats is livid. “He’s not Russian!” he shouts, storming off down the dank church basement, presumably to dust off his copy of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Downton has skirted around the issue of anti-Semitism in previous seasons, but the prejudice comes out in full force once an overtly Jewish family starts showing up at the Granthams’ dinner parties. I don’t want to spoil any more details, so I’ll just say that plenty of stiff upper lips curl at the prospect of an inter-faith union between Atticus and Rose. And of course, in true Downton fashion, the couple’s love affair is rife with melodrama, gooey sentimentality, and epic one-liners courtesy of Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess.

(Image: Lady Rose MacClare meets Atticus Aldridge on Season 5, Episode 5 of ‘Downton Abbey.’ Courtesy of ITV.)

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Today over at Tablet, Rachel Shukert raises an interesting point about our beloved Downton Abbey, whose second season began airing on this side of the pond last Sunday. She argues that for a 1920s period drama that prides itself on historical accuracy and impeccable attention to detail, that there has been no mention at all of Lady Grantham’s Jewish father, Isidore Levinson, whose heritage you’d think might ruffle a few feathers at Downton, represents a quizzical omission on the show’s part.

While this season’s arrival of Lady Grantham’s mother (Shirley MacLaine!) at Downton would seem to be the perfect time to address the very Jewish elephant in the finely decorated room—her husband, the “dry goods multi millionaire from Cincinnati”—Shukert laments that (spoiler alert) no such moment occurs:

But if you started fantasizing about Seder at Waddesdon Manor with the Rothschilds or, say, the deliciously glacial retort of Lady Mary to some Unity Mitford-esque baby fascist, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. (I’m one of the illegal downloaders Hugh Bonneville hates, and I know.) From the moment MacLaine’s hennaed and befeathered head peeks out from the door of her Rolls Royce Phantom, the J-word is never mentioned, never alluded to, never even euphemized (that is, unless you count “American”). The silence is not only glaringly anachronistic on a program so obsessed with accurate period details, if not accuracy itself. (This is Downton, after all, where the wrong class of person moving a tea tray can inspire a sudden recovery from total paraplegia.) It’s also a major loss of dramatic opportunity on a show that, having served us up one of the most dramatically inert representations of worldwide conflict—the Great War only killed characters that were dispensable, and everyone was able to make it home from the front for important black-tie events—can’t afford to miss many more.

Of course, MacLaine’s character isn’t Jewish, and Lady Grantham was raised Episcopalian. Still, I’d expect a barb or two from the sharp-tongued Dowager Countess by now, at the very least.

Downton’s Missing Jews [Tablet] Previously: Not Your Bubbe’s Recipe: Downton Abbey Viewing Party Edition
Why Downton Abbey Is The Least Jewish Show On Television

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We’re an agonizing four days away from the season premier of Downton Abbey on PBS. That is, agonizing for those of us who live in the United States and are planning on watching the new episode legally (the season already aired in England). Just thinking about the swelling intro music is enough to make my heart palpitate in anticipation. The long months since the end of the dazzling second season have left (American) viewers anxiously awaiting news of their favorite characters—will Matthew and Mary finally get married or will there be more obstacles to their bliss? Will Bates be freed and reunited with Anna? Will Thomas ever stop being a pest? My guess—three resounding No’s.

But here at Jewcy, the answers to these questions stopped mattering when the producers announced that Shirley MacLaine would be brought onto the show as Lady Cora Grantham’s mother in Season 3. Beyond the excitement of what will surely be an epic battle of wills between MacLaine’s nouveau riche American Martha Levinson and Maggie Smith’s Dowager Violet Grantham, I’m hoping MacLaine brings the Jewish twist we’ve all been waiting for since historian Jonathan Sarna outed Lady Grantham’s Jewish roots (as a proud Cincinnatian, I’m particularly pleased with the connection). The cast of characters inhabiting Downton Abbey certainly spans the gamut of personalities, but it is most definitely missing a good dose of Jewish guilt, something we’ve been saying for some time now, even if we were wrong about the “no Jewish characters” bit.

What better way to honor Downton Abbey’s return to U.S. primetime programming than hosting a themed viewing party for the season premier on Jan. 6? Now, I know Downton Abbey viewing parties have happened before. But this time, it’s different. To date, all of the many meals and parties featured on the show have been elaborate, multi-course affairs, but none of them were particularly Kosher-friendly. Let’s imagine the season premier is going to start with Cora preparing—okay, ordering—a lavish, Kosher (style, at the very least) feast for her mother. Why shouldn’t the fan club join in on the fun?

Since this menu is for a crowd watching television, we’re going to cut down the number of courses and fancy forks, which are difficult to navigate while wearing a fitted gown and perching on the armrest of a crowded couch. Incidentally, the lords and ladies of Downton will probably be trimming a bit from their meals this season, too, given the changing economic and labor structures. As we saw in Season 2, World War I took the lives of many servants and those who returned weren’t necessarily interested in returning to their former roles. With fewer hands on deck and rationing of imported and luxury food items, preparing elaborate, 20-plus course dinners was less feasible. British households began looking for more economical approaches to cooking—both in time and ingredients. While earlier periods in British cuisine were butter-based, by the 20th century, British cooks were using suet and dripping, according to food historian Stephen Mennell. You’re welcome to use schmaltz or another animal fat, but the recipes below will be slightly less authentic and based on olive and vegetable oils to appeal to the modern appetites of your guests. There was also an increased emphasis on dishes that could be repurposed, leading to the popularity of recipes like shepherd’s pie and the use of breadcrumbs.

As with any fine meal, this one should start with soup. Creamed soups were very popular during this post-war time period, and, lucky for us, it’s pretty simple to make them dairy-free if you decide to serve meat. Serve your soup in a shooter to whet your guests’ palates and make it easy to drink while watching Edith’s desperate attempts to find a husband.

To add some texture and protein to the evening, consider serving roasted chicken or brisket on toast points. Make sure to add a dollop of sauce, such as horseradish sauce, as that was the main vehicle for flavor and demonstration of sophistication. If you want to round out your meal with something green, consider making Brussels sprout lollipops. I’m fairly certain the Grantham’s would never have considered skewering their sprouts with toothpicks, but roasted Brussels sprouts were incredibly popular in the 1920s England, since they were easy to grow and prepare and the population was becoming increasingly health-conscious.

A warm slice of apple galette is the perfect way to finish this culinary journey. Pudding (known to us Americans as dessert) was essential to high quality entertaining and apple galette is a sure-fire crowd pleaser. It’s delicate, earthy, not too sweet, and easy to put together. Now with this recipe we run into the issue of the fats again. Assuming you want to make this without dairy, the obvious contemporary substitute for butter would be margarine. However, I’m on a one-woman (maybe two?) crusade to eradicate the use of margarine in Jewish cooking and the recipe I’ve included below favors coconut oil instead.

And don’t forget to pair your meal with a glass of champagne, a hot toddy, or a cocktail inspired by one of the Grantham sisters. Cheers! To a season full of intrigue, scheming, romance, and drama.

Not Your Bubbe’s Cream of Parsnip Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, chopped, white and light green parts only
6 cloves garlic, sliced
6 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, stored in lemon water until needed
6 sprigs thyme, wrapped in cheesecloth
6 cups vegetable stock, see recipe
4 tsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/3 cup almond milk
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Special equipment:

Immersion blender, cheesecloth

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic, and sauté five minutes, or until leeks are softened and translucent.

2. Add parsnips, thyme (wrapped in cheesecloth), and stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for 20-25 minutes until parsnips are very soft.

3. Remove thyme and blend soup in blender until smooth. Return to pot and stir in lemon juice, almond milk, salt, and pepper to taste.

Not Your Bubbe’s Brussels Sprout Lollipops

Ingredients:

1 lb. Brussels sprouts
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs honey
salt and pepper to taste

Special equipment:

Toothpicks

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Toss the Brussels sprouts with the olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper.

2. Roast until tender (about 30 minutes) and stick with tooth picks.

Not Your Bubbe’s Apple Galette

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup coconut oil at room temperature
2 tbsp (or more) ice water
1 1/2 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp sugar, divided
1 tbsp almond milk

Special equipment:

Food processor, parchment paper

Directions:

1. Blend the flour and salt in a food processor. Add coconut oil and pulse, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and blend just until dough begins to clump together, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry.

2. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour.

Steps 1 and 2 can be done two days ahead. Keep dough chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

3. Roll out the dough between sheets of parchment paper to 1/8-inch-thick round, 14 inches in diameter. Remove top sheet of parchment. Using bottom sheet as aid, transfer dough on parchment to large unrimmed baking sheet. Chill for 15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine apple slices, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice in medium bowl; toss to blend. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over prepared crust. Arrange apple slices in concentric circles, overlapping slightly. Using parchment as aid, fold plain crust border up over apples, pinching any cracks in crust. Brush crust with milk. Sprinkle crust edges and apples with remaining 1 tablespoons sugar.

5. Bake galette 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking until crust is golden, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Slide long thin knife between parchment and galette. Let stand at least 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Also try:

Not Your Bubbe’s Almond Olive Oil Cake

Not Your Bubbe’s Indian Spiced Latkes With Apple Chutney

Not Your Bubbe’s Southern Chili Cholent

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• It’s okay to keep listening to that new Maroon 5 song. [Gothamist]

• Where them Jews at? Not in the New York City Mayoral race. [NYT]

• Is there a Jewish gene, or what? [NYBR]

• Novelist Francesca Segal describes the straight-out-of-a-novel moments in which she’s found out good news about her book, The Innocents. [Waterstones]

• Looks like Shirley MacLaine’s not-yet-aired-in-the-U.S. Jewish Mother character on Downton Abbey is a hit—the show has been renewed for a fourth season. [L.A. Times]

• Game of Thrones, Seinfeld-style. [BuzzFeed]

The post Daily Jewce: The ‘Times’ Looks for Jews, If ‘Game of Thrones’ was ‘Seinfeld’ appeared first on Jewcy.

• The ever-gracious Sheldon Adelson, on his poor campaign mega-investments: “That’s how you spend money. Either that or become a Jewish husband — you spend a lot of money.” [NYT]

• L.A.’s star chefs will come together to honor the 92-year-old woman who’s been making kosher meals for people with AIDS for more than 20 years. [Tablet]

• Israelis love the brand Honda, it turns out. [Haaretz]

• Do not call Diane von Furstenberg a socialite. [The Cut]

• Shirley MacLaine will be gracing Downton Abbey with her presence as Cora’s Jewish mother on January 6, when the PBS Masterpiece series returns for a third season. [Vulture]

• Anne Hathaway, fresh off her Jewish wedding to Adam Shulman, is hosting Saturday Night Live for the third time. [BuzzFeed]

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Television writers face a quandary when writing historical fiction. References to famous historical events can seem quaint or like a substitute for originality. Downton Abbey especially relies on historical tragedies to set its plot in motion: the show begins with the sinking of the Titanic and continues, in the second season, with World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic. Nearly any show set in England in this period should acknowledge these events, but when is it a narrative necessary, and when is it a crutch? And when are scriptwriters just trying to make their audiences feel smart for recognizing historical Easter eggs?

I’ve been thinking about these questions while watching Boardwalk Empire, HBO’s crime drama about bootleggers, gangsters, and corrupt politicians, centered in 1920s Atlantic City. (Season 3 of the show premieres September 16.) A friend recently suggested to me that TV writers might lean heavily on history in order to make viewers feel intellectually engaged while they sit glued to their flatscreens. But there are times when historical verisimilitude can be unsettling. When the Jews of Boardwalk Empire are called Christ killers and other epithets, do we call it a nod to historical accuracy, or is it something more pernicious, a way of vicariously enjoying bygone racism?

I haven’t found tidy answers to these questions, but I’ve enjoyed watching the Jews of Boardwalk blast their away across the screen, even as I sometimes wince at their hackneyed Yiddish accents. Jewish gangsters were big machers in the bootlegging era, and chief among them in the HBO series is Arnold Rothstein, who was also known for fixing the 1919 World Series. Michael Stuhlberg—who starred as the sad sack Larry Gopnik in the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man—plays Arnold Rothstein as a courtly but dangerous powerbroker, an inveterate gambler but a deeply cerebral and successful one, with a sociopath’s dead-eyed smile.

His deputies are Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky, the latter played by Anatol Yusef. The real-life Lansky didn’t even crack five feet, and his HBO incarnation isn’t much taller. Yusef’s Lansky is streetwise and good at talking himself out of squirrely situations, but his voice—all rounded vowels and Yiddish street theater, it overflows with “oy veys”—can grate. It’s a sign of how parody can come to replace the real thing. A linguist might be able to rate Yusef’s accuracy, but otherwise, he resembles the ye olde New York accents we all take on when imitating our elderly grandparents.

For a study in contrasts in Jewish power, you couldn’t ask for a better pair than Agent Eric Sebso and Manny Horvitz. Played by William Forsythe (whose accent is of the fresh-off-the-boat variety), Horvitz is a burly, silver-eyed butcher who, after surviving a shotgun blast from a would-be assassin, kills the intruder with a cleaver to the skull. Forsythe carries himself with tremendous physicality; he has that heft that could conceal a pack of hard-earned muscle or just the residue of too many years feasting on brisket. He reminded me of Flannery O’Connor’s description of a diner owner in A Good Man Is Hard to Find: his belly looks “like a sack of meal swaying under his shirt.”

By the end of Season 2, Horvitz has thrown his lot in with Nucky Thompson, the show’s main protagonist and anti-hero, played by Steve Buscemi. I couldn’t tell you quite how Horvitz got to that position, as Boardwalk Empire is so filled with deals and counter-deals, many of them never consummated, that it’s often difficult to tell who owes whom money and who wants whom dead. The show is, frankly, a bit of a mess, with a couple dozen characters forming a spiderweb of relationships. But Boardwalk Empire is also like Horvitz: brash, violent, often witty and menacing, and steeped in an old-world charm.

Pour out some Manischewitz for Agent Sebso, who never really stood a chance in this rogues’ gallery. Sebso (Erik Weiner) is a government agent charged with enforcing prohibition in Atlantic County. He’s partnered with Agent Nelson Van Alden, a fanatically religious Christian whose profound discomfort with Atlantic City (“Sodom by the sea”) leads actor Michael Shannon to new frontiers in bitter beer face. Sebso isn’t so clean himself—he’s secretly on Nucky Thompson’s payroll and kills a witness on his orders—but his default mode is simpering and pathetic.

In the penultimate episode of Season 1, after Van Alden has begun to cast doubts about Sebso’s role in the death of the witness, Sebso asks how he might regain his partner’s trust. “Repent,” Van Alden replies, leaving the Jewish Sebso baffled. Later, the two are investigating a still in the woods, where they stumble upon a black church group conducting baptismal rites in the river. Filled with fundamentalist fury, Van Alden repeatedly dunks Sebso in the river, demanding that he repent. One dunking goes on for too long and Sebso drowns. Van Alden is shaken but convinced that he’s committed a godly act.

This is one of the most extraordinary scenes Boardwalk has produced. It works so well, in part, because the show’s frequent displays of violence tend to be so bloody, the camera focusing on a slit throat gushing blood or showing us each pounding as a man’s face collapses in on itself. Here the death is visceral but not exploitative, atavistic without being pornographic in its bloodlust. Instead, Agent Sebso’s death reveals the show’s deep religiosity. For all of its characters’ waxing about loyalty and building criminal empires, Boardwalk Empire is, at heart, about faith versus reason, puritanism versus individual freedom. Agent Sebso dies, in a sense, because he is Jewish—he literally can’t repent, he is beyond baptism—but also because his corruption is too simple, making him a natural sacrificial lamb. He doesn’t have the loquacious swagger of Meyer Lansky, the debonair menace of Arnold Rothstein, or the brutish presence of Manny Horvitz. In a show obsessed with re-enacting out America’s sordid history, Sebso is only a footnote.

Related: Vigor Juice [Tablet Magazine]

The post Culture Kvetch: The Jews of HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’ appeared first on Jewcy.

• Fun facts from the New Yorker’s eight pages on Scooter Braun: before he discovered Justin Bieber, the Greenwich-bred Braun’s childhood comic book hero was Superman, who he calls “the Jewish superhero.”

• Toni Braxton discovered her grandmother was Jewish after she made a comment about having to be home by sundown, presumably on a Friday.

• The Winklevoss twins celebrated their birthday at hip downtown kosher joint Jezebel. Guess we should add them to our list of the Five People You’ll See at Jezebel.

• The New York Post reports that Rachel Zoe’s clothing line and Bravo reality show, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” are not doing so well these days.

• Is new reality show Honey Boo Boo a “reflection of the classic immigrant experience?” Rachel Shukert says yes.

• Catch an early glimpse of the impending Downton Abbey diva-off as Shirley Maclaine, who plays Cora’s Long Island-bred mother, comes to Downton for a visit.

Watch Downton Abbey, Season 3: A Scene from Episode 1 on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

The post Daily Jewce: Toni Braxton’s Jewish Roots, Winklevoss Twins Dine at Jezebel appeared first on Jewcy.

• Debra Messing’s on and off-screen love interest, Smash co-star Will Chase, met her parents.

• “I feel like my acting is always on the border between creepy and charming”, says Jason Segel, who wants to be creepier.

• So long, Jew Pond.

• Jerusalem, I Love You will feature 10 stories about love in the holy city, one of which will be directed by Footnote’s Joseph Cedar.

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