My husband Bill has been telling me about his aunt Rifka and her asbestos hands for as long as we’ve known each other. He claims there was no pot so hot she couldn’t pick it up barehanded. (This amazing ability seems just slightly less amazing to me since I went to cooking school and developed some heat resistance of my own.) He also used to brag about his aunt’s delicious flying discs. I always wondered just what the heck they were and decided to find out when I started on my first book.

Rifka Silverberg Mellen was actually Bill’s great aunt-his mother’s mother’s older sister. She and Uncle Peter lived upstairs from Esther and her folks in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, where the whole family flourished after fleeing Odessa in the first decade of the twentieth century. It turns out that Rifka’s flying disks are nothing more exotic than matzo balls formed into silver dollar-sized disks and served in brisket gravy instead of chicken soup. Contrary to the image called up by their Space Age sobriquet, flying discs are not exactly lighter than air. In truth, they are dense and heavy. It’s more accurate (if considerably less glamorous) to call them sinkers, which is what Bill’s aunt Yetta called hers. Whatever. They’re scrumptious.

Serves 8 to 10

For the brisket:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
One 4 to 5 pound beef brisket, preferably flat cut with a 1/4-inch layer of fat left on
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ cup tomato paste
3 cups dry red wine
2 bay leaves, preferably Turkish
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart chicken stock

For the flying disks:
¼ cup chicken stock
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup matzo meal

Preheat the oven to 300 F. and set a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Prepare the brisket. Heat the oil in a large casserole or Dutch oven over medium high heat until hot. Season the brisket on both sides with salt and pepper and add it to the Dutch oven, skin side down. (Note: you may need to cut the brisket in half and brown it in two batches.) Turn the heat down to medium and brown the brisket on both sides. Transfer the brisket to a plate and add the onions to the Dutch oven. Cook them, covered, over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until they are very soft. Remove the lid and continue to cook them, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the wine, bring it to a boil and simmer until it is reduced to 1 cup. Add the bay leaves, thyme and chicken broth and bring the liquid to a boil. Return the brisket to the Dutch oven, along with any juices on the plate. Cover the complete surface of the brisket and the liquid with a piece of parchment paper, put a tight lid on the Dutch oven, and bake the brisket on the rack for 5 to 6 hours or until a knife when inserted into the meat goes in with no resistance.

Meanwhile, make the disks. Whisk the stock, eggs, oil and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the matzo meal to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working with slightly mounded tablespoons of the dough, use wet hands to form the dough into disks about 11/2 inches wide and 1/2-inch thick. You should have about 18 disks. Drop them into the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and simmer until the disks are puffy and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer them with a slotted spoon to a bowl and let them cool. Cover tightly and chill.

When the brisket is done, remove the parchment and the lid, and let it cool. Transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to a bowl and chill, covered with plastic wrap overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 F. Scoop off and discard any fat that has congealed on the surface of the cooking liquid. Remove the brisket from the liquid, slice it into 1/3- inch slices against the grain. Add the disks to the Dutch oven, put the sliced brisket on top, pour the liquid over it and cover the surface with a piece of parchment paper. Put the Dutch oven on top of the stove, bring the liquid to a boil, transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and heat the brisket for 30 minutes or until it is hot.

To serve – transfer some of the brisket slices and a few disks to each plate, and spoon some of the cooking liquid over it. If you are not keeping kosher serve also with the horseradish sauce.

HORSERADISH SAUCE – IF YOU ARE NOT KEEPING KOSHER (THIS IS DAIRY):  
1/2 cup horseradish, finely grated fresh (or drained prepared)
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh chives, snipped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
kosher salt and freshly ground black to taste
ground black pepper, to taste

Mix horseradish, vinegar, sour cream, chives, snipped and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Stir well to blend and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.   You should have about 1 cup