"Gefilte Fish Chronicles" Returns to WSBE

(Re-post of an earlier blog about this annual favorite among WSBE viewers)

With all the wonderful chaos of preparing for a large gathering of extended family, The Gefilte Fish Chronicles honors the rich tradition of Pesach (Passover) with an intimate and candid look at the Dubroff family preparing for Seder.

But don't be misled - no matter what your heritage is, you will find your own family members among these charming and feisty storytellers.

The story began in 1904, when Abe and Minnie Dubroff emigrated from Russia to Brooklyn where they raised seven daughters and a son. For a century, the family has gathered at Passover and celebrated the Seder together, first in Brooklyn, then in Boonton, New Jersey. For the last four decades, Passover has been celebrated in Newburgh, New York.

"Don't Just Stand There… Cook!"

Led by the three surviving sisters, Sophie Patasnik, Peppy Barer, and Rosie Groman, traditional preparations are made for the Seder at Peppy's home in Newburgh. Six weeks before the Seder they shop and chop, taste and season. Using recipes nearly a century old, they begin to put together the gefilte fish, cholent, horse radish, and sponge cake.

"Don't Just Sit There… Eat!"

The Gefilte Fish Chronicles is a funny, touching, and universally familiar story of love, of tradition, and of generational family unity - and it's reality television the way it should be. This is a loving, living photo album.

"I've heard it said many times, and it's the truth:
The family that sits around the table together,
stays together. And we have many tables."

Peppy Barer

The Gefilte Fish Chronicles returns to WSBE Rhode Island PBS on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 8 p.m., with rebroadcasts on Friday, April 15 at 12:30 a.m.; Sunday, April 17 at 10 p.m.; and Tuesday, April 19 at 2:30 a.m.

WSBE Rhode Island PBS transmits over the air on digital channel 36.1; on subscription television, it's Cox /Verizon /Full Channel 08 (Massachusetts cable subscribers should check local cable listings), Dish 7776, and DirecTV 36.