Jewish Penicillin

I tried out a new Italian restaurant last night: Ghidottis. b-lo accompanied me. We had an excellent server and he really pushed the chicken noodle soup. Not generally one to fall for "suggestive selling," on this occasion I gave in. And he was right: the soup was excellent. When waiter came to our table to inquire as to whether we were enjoying the soup, "I said, 'It's excellent! My compliments to the Jews in the kitchen.'" He laughed knowingly, however b-lo was mortified. Although Food Network is her preferred television channel, she wasn't aware of the fact that Jewish people are noted for chicken noodle soup. How did I know? Maybe I learned it from Jackie Mason. Anyway, here is proof that I wasn't out of line with my commment:

From Wikipedia:

"The soup is often associated with European Jewish cuisine, in which chicken soup is the basis for several traditional holiday courses, such as chicken soup with matzah balls for Passover. Although poverty was rampant in the shtetl, chicken-raising required little land or financial investment[1]. Every Jewish family would try to acquire at least one chicken in honor of the Shabbat meals, and would try to stretch it as far as it would go. Thus, every part of the chicken was used, leading to the creation of such dishes as p'tcha (chicken feet), pupiks (roasted gizzards), chopped liver (chicken liver), stuffed hezel (chicken neck), and schmaltz and greben (chicken fat and cracklings made from the fat and the skins). Chicken soup also proved to be a "recyclable" dish. Parts of the chicken—especially the breasts, which produce a more delicate flavor during the boiling process—were boiled as chicken soup and then reused afterwards in such dishes as kreplach, knishes, and blintzes. Tortelloni-like Kreplach are traditionally added to the soup on the eve of Yom Kippur. Lokshen (flat egg noodles) are also a favorite Jewish addition to chicken soup. A lesser known garnish is unlaid chicken eggs, removed from the ovaries of a laying chicken. Herbs traditionally served with Jewish chicken soup are parsley and dill.

Chicken soup is sometimes referred to as 'Jewish penicillin'."