What is Kishke anyway?

There is no one type of Jewish food. But when you try to picture Jewish food, you most likely imagine Americanized versions of Ashkenazi—Jews of Eastern European and Germanic heritage—foods. Matzo ball soup, bagels, lox...America has clearly benefited culinarily from our exile. But unless you grew up as an Ashkenazi Jew, you probably don't know what kishke is. Alongside chopped liver and gefilte fish, it is one of those economical peasant foods that you would never think about eating unless you grew up with it. It's like...a dense, fatty rich matzo meal meatball that goes in or next to soup. I always thought kishkes meant "guts" because it is used that way colloquially. At one point kishke was stuffed into intestines, so I guess that is where the association comes from. Maybe one day I will include a kishke recipe to earn the name I chose.