The late dh and I differed on the chicken soup - based on our heritage - his Jewish style with a parsnip and mine Italian style with parsley sprigs and a tomato. I surprised him once by making matzo balls. I used the recipe on the matzo meal box and made them about the size of Italian meat balls...had NO idea that they would swell and grow...ended up being HUGE - like baseball size... He commented on how large they were - but ate them and seemed happy. He made them stuffed with a little carmelized onions. They were soooo good. -maria

Well, I just finished cooking them, and I think that in the future (unless I am pressed for time) I will always refrigerate the dough overnight, or at least a lot longer than the half hour or so I've been doing. The dough was MUCH easier to handle, so the balls were nice and neat; very little "crumbs" in the water when I was done (and that was 60 matzo balls). I'm not going to freeze them; I imagine the quality would be slightly better, if at all, if I did, but I don't want to guess about frozen centers. This way I can take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature on Monday and then put them right into the bowls as we serve the soup. The soup won't get messy and the balls won't soak it up. (I don't need them to do that for flavor, because I made them with schmaltz.) They are in a glass bowl with a cover. I don't care if they lose some roundness. The only thing I'm a bit worried about is them sticking together so much that I will mess them up as I try to spoon them out of the bowl. What do you think about pouring hot or warm water over them shortly before serving?

Here you go and all you have to do to get Ann's wonderful cookbook is ask her. She shares. You might try emailing through GW. Tracey Bagels ====== Source: Hors d'oeuvres Cook Book. I have typed it exactly how the recipe is printed in the book. If you have a bread machine or kitchenaide by all means use it to do most of the kneading. I always like to finish the kneading by hand. You can also make these in to normal size bagels. I have used this recipe for over 20 years. I have tried other recipes but this is my favourite one. 2 cups warm water 2 packages active dry yeast 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon salt about 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted 3 quarts water with 1 tablespoon of sugar Cornmeal 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water about 2 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds. . Stir together water and yeast in large bowl of electric mixer; let stand 5 minutes to soften yeast. Stir in the Sugar and Salt. Gradually mix in 4 cups of the flour and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. With a spoon, stir in about 1 1/4 cups more flour to make a stiff dough. turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky, (about 15 minutes); add more flour as needed to prevent sticking - dough should be firmer than for most other yeast breads. Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until almost doubled ( about 40 minutes to 1 hour). Punch dough down and divide into thirds. Set 2/3 of dough aside on a floured board; cover with clear plastic. form remaining 1/3 dough in a log and cut into 16 equal pieces. To shape, knead each piece into small ball and poke thumbs through centre. With one thumb in hole (hole should be at least 1/2 inch) work fingers around perimeter, shaping ball into a small donutlike shape about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place bagels on a floured board or tray and let stand 20 minutes. Bring water-sugar mixture to a boil in a 4 to 5 quart pan; adjust heat to keep it boiling gently. Lightly grease a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Lift bagels carefully and drop into water (about 6 at a time) boil gently for 1 minute turning only once (30 seconds each side). Lift out with slotted spoon and drain very briefly on paper towels, and place on baking sheet. Brush with 1/3 of the egg yolk glaze, sprinkle with seeds and bake in a 400° oven for 20 minutes or until richly browned. cool on racks. Repeat with remaining 2/3 dough (you may need to punch it down before shaping,) working with 1/3 at a time. Makes 48 cocktail size bagels.

Okay, here you go. Chicken soup with matzo balls is traditional for Pesach (Passover), but our family, like many families, eat matzo balls in our chicken soup all year round, and chicken soup for Sabbath as well as other holidays. I know scientists disagree, but all I can tell you is that this "Jewish penicillin" really does work for us when we are sick! (Matzo balls optional) Some cooks add dill, parsnips, garlic, etc. -- use whatever you like, but make sure to use a KOSHER chicken and to cook it a LONG time. Hamentaschen are cookies for the holiday of Purim, which celebrates the story told in the Book of Esther. Some people use a yeast dough; this is a cookie-dough recipe. "Hamentaschen" means "Haman's pockets" in Yiddish (Haman is the villain of the story), although I was always told they resembled his three-corner hat. In Israel, they call these cookies "Oznei Haman" -- "Haman's ears"! Poppy is the most traditional filling, and prune and apricot are also very popular, but you can use any flavor you want. I've even seen them with chocolate or peanut butter. Just DON'T use jam instead of filling and DON'T try to puree dried prunes if the store is out of prune filling -- don't ask me how I know! Genuine Jewish Mother Chicken Soup (Eat! Eat!) 1 large cut-up kosher (tastes MUCH better, even if you don't keep kosher; if you can't find one, use organic) chicken, preferably a pullet 1 onion, peeled 2 stalks celery, scraped, no leaves, cut into sticks 2 big carrots, scraped, cut into sticks about 2 T salt a few generous grinds of pepper Put chicken in pot and fill with water to about an inch from top. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and skim. Add everything else, cover, and simmer a LONG time -- at least 1 1/2 hour, but up to 6-7 is better. Discard onion. Remove chicken and save for another use (or you can put some of it back in the soup). If it cooked down too much, add more water to at least half-fill the pot after chicken is removed; don't worry, it will still have the rich chicken flavor. I like the carrots and celery in the soup, but you do what you want. You can strain the soup if you want it to look perfect and aren't in a hurry. If you make it the night before and chill it, you can remove the fat (and save it for cooking), but leave a little for flavor. Serve with matzo balls (below), kreplach, noodles, or rice. Matzo balls 2 T schmaltz* or oil 2 lg eggs, slightly beaten c matzo meal 1 t salt, optional 2 T water (or chicken soup, if you are using oil) Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes. Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low and add balls (wet hands). Cover and cook 30-40 minutes. *Schmaltz is rendered chicken fat. You can buy it frozen in a kosher food section or make your own. In a pinch you can use fat skimmed from the soup (in which case you may need less water). You can use oil, and your cardiologist will approve, but it won't taste as good! Hamentaschen ¾ c sugar ½ c butter or margarine 1 egg 2 T milk 1 t vanilla 2 c flour 2 t baking powder poppy, prune, apricot or your choice of pastry filling (2 ½ - 3 12 oz. cans for a double recipe) In mixer bowl, beat together sugar and butter till light & fluffy. Add egg, milk & vanilla; beat well. Combine flour & baking powder; stir into creamed mixture. Cover & refrigerate dough 1 hour. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut with 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter or juice glass. Top each with ½ t fruit or poppy or prune filling. Shape into triangles by lifting up edges & pinching dough together to make 3 corners. Leave center open. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; bake in preheated 350 oven for 10-12 minutes. (My first batch usually takes a little longer.) Remove from sheet; cool on rack. Make 2 ½ - 3 dozen. (I always double recipe)