I don't know yet. Our vegetarian son is living with us so we will want to do dairy. It is a challenge for me to think of nice holiday dishes that are dairy - at least desserts will be easy. Veggie lasagna has been my standby but I'd like to vary that.

A friend always hosts a pot luck for break fast after Yom Kippur and I usually bring a bread pudding and a rice pudding.

Our Havurah will be with us for Sukkot which will be over 20. I know that I want to do some kind of fall soup. Maybe pumpkin or squash and maybe something kind of spicy. I came across some Sephardic recipes when doing the North African dinner that might be interesting.

Carol, I'm waiting to see what great recipes everyone posts, and then I'm making that!

I've gotten some family favorites off these threads, although I'm not Jewish (well, I know you adopted me, but still....).

Doesn't matter, there's some darned fine cooking going on in these threads and I'm solidly behind that.

Annie

Aye yai yai let me get thinking. Its right around the corner!

Aunt Sadie's chicken for sure (thanks for the reminder Alexa)

I'm up to my eyeballs in getting ready for school to start, and I haven't finihsed my Hawaii 'blog' yet...

MIL's for dinner first night, which means absolutely no cooking for me. Friend's house for dinner second night, waiting to hear what she needs me to bring so I'm sure I'll come back HERE when I'm ready to get ideas.

Yom Kippur, I usually make a very simple chicken dish, chicken soup, and then something VEG for Ben, he'll have to put in his request.

Break the fast is Quiche & bagels & lox if we stay home. Sometimes we go to a friend's house in which case I'll bring egg salad, or some other simple dish.

For me, food at Yom Kippur should be very simple and easy on the stomach so I don't do anything elaborate.

Can't believe we're already at the High Holidays again!

Nice to see the same familiar names (including Annie's) gathering together again!

I usually make roast beef or roast chicken, but this year DH is on a soft diet because of dental problems, so the options are restricted. Maybe I'll make a noodle kugel with apples and cottage cheese and serve it as the main dish. I made one recently, but the top got too crispy/chewy for him to manage; next time, I'll keep it covered while it bakes.

I'll be watching this thread for ideas, especially for side dishes.

It's just us two, plus DS, so I don't need to do anything fancy, but it's fun to make a special effort sometimes.

Sue

First, I have to get through my son's wedding in SF next week. Then I will deal with the holiday.My mind is blank. We go to a friend's house for Rosh Hashanah but we share the cooking. I have some baking done for the Break the Fast- a carrot cake and some toffee cookies. I can't believe how soon it will be here. I will make a list on the plane.

Mazel tov on your son's wedding, Barbara!

Whew, we're invited to break the fast at a friend's house. They've invited my parents as well. Will seem strange, I always done both holidays, but it'll be very nice to be a guest!

Did my shopping. Four big briskets, Chicken wings, ground beef, loads of onions. Spending all day tomorrow making the briskets and the fricassee. Next week I'll make the soup!

I don't want this thread to go out of business, but here's a veritable cookbook of recipes contributed by members of the Jewish blogosphere.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Kosher Cooking Meta-Carnival

Does anyone have a fabulous recipe to share for farfel casserole?

Thanks so much.

Here are the briskets sliced and cooled, they are now in ziplocs and in the freezer. Tomorrow is the fricassee!

{{gwi:1549630}}

Happygram, I make a farfel kugel by just sauteeing up lots and lots of onions and mushrooms with salt and pepper, and soak the matzoh farfel in chicken soup to soften it up a little, and mix it all together with the mushroom onion mixture, and a couple eggs with salt and pepper. Then bake it at 350, covered with foil, for about 45 minutes, then take the foil off and bake uncovered until the top is lightly browned!

Bringing this back up to the top. I've been so busy at work lately (where I do the vast majority of my forum activities) that I have had very little time to read stuff much less contribute.

In the meantime, it looks like Rosh Hashana is going to be the "let's eat at someone else's house" holiday this year. Wed night dinner at MIL's, Thursday night at a friend's and Friday afternoon at a different friend's.

I need a dairy or parve potato dish for Thurs night so if anyone has any great recipes I'd love to see them.

Oh wow look what I found in my files.

Recipe from Ren Adler Ascher's kitchen

Chocolate Chocolate-chip Honey Cake

Source: Andra Karnofsky
Yield: One parve cake
Time: 1hour 30 minutes from start to finish
Equipment: 1 loaf pan 9 x 5 (R.A. note: I used a heavy aluminum pan, but if using
a dark pan, lower temperature by 25Â and check for doneness 15
minutes sooner)

Ingredients:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate [such as Ghiardelli, or other high-quality found in baking
section of better food emporiums]
2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour [measure after loosening flour by stirring with a spoon
and spoon into dry measuring cup usually metal]
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil [I like to use canola, it¹s very neutral; I buy mine at health
food stores so as to obtain oil processed without transfatty oils. By the way, I often
cook with canola too in place of other fats. One brand that I like is Spectrum]
3/4 cup honey
2/3 cup light brown sugar [packed down into cup]
1/2 cup orange juice [fresh, about one good sized orange]
1 cup mini chocolate chips [I used Nestle¹s], divide [3/4 cup & 1/4 cup]

Instructions:
... Put oven rack on lower rack of oven & preheat to 350Â
... Melt chocolate in microwave for about 1 minute, stir and set aside
... Grease the loaf pan [ I used the oil]
... Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon into a bowl, set aside. [a strainer works well here, one time is enough]
... In a larger bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk, add the oil and honey, whisk after each, add the brown sugar [break up any hard lumps first], then the melted chocolate. Mix well.
... Alternately, add the dry ingredients and the orange juice [add dry three times with O.J. twice in-between]. Mix well.
... Stir in the 3/4 cup of chocolate chips
... Pour into loaf pan. Gently bang pan onto counter to remove any large air pockets. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of chips.
... Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
... Cool on rack for 15 minutes. Gentle run a knife around the edges to loosen, and remove carefully, allow to cool on rack. [Note: cake will still be quite warm and chocolate chips on top will be soft. What I did was sort of slide it out on the long side so that it didn¹t really invert.

[made for the first time for Rosh Hashanah 2002]

Jessy: Does Next Wed. the 12th ( Rosh Hashanah ) start the Holiday's ???
I can be Jewish for a day. I'll have Lox and Bagels, with
Cream Cheese and Onion.

Maybe I'll make some Salmon Cakes for Supper.
How's that sound

LOU

Any suggestions for a lunch after Rosh Hashanah morning services? Our chavurah has always done dinner post-RH (we're Reform, so we celebrate only 1 day), but this year we are doing lunch right after morning services, so I need to make something that can travel and will be ok in a cooler for a few hours. I could wimp out and just buy bagels & cream cheese, but I'd rather not. Any ideas?

(Lou, sorry, I didn't see your post! I LOVE your menu, I'm coming over.)

brachl: (nice username, grin) how about the tried and true blintz casserole or a noodle kugel

We try to keep it very simple, because my husband is the cantor at a big synagogue, and I don't want to have to ask him for any help when he is so busy. Also, because we obviously cannot be flexible on start and end times for meals, we don't usually invite many guests (or receive many invitations!) for RH and YK.

There will be 10-11 of us this year.

- apples & honey & challa
- Chicken soup with knedlach
- Brisket -- I'm trying a different recipe this year; a tzimmes with yams, potatoes, fruit, etc., from a really good cookbook my brother-in-law gave me
- kasha varnishkes
- some kind of green vegetable; I'll see what looks good at the market -- possibly green beans in raspberry vinaigrette (cold)

apple cake
honey cake

Can you say, "full-bore Ashkenazi traditional"? :-) I didn't even realize what a cliche this menu was until I wrote it out here.

I have always tried to make pretty much the same menu every year for RH, Passover, and that other famous Jewish holiday, Tenksgivink. I sort of wanted my children to grow up knowing what each holiday "tastes like." Now that they are 21 and 18, though, maybe I can start being a little more creative sometimes! I should take advantage of the all-adults window I have before there are grandchildren ...

I think I know what I'm doing. We had a busy weekend and last week, so I haven't been able to focun until now.

Chopped Liver with veggies
Chicken soup with won ton
braised short ribs
breaded chicken breasts (for the kids and a friend who can't eat red meat)
roasted potatoes
2 vegetables (I'm still up in the air on those)

Chocolate cake
Fruit salad

Same menu both days. Actually, since it's just my MIL the first night (can't mix MIL with others), I may get some store bought cookies for dessert that night.

Oh crap. I just realized that she'll be sleeping over, so I have to figure out what to serve for lunch as well. Maybe I'll serve dairy for lunch.

Jessica, as usual, I'm making your tzimmes on Wednesday. Elery will be here for supper and he's never had them, but one DIL is Jewish so if he likes them, I'll give him the recipe. (grin)

That chocolate chip cake of Renee's looks really good, though.

Annie

Hi all,

I'm usually on the Kitchen or Home Decorating boards, but I've gotten myself into a bind and thought I'd come here for inspiration.

We moved into our new house in a new town several months ago. In the past we were lucky enough to be "guests" in DH's more religious sisters' houses for the holidays. And although I bring side dishes, I have never made brisket or chicken soup. I know; the shame.

Although we're still not really ready to entertain, we took the plunge and invited DH's work friends for lunch on RH. (It's not a very Jewish area but these friends are Jewish.) While I usually think of lunch as lighter fare, I recently learned that, in this area, RH lunch is more like dinner: chicken soup, brisket, etc.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I try to make brisket? (I made one once but ruined it when I cut it incorrectly.) To make it more complicated, DH and I are following a food combining diet so we can't have fruit or nuts.

Thanks for any help! Oh, and Happy New Year!

Here's a recipe for Roasted Root Vegetables that is great--if you can stand all the chopping. (That's why it's a perfect dish for a guest to bring.) I skip the butter and green onions. Enjoy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Roasted Root Vegetables

And here's a recipe for Roasted Brussel Sprouts from Arthur Schwartz, the Food Maven:

To roast Brussels sprouts, which is the way I have been cooking them this season, cut the cleaned sprouts in half through their stem ends. Place on a baking sheet. (A one-pint box fits nicely in a 10-inch pie plate.) Drizzle the sprouts with a tablespoon or so of extra-virgin olive oil and salt to taste. (A neat tablespoon is enough for one pint.) Toss the sprouts in the oil with the salt. Arrange the spouts so that they are all flat-side down.

Place in a preheated 400-degree oven and roast for 15 minutes for smallish sprouts, a few minutes longer for large ones.

The flat side of the sprouts should get somewhat brown.

Eat hot or at room temperature.

meg,
Like you I had never made a brisket in my life until I had Passover at my house three years ago. I found it to be very easy and delicious. I got this recipe from someone on the kitchen forum at that time and I've now made it a few times with great success.

BRISKET Posted by: MOM23cali (My Page) on Mon, Apr 11, 05 at 7:41

Ok- I make this from memory- It was my Mom's recipe year after year all my life.She did not cook with exact measurements:
1 3-5lb thin cut brisket
1 or 2 spanish onions
1 bottle heinz ketchup
1 cup Heavy Malaga Kosher Wine
1 box granulated brown sugar

coat the brisket in flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder and brown in skillet with olive oil

slice onions and lay MOST of them in glass baking pan
combine the ketchup, wine and brown sugar -stirring well
pour small amount over onions
place brisket ontop of onions and sprinkle remaining onions over top
pour remaining sauce to cover entire brisket
cover TIGHTLY with aluminum foil and bake at 325 degree oven for 5-6 hours
uncover for last 30-40 minutes
let cool about 15-20 mins. and slice
serve sliced with sauce and onions on top!

Also, do a search for Passover on this forum. The two threads from this year's holiday are still out there and have lots of great recipes & ideas.

May

Thanks for the vegetable recipes Meg. They look great.

May is right. Brisket is easy. I love it because you can make it well in advance.

Here's a recipe I love, I forgot to add it to my list.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar Pecan topping

Thanks for that brisket recipe lowspark. It looks delicious but DH (and I) aren't allowed to have that sugar or wine. So I did a search on Arthur Schartz's website and he has the following recipe. Best of all, there's no sugar or anything else forbidden as far as I can tell. As crazy as it seems, I think I'll try it tomorrow. And if it doesn't work out, we can go to plan B (which involves DH grilling).

His Recipe:

For the 10-pound piece of whole brisket, I followed these directions exactly. (Such a sizable piece of meat should make at least 20 servings.)

2 very large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 8 to 10-pound brisket

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 pounds onions, halved and sliced

3 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds

2 large, outside ribs celery, sliced 1/4-inch thick

4 small bay leaves

1. Rub 1 chopped clove of garlic into each side of the meat.

2. Salt and pepper the meat on both sides.

3. Spread the onions, carrots and celery on the bottom of the pan. Put the meat over the vegetables. Put 2 bay leaves under the meat, 2 on top of the meat.

4. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook in a preheated 350-degree oven for 4 hours, until meat is just tender.

5. Let meat rest 20 minutes, then slice: Cut the second cut off of the first cut and trim off and discard the layer of fat between them. Slice both cuts across the grain, either straight down or at a slight diagonal angle. Skim any fat off the juices left in the pan, and serve the onions and vegetables with the juices as a sauce for both the meat and any starch accompaniment. If desired, you can puree some of the vegetables to make a thicker sauce.

6. If preparing ahead for serving another day, refrigerate until several hours before serving time. Skim hardened fat off the surface of the liquid that has collected around the meat, and off the surface of the meat. Allow the meat to come to room temperature before final heating.

7. About an hour before serving, using a long-bladed, preferably serrated knife (I use a bread knife), slice the meat about 1/4-inch thick. It will require a sawing motion and a strong arm. Do not disturb the conformation of the meat. Return the meat to the roasting pan as if it was still a whole brisket.

8. Baste with pan juices and heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting a few times during that period. The surface of the meat should have browned nicely, and the slices of meat should be heated through and fork tender. Trim excess fat off the meat on the plate, as it is eaten.

9. Serving suggestion: Serve with kasha (buckwheat groats): Follow the directions on the back of the box, and top each helping with onions and juices from the pot roast. Or prepare kasha varnishkes: cooked buckwheat groats tossed with bow-tie macaroni and flavored with sauteed onions. Or serve with mashed potatoes flavored with schmaltz (chicken fat) and, if available, gribenes (the cracklings and blackened onions left from rendering the chicken fat), also topped with pan juices and onions. A green vegetable is up to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arthur Schwartz's brisket recipe

Meg, the main trick with brisket is to cook it long enough.
I normally slice with a nice sharp regular carving or chef's knife, not a serrated one. After 4 hours at 350, it should slice pretty easily with a properly sharp knife.

My DIL and I just settled the Rosh HaShannah first night dinner -
Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad - because carrots symbolize a sweet and fruitful year to come.
Roasted Tomato Soup - because the tomato bushes are heavily burdened and everyone really liked it when I made it before.
Morrocan Vegetable Stew for Couscous - also a traditional Rosh HaShanah dish according to "Olive Trees and Honey"
Couscous with Onion Raisin topping.

Maybe I'll also do Sephardic Chickpea Salad or maybe we will have that second night.

I'll also be making a carrot cake to take to Rosh Shannah lunch with our Havurah.

I'm starting to pull together the Sukkot Shabbat dinner which we will be co-hosting with a vegetarian couple for our Havurah. I suggested that we select recipes from several areas from Olive Trees and Honey and she is enthusiastic. I hope our Havurah likes it.

Just a brisket cutting aside - I find that if you let the cooked brisket get cold it will be much easier to slice. The meat is so tender, that if it's too warm it will fall apart when you slice it.

For all of you serving hot meals when you get back from temple, what is the secret to getting everything warmed up quickly? If all goes according to plan, I'll have brisket, a chicken dish, potato kugel, and two veggies, all of which will be cooked in advance so they'll be COLD (like straight out of the fridge cold).

How long does it take to get everything hot again? And do we just plan to eat appetizers while everything is getting warm? Or do I have to leave temple early to get everything done?

I'd love to hear your routines. Thanks!

Sorry for hijacking the thread with the above logistics question. I'll start a new thread so that this one can be more for menu ideas and recipes.