Wishing You a Sweet New Year!

Frances Maggin's Applesauce Cake - the recipe comes with a great story!

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown on Wednesday. It is a time of joy and anticipation, as well as an opportunity for consideration and reflection.

It's traditional to usher in the new year with apples and honey and other treats, in hopes of a sweet new year. So here are some of my favorite holiday recipes, which I hope you'll enjoy - for Rosh Hashanah, for breaking the fast after Yom Kippur, to celebrate fall, or just 'cause ... :)

Shanah Tovah! [shah-NAH toh-VAH]


Frances Maggin's Applesauce Cake

Pomegranate Molasses-Glazed Carrots

Helen's Apple Cake (Craig's mother's recipe)

Southern Honey Cake

Apple Almond Kugel (one of my most requested recipes)

Challah

Cider-Braised Chicken (Jeremy's favorite chicken dish)

Quince-Glazed Baked Yams

Honey Cakes with Caramel Frosting

Sauteed Apples a la Mode

Applesauce Bars

Vanilla Cakes with Caramelized Bananas (pictured above)

Sugar Cookies

Banana Oatmeal Pie

Grilled Brie with Cherries and Almonds

Orange, Date and Almond Salad

Southern Honey Cake for Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish new year - began last night at sundown.  While December 31st is an utterly secular celebration - champagne, someone special to kiss at midnight, noisemakers, confetti, designated drivers - this is an occasion both for joy and for introspection.

As John Lennon sang in "Happy Xmas (War is Over):

And so this is Christmas and what have you done?
Another year over, and a new one just begun.

Well, just change that Christian holiday to this Jewish one, and the question is the same.  Universal truth.

What have you done - accomplished, succeeded at, failed at, tried to do, not worked sufficiently hard at, disregarded, excelled at?  What have you done - been generous, been unkind, been helpful, been curt, been patient, been understanding?  What have you done - taken from the universe, given back to it?

Each of us has done every one of these things.  We've all tried, we've all had moments where we gave all we had, we've all had times when we were filled with regret.  That's life.  That's our humanity showing, frail, fragile, and fallible creatures that we are.

5772 was a remarkably good year for me, after the "annus horribilis" of 5771.  I had - dare I say it? - fun!  A speaking engagement that led to membership in a group of wonderful women ... an exciting writing assignment for culinary historians ... three judging gigs (and an invitation for a fourth, this Thursday) ... valuable and critical time with Jeremy and with beloved friends, attending seders and services, playing Mahj, just chatting over dinner or a cup of coffee.  And I've welcomed new friends into my extended family.

I'm slowly reclaiming the condo I moved to last fall after Jeremy and his dad moved out, painting it a lovely shade of yellow with plans to make the kitchen fabulously festive with red cabinets.  I'm also making it my own with whimsical touches like a rubber duckie collection in the half-bathroom.  My cookbooks are back on shelves, readily accessible, after being boxed up for most of the year before.

My health has been good, after being diagnosed the previous year with high blood pressure.  Although I've always gone for long walks, I've taken to riding the bus and then walking a mile to/from the bus stop to get either to work or to home.  Let someone else deal with the orange barrels and with the college students whose sense of immortality leads them to walking directly in front of my 2000-pound Suburban; I'll get my exercise, thank you, while reducing my stress levels.

I'm proud to say that I've met every single deadline for my numerous projects - daily deadlines, weekly deadlines, monthly deadlines - no matter what is going on in my life.  It's a matter of honor, and it's a matter of respect.

I've had all sorts of adventures with some of my bestest girlfriends, in Pittsburgh and in Detroit and in Chicago.  And I have a new boyfriend, Craig, who's very sweet, creative, kind, generous, a good listener, true blue ... :)

I've had ample opportunity to assess how I got to, and through, 5771, such that I've evaluated all I can to accept my own responsibility for where I've been and where I want to go.  I've mourned, I've ruminated, I've forgiven, I've made progress.  It has been a year in which I've tried not to be selfish while still protecting myself.  I've tried to acknowledge it when I've failed to be the person I strive to be.  There is, of course, much - MUCH - room to grow.  It's been a year of reclaiming - things, places, space ... me.  This is what I've done.

I'm me ... and I'm not perfect.  But I try.  The angel said to try, more than two years ago, when I met him in Detroit.  Each day, I remember his words: "You've gotta try."  It's hard.  Sometimes it's so, so hard.  There have been days when I've walked around feeling like a raw, gaping wound ... but I've still tried.

Because what's the alternative?  Letting others down, and letting myself down.  Incompletion, failure.  I can't succeed at everything, and sometimes circumstances just conspire against me.  I'm known in the real world as "The Girl with the Crisis du Jour" for a reason: I'm a kinda flaky chick who just cooks and bakes and takes pictures of everything she eats, but who is often caught up in others' whirlwinds.

But I want to at least be able to say I tried - that I used my talents, my gifts, my abilities, my best intentions - and tried.  Yoda said "Do or do not do, there is no try."  This is wrong.  You've gotta try.  Sometimes trying is the best you have to offer, and trying should be appreciated gratefully rather than dismissed as insufficient.  With hope, with effort, with strength you might not have known you had, you've gotta try.  If you don't try, you get nowhere, you have nothing, you give nothing ... and you've done nothing.

"Every year, there descends and radiates a new and renewed light which has never yet shone. For the light of every year withdraws to its source in the Infinite One who is beyond time ... (but) by means of the prayers we utter, a new and superior light is elicited ... a new and more sublime light that has never yet shone since the beginning of the world."

Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in the Machzor Lev Shalem

That light? It shines upon us, and also within us.

And so, the question to ask in assessing the past year is, "What have I done?"

And the question to ask as we begin a new year is, "What will I do?"  Where will I find light, where will I shine light?

Everywhere I can.  I will try ....


Sister Sadie's Honey Cake

(slightly adapted from Marcie Cohen Ferris' Matzah Ball Gumbo - it's not particularly photogenic, but it's moist and sweet and really lovely)

• 3-1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups honey
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Coca-Cola (must be flat before using)
• 1/2 cup oil
• butter pecan ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 325 F.  Grease 2 9"x5" loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  In a medium bowl, combine the honey, sugar, and eggs.  Whisk in the Coke and the oil, then pour into the dry ingredients and combine well.  (Batter will be very thin.)

Divide the batter among the loaf pans, and bake for 45-50 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely.

The recipe warns that "cakes may sink slightly in the center."  "Slightly" is an understatement - there's a big ol' dent.  But that's why God gave us ice cream, so we can plop a scoop of it over that part of the sliced cake!

Makes 2 cakes, 12 or so slices each.  Serve with ice cream.

You can read more about Southern Jewish food in my Washtenaw Jewish News article this month - "Southern Cuisine, Jewish-style."  (Click here, then scroll down to page 33.)

(The card behind the pictured cake says: L'Shanah Tovah Tikitevu [lay shah-NAH toh-VAH tee-kee-TAY-voo] - May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.  This is the long version of the traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting; you can shorten it simply to Shanah Tovah.)

Honey Mustard Trout

I was in a fast food restaurant a few weeks ago, after I'd lost internet service at my condo due to some confusion over the account; it was transferred to my ex-husband's new house sooner than it was supposed to be. McDonald's had wi-fi, and Jeremy had won a free small smoothie while playing the Monopoly game. He gave me the coupon so that I could have a free treat to compensate for the inconvenience of having to move my writing operation out of my favorite comfy chair.

But normally I drive by these places with contempt and disdain. I will spare you my rant, but I assure you that it can continue for quite some time. You'd get bored and you might not get around to reading the rest of my post, which offers an excellent recipe.

In honor of today's dubious holiday - National Fast Food Day - I'm giving you a recipe that can be made in 20 minutes. Real food, nutritious food, delicious food, prepared from start-to-finish in 20 minutes. Fast food, in the truest sense of the words!

I bought some beautiful trout filets on sale recently. I considered the traditional Trout Almondine, but decided to tweak it a bit; it's usually prepared with breading and butter, and I wanted something lighter.

So I schmeared the fish with a honey mustard, and sprinkled some ground almonds over that. A quick bake, and that was it! The fish was perfectly tender, moist, and exceptionally good. The sweetness of the coating was an ideal complement to the trout.

There is no need for drive-thrus or car-side services, the usual notion of "fast food." On this day, honor the spirit of those words by serving honest, simple, quickly prepared food that you make in your very own kitchen.

Honey Mustard Trout Almondine

2 trout filets, totaling 3/4-pound
pinch each of salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons ground almonds

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil, then grease the foil.

Lay the filets side-by-side skin-side down in the prepared pan; sprinkle with the salt and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together the mustard and honey; spread over the fish. Sprinkle the almonds over the fish.

Bake for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Yoo Hoo -- I've Got Honey Cakes!

My very dear friend Marilyn volunteers at the library we have where I work; and in sorting through the collection one day about a year ago, she found a priceless treasure hiding behind other books on a shelf -- The Molly Goldberg Cookbook, written by Gertrude Berg and Myra Waldo. And because she loves me and knows that I would cherish such a precious item, Marilyn let me borrow it first ... or, rather, let me be the first to borrow it in about 40 years!

People in my parents' generation (folks in their 70s/80s, that is) remember the radio and t.v. shows called "The Goldbergs," featuring the actress Gertrude Berg who played Molly. There is a fairly recent documentary (which, unfortunately, I still have yet to see) called "Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg!" which showcases Gertrude “and the massive appeal and influence of (her) Jewish American … character.” Molly was quite the yenta -- “lovingly meddlesome," a stereotypical warm-hearted bit of a busybody -- in an increasingly assimilated family trying to retain its identity. And the cookbook Gertrude wrote in her character's name displays that generosity of spirit in abundance.



My favorite aspect of the cookbook is not the food, but rather the kibbitzing at the beginning of each section or accompanying some of the recipes:

“I find that sometimes my daughter is walking around the house without her head. I don’t have to ask the trouble, I know already there’s a boy someplace.”

“She says she got the recipe from her aunt that lives in Oslo and I got my recipe from my grandmother that lived in Nishnii Novgorod and that’s not in Norway. So what’s the distance between the two towns? I’ll tell you exactly. Three doors down the hallway. I live in 5C and Mrs. Wiersma lives in 5F, that’s the distance ….”

“Some nights I have a previous with the P.T.A. [sic] And on those days Jake stays late at the factory, so I prepare this recipe for him to cook when he gets home …. There’s supper all good and hot and tasty - at least I haven’t had a complaint yet, but maybe that’s because Jake is so glad to see me home at long last.”

It seemed appropriate for Rosh Hashanah to try one of Molly's recipes -- a good traditional, old-fashioned recipe for my favorite Jewish holiday. And so I settled upon Honey Cake, but baked the batter into cupcakes instead.

The recipe was very straightforward, coming together just as expected. The cakes turned out beautifully, and were perfect topped with the crowning glory of a caramel buttercream frosting (my own concoction). Jeremy gave these rave reviews! They're a perfect sweet treat to usher in the new year ... :)

Honey Cakes with Caramel Frosting

Cakes:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold coffee
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1-3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped fine, toasted lightly

Frosting (see notes in next post, entitled "Oops!"):
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, melted and cooled a bit
1/4 cup milk
1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Make the cakes: In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and the sugar until light in color. Mix in the coffee, honey and oil. Stir in the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nuts. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.


Make the frosting: Beat together the butter and the brown sugar. Alternately add milk and confectioners' sugar, beating until smooth with each addition. Spread the frosting onto the cakes.

Makes 12 honey cakes.

Shanah Tovah! (Happy New Year!)

Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish new year -- begins tonight at sundown. This is my favorite holiday of them all, and I celebrate everything from Hallowe'en to National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!

Tonight represents not just the culmination of my chaotic summer at work, preparing for the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement on September 18). It is a celebration of both the completion of another year and the anticipation of a new one. What have you accomplished since the first of Tishri in the year 5770 (according to the Jewish calendar)? What goals do you have for this year, 5771? How have you, as a person, evolved? What have you contributed to the universe, both positive and negative?

Whereas New Year's celebrations in the secular world are all about football and hangovers and Dick Clark, in Judaism it is a time of both joy and introspection. There is a brief moment each year -- right before I leave work with everything completed to the best of my ability -- that I cherish. The white curtains have been hung in the Sanctuary, covering the ark that holds the beautiful Torah scrolls. Flowers have been placed by the bima ([BEE-muh] = altar), and 1000 empty seats (pews as well as rented chairs, since the High Holidays lure in folks who don't set foot in a religious institution all the rest of the year) await crowds of well-wishers.

Tonight will be full of song and celebration and lots of treats at the reception after services. People will dip apple slices into honey -- and the dish pictured above is my own apples 'n' honey serving dish -- in hopes of enjoying a sweet year. There will be grand festivities!

But in that brief moment I just mentioned there is only peace in the Sanctuary, where I sit alone and literally find sanctuary from the final hectic preparations. I always take a few moments to just assess where I am, how I got here, where I hope to be going. I offer thanks for the blessings I have received throughout the year, and am always grateful to realize how very many there have been even if I didn't necessarily register them at the moment they arrived. I offer thoughts of regret for my multitude of transgressions throughout the past year, always hoping that I will do better the next. And then I take a deep breath and go back out into the world, anticipating the excitement of the evening.

I wish you all a happy and hearty Shanah Tovah [shah-NAH toh-VAH] -- a very sweet new year ... :) May you be showered with blessings and abundance!!!

Challah-Back Girl

In addition to all of the pressures and deadlines at work to get ready for Rosh Hashanah -- the Jewish New Year -- tomorrow night, there have also been some preparations to make at home.

Standard, long loaves of challah are supposed to be served every Friday night at Shabbat dinner; secular chickie that I am, I'm not that observant. But it is traditional to serve a round loaf at Rosh Hashanah, representing the seamless transition from one year to the next as well as the circle of life. That's a celebration I can support.

I make the best challah, period -- I will often tout a recipe as being very good, but this one is absolutely definitive, truly truly truly. I can't tell you where I found the recipe -- some cookbook I blundered into years and years ago. But it is cherished, and my new year simply isn't complete without it.

I love to bake bread, and often say that I should do it more often ... alas, I bake it for Rosh Hashanah and then get waylaid afterwards. The challah isn't difficult, though you do have to commit to it for about 3 hours; it's not a recipe where you can ignore the dough while it rises, or leave it in the refrigerator to rise slowly overnight.

But every moment -- and every globule of cholesterol -- that you invest in this is worth it, trust me! Soft, fragrant, luscious ... this is bread at its most perfect.

At Rosh Hashanah it is customary to add raisins to the challah, with hopes for a sweet new year; I brush the top of the bread with a honey-egg wash, as well, to increase the symbolism. And sesame seeds are sprinkled on top to represent wishes for plentiful blessings.

I might someday vary the chicken dish I serve at Rosh Hashanah, and I usually change the side dish (I'm thinking of carrots this year, though I'm unsure how I'll serve them; I've also considered yams). I might serve sparkling apple cider one year, though this year I'm serving sparkling pomegranate juice (chosen because it's made from small seeds -- more hopes for bounty). But the one constant in my holiday tradition is that I will always serve a round challah, homemade.

Follow along with the easy instructions below (for standard loaves -- we made one of each), with photos featuring both Tom and me as we create our holiday masterpiece ....

Challah

5 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup light raisins
1/4 cup sugar
2 packages quick-rise yeast
1 stick butter, melted
1-1/4 cups very warm -- but not hot -- half-and-half
4 eggs; separate 1 of the eggs
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 140F. Grease two 8"x4" loaf pans.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, raisins and sugar; make a well in the center, then place the yeast into the well.


Combine the butter and half-and-half; pour over the yeast, and stir to mix well. Stir in the eggs and the egg white, one at a time, until a rough dough is formed.


Sprinkle about 1/2 cup flour onto the countertop, and place the dough onto the flour.


Knead until the dough has absorbed the flour, adding more flour as needed if the dough is sticking to the countertop. When the dough is shiny and very pliable, it is ready.



Grease another large mixing bowl and place the dough into it; turn the dough over to grease all sides of it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then place a towel over the bowl


Place into the oven and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.


Punch down the dough, knead it for 3 minutes (with a bit of flour added if it's sticking to the countertop), and re-cover it with the plastic wrap and the towel. Place it into the oven and let it rise for 20 minutes.

Repeat the last step: punch down, knead, re-cover, let rise for 20 more minutes.



Uncover the dough, place it onto the countertop, and divide it in half. Cover one half of the dough while working with the other.

Cut the dough into 3 pieces and make an 18" rope with each piece. Lay them next to each other and braid the length of the dough. Tuck the ends under and place the braid into one of the greased loaf pans; repeat with the other half of the dough.



Combine the egg yolk, the honey and the water; brush this mixture over both loaves, making sure to get into the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.



Place the loaf pans into the oven and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 200F, and let the bread bake for 20 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 275F, and let the bread bake for 15 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 350F, and let the bread bake for 10-15 minutes, until it is golden brown. Remove from the oven.

Let the bread rest for 5 minutes, then insert a knife between the bread and the loaf pan to help loosen the bread. (The honey mixture makes it tend to stick.) Remove the bread from the pan and let cool completely on a rack ... yes, I know this is a form of torture, but it's necessary to let the bread finish.




Makes 2 loaves of bread.