Happy Thanksgiving to all! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving for us with our sons and daughters-in-law here for the holiday weekend. Our badly needed rain arrived Thanksgiving Day and continued through the weekend which meant driving in rain for the better part of their trips to and from their homes in LA and San Francisco….
Tag: Holidays
Waldorf Salad
This Waldorf Salad is a delicious, simple, fall/winter salad packed with a lot of crunch. I usually make it with a combination of medium diced fresh apples (pick your favorite… or whatever you have hanging around), diced or sliced celery, walnuts (you can toast if you like), and raisins. I toss it lightly with a…
Pickled Herring Salad
I took this Pickled Herring Salad to a break-fast gathering at the home of good friends on Yom Kippur, the close of the Jewish High Holidays. It was part of a beautiful array of delicious Jewish dishes prepared by our gracious hosts along with contributions from many of the guests. These foods of our childhood…
Ina’s Brisket with Onions and Leeks
Just when I think my repertoire of brisket recipes is complete Ina Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa, draws me in with her latest brisket recipe featured n her most recent book, Cooking for Jeffrey! In the intro to this recipe for her Brisket with Onions and Leeks, Ina says… This amazing dish is based on…
English Mustard Cheeseball
I have been making this deliciously addictive cheddar cheese appetizer for years. I make it either as a cheeseball rolled in parsley or nuts, or simply served in a nice bowl to spread on crackers. (I love pretzels dipped in it as well). My sister gave me the recipe so many years ago neither of…
Pigs in a Blanket with Black Pepper Pastry (not your mama’s pigs in a blanket)!
We were invited to a holiday party last weekend to celebrate with our neighbors, and asked to bring an appetizer. Somehow my mind immediately went to “pigs in a blanket”, an oldie but still goodie which most everyone adores, even those who refuse to admit it. When my kids were little “pigs in a blanket”…
Poached Pears in Chocolate Cups with Raspberry Sauce
I made these Poached Pears in Chocolate Cups with Raspberry Sauce for dessert after our brisket dinner last weekend. Poaching is gentle, stove-top cooking, and pears are an ideal fruit for this cooking method. The best pear for poaching in my opinion is the Bosc. I prefer Bosc for a few reasons. There is a…
A Hanukkah Dinner for 2018
In our home it isn’t Hanukkah without at least one holiday dinner of brisket, latkes, and homemade applesauce during the eight night “Festival of Lights”. This year we were thrilled to have good friends with us to share a holiday dinner. After lighting the menorahs we began with some light appetizers, ensuring room for the…
Lemon Sponge Cake
Every fall The Jewish New Year begins with a 10 day period of prayer and self-reflection which is ushered in on Rosh Hashanah, and closes on Yom Kippur, or what is better known as The Day of Atonement. We were traveling for the beginning of the New Year, (more about that later), but were back…
Cheese and Fruit Board Demo
Recently I held a class in my home through a program our synagogue created featuring a series of cooking demos. The subject was the presentation of a cheese and fruit board for entertaining. It was a lot of fun, and everyone went away having learned something, me included! A few have already put their…