New Spins On The New Year

Rosh Hashanah starts this Wednesday, and with it comes the tradition arrays of both sweet and savory foods?Both add great symbolism to the meal.Yet there's no law or rule that says the both can be combined.New traditions can be made by varying centuries old recipes to create new ones.They will still adhere to tradition , but will also add a twist to the holiday table. Both Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan decided to do this in separate articles in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Mr. Clark takes her A Good Appetite column to show a usual holiday favorite ,roast chicken, and gives it both a spicy and sweet flavor.It is always served at this meal, usually smeared on challah bread and apple slices.Ms Clark will do this but will also add it to a marinade for the poultry. The marinade also has orange juice for more flavor and sweetness but zings in red pepper flakes for an untraditional spin.Mustard is also added as well.A traditional side is tzimmes ,a baked vegetable dish that features carrots or sweet potatoes that have been coated with orange juice and then tossed with dried fruit,Her take is throw the veggies in with the chicken to marinate and then cook all together.She also adds onions too,a vegetable not normally associated with Rosh Hashanah. Another Dining writer, regular' Joan Nathan, goes to a far country, Uzbekistan, for an interesting dish that could could work at any event.It is a rice dish ,similar to pilaf and called plov.The dish is actually a national dish here in this country once part of the famed Silk Road.It has all the components of a holiday dinner,with beef and carrots. Plov calls for a pound and a half of medium grained rice and Ms. Nathan recommends Kukoho Rose variety, usually used for sushi.(although some may want to use brown rice) for a better dish.Barberries are added in, a nod to the area's Middle Eastern roots.Barberries are always added to rice dishes in the Uzbek region.They give the plov a sharp tang that cuts the carrots' sweetness.Cayenne and cumin are added ,a touch of exoticism and a nod to the Spice Route.For Rosh Hashanah pomegranate seeds are tossed over the finished dish.It is not exclusively made just for this holiday,It can be made for birthdays and engagements too. Home chefs can use traditional Rosh Hashanah dishes to bring in the New Year.They can also mix it up by trying these dishes and breathe new life into their holidays.The dishes have a touch of sweetness and something more