Short Ribs With An Asian Vibe

Rosh Hashana has always been about rational recipes. These have been served for centuries >However recipes are meant to be rewritten, shaken up and revived. This  definitely applies to short ribs, long a holiday tradition. It's time to rethink this centuries old recipe.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Joan Nathan wrote about this in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Short ribs or flanken have always a big part of the New Year;s table. It was a special treat in Jewish homes,It's always been cooked with sweet onions red wine and a savory beef broth . However Ms.Nathan looks to Shaw Fodor for a different spin.She was born Shi Xiatoxia in China;s food capital Chengdu. After moving to Beijing she took a trip to Israel where she met her future husband, Hungarian architect  Thomas Fodor. She took his religion and culture and her kitchen, designed by him is a tribute to both cultures. Her flanken reflects the good luck red of her kitchen.It si filled with warm spices.There are still the spices however they have Asian influence like cumin and a different spin such as jalapeno. There is still red wine and beef broth added to tenderize the meat  along with brown sugar and ketchup. This is just a not too radical recipe. Family and friends will like it.

This is cooked in  the traditional manner. A Dutch oven is still used and olive oil is first heated in it.The meat is seared in it for some color for only three minutes.Take the pieces out and then put the onion in the oil. This is when the "warm" spices such a as cumin curry and cinnamon.Ketchup is also added The meat is the added back along with the red wine and ginger ale(water can be added instead for less sweetness) along with soy sauce ,jalapeno and a large sliced tomato.This is also the time to add the celery ,Bay leaves and carrots.Cook for four hours until the meat is fork tender and falls off the bone .Remove and discard the celery, Bay leaves rosemary and jalapeno.It can be chilled in the fridge  for two days in the Dutch oven.Heat the oven to 150 degrees Farenheit when it;s ready to serve. Remove and discard the solidified fat .Warm for about twenty minutes and take out of the oven. Sprinkle with cilantro or parsley. Ms.Fodor serves her with a side of fiery Szechuan chili oil,. This last can be bought or made with vegetable oil,s spices, ginger and chili flakes. 

Flanken can be livened up with different spices to give out a new Asian vibe. Try it for a different take on this Rosh Hashana classic. It;ll wake up the traditional table.

The Fluidity Of A Seder.

 Passover starts this Monday, April 22nd and with it comes centuries of recipes and traditions. However like any holiday meal it can be modernized to suit a family's ever changing and growing tastes. It's a perfect marriage for the new and the old.

Regular contributor Joan Nathan wrote about this in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. Passover simply started as a Spring feast>it is thousands of years old with the first one being out lined in the Book Of Exodus. Then the Israelites ate Maror, or what is now known as arugula.This represented the bitterness of enslavement>It;s now dipped in salty water to symbolizes the tears shed during this time. There is also a hard boiled egg, burned in the oven or with a match to symbolizes birth and rebirth. A roasted lamb or beef shank bone and later chicken leg and  roasted beets for vegans and vegetarians symbolize the sacrifuce .Haroseth , gefilte fish , chicken souls and matzoh brittle came later with the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. Ms. Nathan adds her own spin on the meal, with her Polish mother-in-law's take on gelfilte fish, basically fish dumplings made with whitefish, pike and carp. She took the original recipe and reduced the cooking time from two and a half hours to just twenty minutes. Yet a new generation is not into this so she has subbed in a terrine made with salmon or halibut or a white fish salad served on top of matzoh.  She includes this recipe along with one for  brisket and a chocolate hazelnut Schaum torte taken from her son's Danish in-laws

Her family's German influence is there too.She had alwasy ened her seder with her father's chrenslach or a matzog fritter he had while growing up in Germany. There was also another of his favorites a kiss or a Schaum torte. It simply a large meringue with strawberries on top to symbolize Spring. The recipe was carefully written out in German and was made for centuries.It dis get a update thanks to her daughter-in-law's family and with it a new spin.It 's filled with bitter chocolate to cut the sweetness and roasted hazelnuts.What was once was a tradition with a Danish family has now made it to Ms.Nathan's sder where it is a staple.Has her brisket recipe changed this much as well? It's stil cooked with herbs such as thyme and rosemary and made even more flavorful with the addition of crushed or diced tomatoes and red wine.There are also the traditional carrots and celery added as well. Again it;s a versatile piece of meat. For a different spin try smoking it or even barbecuing on the grill. The same goes for her whitefish salad. It can be an original recipe made with mayo, onions and chopped celery. Add dill if you want to or not.

Passover holds traditon but those changed with each generation. Recipes are added. They're improved. It all leads up to a flavorful meal that every generation can enjoy.

A Host Of Holiday Treats

This is the season to indulge. There are so many treats both food and drink to make. Yet the question is what to make. LUckily there's a slew of recipes to choose from.

Yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section offers ideas and recipes to make any holiday ,from Hannukah to Christmas to Kwanzaa brighter. Regular contributorsJoan Nathan, Yewande Komolafe and  Chritina Morales supply with a some good ones perfect for just the family or for gatherings. Ms Nathan has an excellent recipe for flaky cheese pies,  sambousektaken from Syrian Jews.These were invented centuries ago when the Sephardic Jews escaped the Spanish Inquisition. They can be  filled with Munester, mozzarella or kashkaval cheese, a Balkan based cheese. They sort of look like empanadas.  with a half moon shape and pinched edges. They can be filled with meat and onions too if you want something different.Sesame seeds can be pressed into the pastries for more flavor as well. They're baked in a 350 degree Farenheit oven.

For sweet try two of Yawande KOmolafe's recipes. Both use a yeasty brioche dough. One recipe are buns filled with whipping cream and a red fruit jam such as strawberry, raspberry, red current or mixed fruits. The other is a tasty fried doughnut recipe Keep in mind you can also fry the holes for more tasty treats.They're fried ina neutral oil like vegetable. Nutmeg is added to this recipe to give them a warm spiciness. The dough for both recipes has to be proofed for forty-five minutes before shaping. What to drink with this? The festive crema, a staple in many Caribbean Christmas celebrations. Christina Morales 's recipe has the traditional mix of evaporated milk blended with coconut milk and condensed milk. What gives it kick is a dark one, preferably Rhum Barbancourt. Star anise and vanilla extract give ti more flavor.If you want to vary it try Jamaican rum which will give the drink a darky earthy color and more of a molasses flavor.

These treats are perfect for any Hannukah or Christmas party. The flavors are varied and differennt than the traditional treats of the season. Try them for a different spin.

The Savory And Sweet Side Of Passover

 Like any holiday Passover has a savory and sweet side. The recipes can be classic but there's always room for new ones. They can be for the main course or for dessert afterwards.

Both Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan had interesting dishes for celebrating in yesterday's New York Times Food section. The holiday starts April 15th,next Friday and ends Saturday April 23rd. These dishes can be made any of the days and even taken to Passover pot luck dinner. Ms. Clark gives the recipe of a pomegranate baked rice and onion casserole in her Good Appetite column. This is huge in the Ashkenazi sector because they were forbidden to eat rice , along with chickpeas, corn, beans and spices.This is the first change in the Passover diet in over 800 hundred years The Sephardic Jewry has always allowed it , with their holiday recipes featuring rice stuffed vegetables. This  casserole comes from Shimi Aaron, an Israeli chef and owner of  EliaMIa, He is more known for his gold dusted babka but this recipe has the same amount of oomph. It's candied onions that have been roasted in a bath of pomegranate juice, laced with honey ,olive oil and dill.It's served on a bed of pine nut speckled rice. The onions are a mix of yeloow, purple and white ones fanned out over the layer of rice. Greek yogurt can be served with it.

Joan Nathan has a sweet Pass over recipe based on the famed Easy Toffee Bars that were reimagined into a Passover treat by Marcy Goldman. The original recipe called for Saltines but as Ms. Goldman found out matzoh also works just as well. It also called for using chocolate .Ms. Nathan subs in kosher for Passover peanut butter for a different spin. These too have been okayed by the Ashkenazi however have been used by the Sephardic for decades.It's first cooking butter and molasses into a syrup and then pouring over a layer of matzohs. This is then baked in a325 degree Farenheit oven for twenty minutes. Warmed  for twenty seconds in the microwave peanut butter is then poured over this,A layer of chopped peanuts and a good sprinkling of flaky sea salt is added. Brittle is best chilled so pop in the fridge right away.It should be there for about thirty minutes or until the peanut butter firms up. This makes for a nice gift if you're invited to someone's house.

Passover has room for both savory and sweet. Make these recipes for the celebration. They are tasty and a new spin on classic dishes that are sure to be favorites.

Hanukkah Treats

 It's time for traditional treats with tonight being the first night of Hanukkah.Nothing beats a kugel along with latkes for at home parties. These are a fun way to celebrate the Festival Of Lights, with good food that's easy to make.

Both Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan gave their version of traditional Jewish food in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Melissa Clark tries her hand at Yerushalmi kugel which can be made with traditional egg noodles or angel hair pasta. what makes this different than the usual fare is the two and a quarter teaspoons of black pepper to give it bite and zing. The recipe is from Adeena Sussman's cookbook Sababa: Fresh Sunny Flavors From My Israeli Kitchen. Ms Sussman grew up in California coming from an observant Jewish home but fell for this kugel or noodle cake during a trip to Jerusalem as a teenager. She fell for the it's chewy  sweet pepperiness and its' texture. The last has a crunchy exterior and a soft chewy interior. According to Ms Clark, there is a slight problem with making the caramel which is a cooked mix of any mild oil such as vegetable, grapeseed or sunflower and white sugar.The noodles are cooked and mixed with  six (!) eggs and the pepper. The caramel is poured over this in a Dutch oven which already has two tablespoons of heated oil and baked for an hour and fifteen minute to an hour and a half. It can be served on its' own or with a roast chicken or cooked greens.

Latkes are a holiday must . Regular Times Food section contributor Joan Nathan, She offers a recipe that borrows from the Swiss recipe rosti. Her potato pancakes are crisp on the outside and meltingly tender on the inside.Chef Nathaniel Wade who created it at Misery Love Company , a restaurant he ran with his sister and brother-in-law in Winooski, Vermont. The potatoes are first baked before being grated with a box grater. Use the large hole side. You could use a food processor. Just remove the potato skins first. These are different in the sense that there are no binders like eggs, matzoh meal or even onions.After seasoning with just salt and pepper  squeeze the grated potatoes into patties. These are put on a plate and chilled overnight in the fridge.The latkes are fried in canola oil, only for three or four minutes per side. Transfer the cooked ones to a paper bag or paper towels to drain. Ms. Nathan suggest serving them  hot , topped with smoked salmon atop creme fraiche or sour cream. You could just serve them plain but with a spiced apple sauce on the side.

Hanukkah is a time of good foods and fun. Celebrate with a peppery twist on kugel or melt in your mouth latkes. Both are tasty treats that bring joy and light during this Festival of Light.

Savory Sweet Dishes For The New Year

 Rosh Hashanah will be here in another week and it's time to think about dishes. Any holiday , this year, will be weighted. It has been a bad year so far. What can we do to sweeten the new one. The answer comes in the form of recipes that expertly balance sweet with savory, in a way a hopeful wish for the months to come.

Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan have come up with two very different yet appropriate ways  to bring in the New Year. Their recipes were featured in yesterday's New York Times Food section and are perfect savers for many years to come. Ms. Clark dedicates her A Good Appetite Column to the new craze of sheet pan cooking. She combines chicken with roasted plums and onions, an interesting way of combining sweet and savory. Keep in mind to get softer plums , ones that will release a lot of juice for moisture. You can use peaches , nectarines or pluots, again so long as they can produce enough juice.Ms. Clark recommends also using a slight squeeze of lemon for some acidity but not too much.Add a drizzle of honey because plum skins can be tannic or sour. The bird does have to be marinated a few hours before cooking. Flavorings include toasted fennel seeds along with allspice , fresh thyme springs and hot pepper flakes, the last used for zing. As for the onion, used a sliced red one. Everything is placed on a sheet and popped into a 425 degree F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes. You can garnish with flaky sea salt and more herbs.

Joan Nathan gives the more traditional tsimmes, a stew made of beef, carrots and sweet potatoes. The dish is originally German then Yiddish coming from the words zum essen meaning a big fuss. The original recipe included parsnips and turnips. It has since been adapted by Yiddish cooking and Americanized with the addition of sweet potatoes, brown sugar and cinnamon. Ms. Nathan has the sweet potatoes and even carrots for sweetness along with chopped prunes.Using the last means no extra brown sugar or honey in the recipe. For the meat she recommends using bone in flanken or flanken style ribs. You could also use  three pounds of English cut short ribs. She also suggests subbing in  the white Japanese yams for the American ones. For seasoning there's bay leaf and freshly ground black pepper. The flanken needs to be cooked the day before , in a Dutch oven with the bay leaf.It's cooked in a 350 degree F oven with eight cups of water for an hour, then removed from the heat. Let it cool overnight in the fridge. The next day, remove the congealed fat with a slotted spoon , and add the veggies and prunes, Bake covered for another hour and then remove the lid. Keep in oven until the potatoes are cooked, the meat is tender and the water is reduced. Season and serve with fresh, chopped parsley.

Making sweet dishes for the new year means a year full of sweetness. Hopefully this will be true.It's a time to start fresh leaving the sadness and bitterness of the previous year behind.

A Sweet Hanukkah Treat Churros

This is the season for  sweet, tasty treats. Hanukkah is one of the holidays that give the reason to make and indulge in homemade goodies. One, churros, is hitting the holiday tables, sharing the spotlight with latkes and suganiyots - jelly doughnuts. Is it an unusual choice? Not really if you know history.

The recipe was featured in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Joan Nathan, know for her Jewish cookbooks and documentaries about Jewish cooking  wrote about this crunchy and sweet choice. The idea is not as crazy as it sounds. Many Sephardic Jews , the ones from Spain, brought the recipe with them to the various outposts of the Spanish Empire. They were made in the Caribbean , mostly in Cuba and found their way to tables in Columbia and Costa Rica.  Ms. Nathan uses Genie Milgron's recipe for them, which includes anise for flavoring It is taken from Ms. Milgron's cookbook Recipes Of My 15 Grandmothers: Unique Recipes And Stories From The Times of The Crypto-Jews During The Spanish Inquisition. Ms. MIlgron was born and raised a Catholic in Cuba but traced her family's origins to pre-Inquisitions Jews in 1405.  Her ancestors  were raised  as crypto-Jews, practicing Jewish customs and traditions while converting to Catholicism. Some of the recipes are the original but churros are the Spanish influence.

Ms.Nathan tried the recipe several times, making the churros with a friend who dream of owning a churro truck. The first attempt was like a choux paste with eggs and butter whipped together into the dough. Don't use this. Opt for the simpler one which is just two cups of all purpose flour mixed with one and a half cups of Pernod or similar anise liqueur. There's also a cup of granulated sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon, the traditional flavoring for churros. If you think the cup and a half of Pernod is too much for any treat, the liqueur is boiled down with one and a half cups of water and a teaspoon of kosher salt. It's removed from the heat and cooled so the flour can be added to it.Blend with a wooden spoon until the batter resembles wet cement and is well blended. To get that ridged look, the dough is placed inside a pastry tube fitted with a large French star tip. The dough is then piped into six to eight inch length pieces and fried in canola oil. The oil should be heated to 350 degrees Farenheit. Fry them for six minutes or until golden brown. Ms. Nathan supplies a  homemade strawberry sauce made with frozen strawberries , brown sugar and vanilla. You could use dark chocolate or dulce de leche for a richer dipping sauce. Caramel also works too.

Churros are a fun and different Hanukkah treat. They're an easy make and fry, perfect for using the symbolic oil to create a fried and crunchy sweet. Try them for a new twist on a traditional holiday.

A Passover Classic Gold's Horseradish

Passover is a time when generations old recipes are used for Seder. One is Gold's Horseradish, beloved for decades. It is a condiment, full of meaning and importance.

Weekly contributor and cookbook author, Joan Nathan wrote about the holiday table classic in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Ironically the root was never used by ancient Jews and is not mentioned in the Old Testament. They ate their lamb and matzoh with maror, bitter herbs like endives and wild bitter lettuce. Horseradish may have joined the tradition in the 10th century when there was migration from the warmer Mediterranean to the colder areas of northern France and Germany. Horseradish grew in abundance there, a turnip like root whose leaves broke ground in April. It was easy to harvest and the root, an isothiocyanate (a cousin of wasabi) had the symbolic bitterness needed for the Seder. Jews of Sephardic and Middle Eastern descent aren't familiar with the root so they use romaine endives and chicory for their bitter herbs) . Horseradish was brought to the States where it became a staple , not only for Passover but in Polish Catholic Easter dinners where home chefs served the red variety.

Horseradish can be a pain to prepare. Slicing it can cause watery eyes and runny noses.Thankfully there is Gold's already prepared . It started with Hyman and Tilly Gold, grinding the root with vinegar and salt along with a fight and a jail term. According to the Gold's grandson, Jason, the couple had started out selling and repairing radios. They lost the shop during the Depression. At this time. Hyman's brother who was grinding horseradish on a Borough Park, New York street got into a fight which landed him in jail. Hyman bailed him out and got the grinder as a possible thank you gift. This  prompted the Golds to continue the horseradish business. Tilly would grind it in their Coney Island Avenue apartment while her husband filled four ounce bottles one by one. He would later sell them in a pushcart, hitting local stores. Later their sons would deliver the bottle by bikes. The business grew. They relocated the business to a store below their apartment and later to a factory. The family sold it in 2015 to La Salle Capital. Gold's  first used horseradish from Long Island farms and from Poland. Now the roots are grown and shipped from Oregon and Norther California along with Missouri and southern Illinois.

Tradition is important in the Passover Seder. Gold's Horseradish carries on that tradition using classic ingredients. It has been around for generations and will be around for many many more.

A Provencal Passover

The Avignon region of southern France is rife with history and tradition. This also applies to food and the traditional dishes associated with this season of faith and belief. To the Jewish community of Avignon, the Passover dishes take on a special meaning.

Joan Nathan, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and export on Jewish cooking wrote an informative and intriguing article on the community at Carpentras. since Roman times, Jews have lived in this Northern Provence town and will now be celebrating Passover at the Carpentra Synagogue, first built in 1367/ It is one of the oldest synagogues still in use and will welcome some with roots in African Judaism.Carpentrs a became the center of Jewish life in 1306 when the Jews were expelled from the Kingdom of France.Like other nearby sanctuaries of Avignon and Cavaillon, the town was under French rule but the Contat Venaisson under the command of Pope John XXII. His Holiness decreed that the Jew would be welcomed as refugees. Thanks to the initial 1,000 Carpentras was known as 'Petit Jersusalem. They still sadly  had to  contained be in a ghetto, which was locked at night. They had their own butchers and bakers which now the slaughterhouses and ovens along with the ritual baths are being excavated. Some things have changed. Most of the younger generation have moved to the larger cities and townspeople have to travel to Marseilles for kosher meats.

The holiday foods has both Jewish and Provencal influences The cuisine is Jewish dishes were adapted from local foods according to the laws of kashrut, or Jewish religious dietary laws. Gilberte Levi's Haroset, the sweet paste that represents the mortar that built the pyramids has dried  apricots, figs, raisins and chestnuts, reflective of the harvests of southern France. She will also serve veal stuffed with Swiss chard, with the last being a popular ingredient of the region. Her Haroset is easy to recreate It not only has the chestnuts but also almonds, pine nuts  and walnuts.She adds in the traditional apple along with cinnamon and fresh ginger. The fruit used can be dried because sweet Kosher wine will moisten it. The provencal veal breast stuffed with Swiss chard also has rosemary and garlic, not too far in ingredients from an Italian Easter lamb Cote du Rhone,a  dry red is also added for moisture.

Carpentras  will celebrate Passover ,using ancient recipes and traditions of both France and Jerusalem. The food will reflect centuries of lives led there. It is a reminder of their contributions to Provencal life.

The Rosh Hashanah Feast

The fall holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are arriving in the upcoming week. It's a  time of celebrating the new year as well as atoning and fasting.. The first holy day is a day of feasting , and wishing prosperity to others.Families and friends get together to enjoy a meal as they welcome in another year

A must for the holiday is having something sweet at the table. One of the most traditional dishes is apples dipped in honey. This was taken from 12th Century Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe and is widely accepted worldwide.Pears could be used too, as they're in harvest right now. Many first courses combine the savory and sweet. Melissa Clark marries chicken with figs for her holiday main course as seen in her A Good Appetite column in Wednesday's New York Times Food section.She also gives it bite thanks to Serrano chiles added for color and heat. Many home chefs pair chicken with pomegranates. The last represents fertility and prosperity as well.Fish heads are also served. This symbolizes the prayer "Let us be the head and not the tail." Gefilte or stuffed fish can be served however the tradition can be bent. Try pesce al Ebraica, fish cooked in the Jewish tradition.It''s taking any white fleshed fish such as cod and haddock, Sole could be used too.It's making a marinade out of olive oil, honey and vinegar along with salt.Raisins and pine nuts are then scattered over the fish and its' baked for only twenty minutes. Parsley is then sprinkled on it.

The holiday meal is also about sides as well. Honey glazed carrots are always a Rosh Hashanah staple. They're  the easiest to make,it's first simmering the roots in water and then cooking them in a glaze of honey , butter and brown sugar. Cinnamon is added for spice as are raisins.Carrots can also be turned into tzimmes,This stew also highlights yams and sweet potatoes along with  dried apples and cranberries Chopped pitted prunes are another ingredient that gives the dish color., Black eyed peas are also traditional and add a nice nuttiness to the holiday feast. Serve these just with melted butter or margarine. Spinach is another new year's food. Served just boiled with salt and margarine.A more refreshing way is having it fresh in  a salad, along with eggs, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Dessert plays an important part too. Regular contributor to the New York Times Food section, Joan Nathan lent an  apple cider honey cake recipe, coming from Chef Alex Levin of Washington's Osteria Morini. It's his grandmother's who was Craig Claiborne's expert on Jewish cuisine,It's made with apple cider butter, a homemade mix of butter, Granny Smith apples, apple cider, butter and brown sugar. The cake recipe has the extra filip of whiskey. The finished product is simply dusted with confectioner's sugar and served.

Rosh Hashanah is the new year coming in. Celebrate it with traditional and symbolic foods. Enjoy with family and friends.

Passover Classics

Passover will be here within the next two weeks and home chefs are wondering to go with classic recipes or new spins. There are recipes that straddle both. They have the traditional holiday dishes ingredients but are mixed and cooked in new ways. This creates tasty holiday dishes that adhere to Kosher dietary laws.

Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan wrote about these in yesterday's New York Time's Food section..ms Clark decided to give the traditional Passover brisket a rest in her A Good Appetite column. She opts for another cut from the cow's rear - a more tender and lighter beef tenderloin. A  London Broil cut can also be used too.It only takes thirty minutes to cook up instead of the usual two hours.The sauce with it is a homemade garlic aioli but you can also used bought mayo too.The first is a fresher version made with one whole egg along with a yolk of a second one along with lemon juice for emulsion. . Horseradish is a must on the Passover table and once again Ms Clark changes it up.She replaces the traditional with beet horseradish, a vibrantly magenta topping for the beef. The root has a barely standable flavor as is so the beets add a much needed shot of sweetness.They are grated together and then chopped, pickled with white wine vinegar sugar and kosher salt.It can not only be served with the beef but also with Hillel sandwiches and gefilte fish, along with even tuna, turkey and roast beef sandwiches.

Gefilte fish is another Passover standard however it 's not always the top of the list. Contributor Joan Nathan knows this and offers a spin  on it. She created a very flavorful patty, a complete turnaround from how it 's usually made. The dish came from Eastern European Jews  and is usually made with lake carp., whitefish or pike. Traditional recipes call for the fish carcass to be stuffed with its' meat mixed with matzoh meal and onions. Eggs are used to bind everything together and then it's stuffed back into the fish. Ms. Nathan takes a modern approach to this. The usual white fish is mixed with other scaled and finned fish in accordance to Kosher law.Fatty fish such as salmon, striped bass even trout can be thrown into the stuffing, She eliminates the fish stock that they simmer in and replaced it with a vegetable court bouillon infused with colorful and fresh herbs such as tarragon, dill , parsley and chives. The court bouillon is made with the highly flavorful fennel, celery another onion and carrot. This will infuse the patties with a fresh garden flavor. Another plus of this recipe is that the patties only take twenty minutes to simmer up as opposed to the two long hours for traditional gefilte fish. The result is a firm yet tender patty that won;t fall apart while cooking.

Passover demands traditional dishes. However the tradition can be changed up to create tasty dishes that will highlight the holiday. Try these to create new traditions and new favorites.

The Times Holiday Issue

For the last three weeks  the New York Times Wednesday section has been offering helpful hints and recipes regarding Thanksgiving.Now they're helping home chefs and bakers tackle the onslaught of holiday baking and cooking. There's also a guide to gift giving but that'll be for tomorrow. Today it's all about the bake.


The big guns of the Food section, Julia Moskin, David Tanis, Martha Rose Shulman and Joan Nathan give us the skinny on both sweet and savory . Even the front page has a lovely picture of chocolate reindeer cookies (and of course the lead one does have a red nose.)The recipe is on the next page, dark chocolate espresso snap that only needs royal icing because the flavor is so intense. A California reader, Mari Pfeiffer sent it in and it's from Great Cookies Cookbook by author and teacher Carole Walter. You could even make them and then hang them on the tree as ornaments.Martha Rose Shulman who often contributes healthy recipes to the Tuesday science Times gives us gluten free cookies. Hers are meringues and haystacks, traditionally flour free treats. The meringues are heavily laced with chocolate which cuts the cookie's sweetness.They're a nice departure from the traditional flour ones, providing the right amount of crunch and chewiness. Haystacks are a fun treat,This variation has sugar, butter, evaporated milk and salt cooked in a saucepan and then rolled oats , shredded coconut and vanilla is added.It's then mixed and spoonfuls are dropped onto parchment paper or cookie sheets to cool.

Julia Moskin, David Tanis,and Joan Nathan give us the savory side of holiday baking. Ms.. Moskin has ideas and recipes for different types of challah for the Hanukkah meal.Everyone knows it as a golden braided loaf with a sweet taste  however this is the Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jews, namely the ones from Hungary , version. Sephardic Jews, from Spain make a crunchy rounded loaf, redolent with sesame, caraway and cumin seeds. It's perfect with just honey or dipped into a spicy tagine. The North African and Middle Eastern Jews bake    plain ones with just a touch of sugar and a bit more spices. Another Hanukkah favorite is latke, those crispy fried potato pancakes celebrating  the miracle of the temple.Joan Nathan gives us her aunt's recipe which involves mashed potatoes instead of the usual grated ones. She also adds dill, parsley and shallots for more flavor. They're fried in the oil of the moment  - coconut oil.. This potato puff kind retains more of the vegetable's flavor  as opposed to the grated latke which has an oilier taste. David Tanis  contributes yummy onion tartlet recipes that work at any holiday party. It's a simple butter crust ,faintly lemony thanks to a dash of lemon juice. The topping is caramelized onions and a covering of Gorgonzola or blue cheese.You can sub in a milder cheese like Fontina if the other is too sharp. He also recommends using the dough recipe for galettes and other savory tarts.

Home bakers will love this issue. There are some great recipes, from the chocolate snaps to the onion tartlets to try. Everything is the perfect treat for the holidays ahead!

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

New Passover Treats

Passover means cooking dishes that have been handed down for generations.As good as these are, it's always nice to add some new ideas.It keeps the meal from becoming boring and predictable.It also lets home chefs experiment with new ingredients and techniques.All in all in makes for an exciting and memorable holiday Seder. Both Melissa Clark and Joan Nathan experimented with new ideas and time honored ingredients in The New York Times Dining section.Ms.Clark tries the dessert aspect of Passover in her A Good Appetite column.She makes macaroons, long a holy day staple ,but she bakes them a la francaise so they resemble the kind Laduree makes. she stuffs them with a simple caramel of just sugar and water.Dark chocolate is then drizzled over them to cut the overly sweet taste.Another classic ,a flour less cake becomes a hazelnut citrus torte.The hazelnuts are finely ground and mixed with quinoa, the South American grain for a batter.Both lemon and orange juice are added for flavor then it is baked in a spring form pan for half an hour or so.To finish off the meal.Ms Clark makes the classic matzoh candy.It's really a toffee that was originally made with chametz, or leavened crackers such as Saltines for the rest of the year.Butter and Ginger is poured over the matzoh, then baked.Chocolate is then added to the baked sheets as is candied Ginger. Joan Nathan also contributes a Passover recipe, fried artichokes. This is a traditional dish of the Roman Jews and popular because April is artichoke season throughout Italy.Ms.Nathan makes the trip to Rome to visit with home cook, Paola Modigliani Fano for the recipe and to enjoy these heavenly treats.Use American globe artichokes and cut the leaves off.What will be left will be the hearts along with the tenderest parts of the choke.They are fried until crisp for fifteen minutes.The rounds should be bronze in color.Leave them be, after spreading out the leaves leaves with a grapefruit spoon or melon baller.A second frying occurs a few hours later and this is what gets them potato chip crisp.They could also be frozen for another time, although they're so delicious people would want them right away. Serve with a sprinkle of lemon juice.These would even be a good hors d"oeuvre for any Spring gathering. Passover is a time for tradition and good food.Yet it's nice to introduce new culinary traditions to the holiday table.Whether ,sweet or savory these dishes are sure to become instant family favorites and classics.

Restaurant Seders: Are They Kosher?

Passover will be here within a week's time.Many households,whether they be Orthodox, Conservative or just holiday observant only will be getting ready for these week of special eating and prayers. However there is growing minority that are nixing the holiday at home and eating out. Instead of celebrating at home, they will be turning to their favorite restaurants to provide them with tradition and good food. Restaurant seders was the big topic in Joan's Nathan;article in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. She wrote about different Manhattan restaurants that will provide everything a traditional first night of passover at home has. The entry way is open for the coming of Elijah, and the prayers books are on the tables. Food is a spin on the traditional. Charoset, which represents the slavery the Jews had known under the pharaohs, is taken to gourmet heights by replacing the traditional almonds with hazelnuts.. Also Manischewitz wine, another tradition in recipes has been replaced with Italian Moscato wine. A Passover favorite such as braised short ribs has a gourmet flair with the addition of of shiitaki and crimini mushrooms along with port wine and ginger. However not all the practices are strictly Kosher. Matzoh is fried instead of baked to give it a crispier , more palatable taste. It is also made with non Kosher or tref flours - a huge Passover taboo. However the chef who created it could not find any Kosher flour hence the discretion. While some very religious Jews may find this sacrilegious there are some who embrace the new spins. This updates the holiday and makes it fresh and exciting for younger generations. Eating out on Passover makes perfect sense. It allows for families to be together without the hassle of endless shopping, prepping and cooking. Dining out also provides delicious variations on holiday classics from forward thinking chefs who still respect the meaning of Passover. There is still tradition but with a new feel to it.