Sit, sit! Eat!

September 11, 2007 6:17 AM

What are your favorite family recipes for the Jewish holidays?

So, it's that time of year, and it occurred to me that most families like mine prepare things handed down through the generations. In my house, I use copies of recipes that have notes written by my Grandmother and my Mother and now me. So, what are your family favorites for the Jewish holidays? I'm not talking about modern cookbook recipes, but ones you have handed down through your family. Oh, and Happy New Year!

posted by Flakypastry to food & drink (13 comments total)

Here's one of mine - honey cake. This recipe scales up very well, and I've made it completely non-fat with all apple-butter.

My Great-Grandmother’s Honey Cake

Makes one pan, 12” x 18”

3 eggs
¼ cup shortening (I use half oil/half apple butter instead)
1 cup sugar (I use ½ cup white and ½ cup brown sugar)
1 cup strong black coffee, cooled
1 lb. honey
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
Juice from ½ lemon
Slivered toasted almonds (optional)

Put honey and baking soda in deep heavy pot, heat slowly until the honey foams up (watch out for boiling over). Shut off heat, let cool. Combine rest of dry ingredients, sift well. Cream shortening (or oil and butter) in separate bowl with sugar, then add eggs, beat well. Add honey, coffee, lemon juice alternately with dry ingredients, beat well. Pour into well greased pan, top with almonds. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then 30-40 minutes at 325 degrees.
posted by Flakypastry at 6:19 AM on September 11, 2007 [3 favorites]

Tsimmes. Except that nothing in my family is an actual recipe, and is more like a collection of ideas. Here's my vague memory of our tsimmes, with apologies for the, well, vagueness.
Boil (or steam or microwave) sliced sweet potatoes and carrots. Meanwhile, simmer orange juice, a little honey, and some cinnamon. Maybe there's some butter and/or brown sugar in there, too. Layer the sweet potatoes and carrots in a baking dish with prunes (though I use dried figs instead, heretic that I am), maybe a few raisins if you feel like it, and chopped pecans. Bake, basting occasionally. Garnish with a few more chopped toasted pecans. Mmm.
posted by bassjump at 7:28 AM on September 11, 2007

Here's one of mine - honey cake. This recipe scales up very well
posted by Flakypastry

awesome
posted by matteo at 8:15 AM on September 11, 2007

bassjump, our tsimmes recipe is similar, but we never used the pecans. Boy, that sounds good. Candied pecans sound good too. I'll have to try that this year. Thanks!
posted by Flakypastry at 8:37 AM on September 11, 2007

Can I tack on a request for your best Challah recipes? I can't seem to find one that really works.
posted by rmless at 8:47 AM on September 11, 2007

i have used this challah recipe for years, and it works every time for me.

2 pkgs yeast (i use rapid rise, but regular is fine)
1/3 cup warm water
pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar (a bit more if you like a sweet challah)
1 cup very hot water
1/2 cup very cold water
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
7 cups bread flour
1 egg for brushing over the top

Mix yeast & pinch of sugar into warm water until there are no clumps. Let this mixture get nice & foamy. Meanwhile, beat salt, oil, sugar & hot water together until sugar is dissolved. Add cold water & mix well. Add eggs & vanilla, beat well. Add the yeast mixture and beat again until everything is incorporated. Stir in flour (you may need a bit more if it's humid outside). Dough should be sticky but not wet.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for about 10 minutes. Clean the mixing bowl, dry it, and oil the inside. Return the dough to the bowl, pat a little oil on top, and cover with a clean tea towel or loose plastic wrap. Let it rise for about an hour in a warm spot, until doubled in size.

Remove dough from bowl, and lightly knead on a floured surface for a minute or two. Divide the dough into thirds for 3 braided challahs, or half for 2 round challahs. For braids, cut each third into 3 pieces, roll/squeeze the pieces into 'snakes' and braid. For round challahs, roll each half into a long log shape and wind into a spiral. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (leave about an inch between loaves). Brush the tops with a beaten egg. Preheat oven to 350 F, let the dough rise while the oven is heating. Place loaves in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. To test if bread is done, tap the bottom - it should sound hollow.

For more festive challahs, drizzle with confectioner's sugar icing and sprinkle with dried fruit & chopped nuts.
posted by potterybliss at 9:15 AM on September 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

rmless, here is our family version. It's originally from Brooklyn. My husband's Grandma was the most amazing baker I've ever known - she never measured a thing (oh, how we miss the cookie care packages that she sent to us in college!). I was lucky to bake beside her before she died, making careful notes, and this is her recipe.

Challah

1 cup warm water
2 packages active dry yeast
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup plus 2 Tbs sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 cups bread flour
1 cup raisins, rinsed under warm water and drained (optional)

1 egg beaten with a little water, for egg wash

Poppy or sesame seeds, for topping

In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir to dissolve. Add the egg, agg yolks, oil, sugar, 4 cups flour, salt. Stir until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out the dough on a floured board and knead, adding flour ¼ cup at a time if the dough is sticky or very soft. The dough should be firm. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic – when you push down, the dough should push back. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turn to coat, and cover until the dough is tripled in volume, or when an indentation made with a finger pushed into the center does not spring back.

Punch dough down, add and knead in raisins if using, cut in half, cover, and rest it for 15 minutes. Punch down again, and then form the loaves as desired. Proof the formed loaves until fully risen (see above). Coat with egg wash and seeds, if desired. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven (or 325 if you’re using raisins) for about 40 minutes, or when the breads are a rich brown. Note: challah, when done, should be 190 degrees F in the center – use an instant read thermometer to test. Makes two loaves, or one large braided loaf.


I have adapted this recipe for use with a heavy duty mixer. Email me if you want the details.
posted by Flakypastry at 9:16 AM on September 11, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have a great pumpkin challah recipe--I'll try and remember to post it when I get home. It's always a hit at fast-breaking!
posted by leesh at 9:27 AM on September 11, 2007

Thanks, friends! I know what I'll be doing tonight-- CHALLAH PARTY!

Here is my hummus recipe to go with the challah:

2 cans chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 2 lemons (1 if you like it less tangy)
1 head of roasted garlic (roast by encasing in tin foil and baking for 25 min in 375 oven)
1 tsp spicy paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder (omit if you want less spicy)
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Roast the garlic, squeeze out into bowl, add chickpeas and tahini and salt and blend with hand blender (or throw in standard blender). Add lemon juice and spices afterward and blend them in with a spoon.
posted by rmless at 9:50 AM on September 11, 2007

I had to come back for the challah quest. It's an absurdly large recipe which requires a mixing bowl the size of a swmming pool, but it reduces fine. It's never failed, except for the time we killed the yeast with too-hot water. Don't do that.

Challah

In 2 cups very warm water, dissolve:
6 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp sugar

In big bowl, beat:
8 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1.5 cups oil

Start adding flour, alternating with yeast mixture.
Add 1 additional cup warm water.
Mix until not sticky. (This will require your hands.)
Cover and let rise until double in size. Punch down, knead, and make loaves. Proof loaves. Bake at 350.
Oh, and follow Flakypastry's advice for egg wash and sesame/poppy seeds.
posted by bassjump at 9:53 AM on September 11, 2007

My grandmother's noodle kugel recipe:

Noodle Kugel

1 pound wide noodles
2 cups cottage cheese
6 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
3-4 TBSP sweet butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling

1. Cook the noodles in rapidly boiling salted water until tender but still
al dente (10 minutes)

2. While noodles are cooking preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x13 baking dish--preferably glass.

3. Beat the eggs with the sugar, then beat in vanilla and cinnamon.

4. Drain noodles, but not too thoroughly. Turn hot noodles into egg mixture, adding raisins and cottage cheese and sour cream. Combine thoroughly.

5. Turn into buttered baking dish. Dot the top with butter and bake for 50 minutes.

6. Serve hot, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
posted by rmless at 10:09 AM on September 11, 2007

My grandmother's apple cake recipe, with the notes my brother made when he made it (I haven't made it yet, but it is a VERY tasty cake - when my grandmother made it, at least):

here's the apple cake recipe. it turned out great, just like bubbi used to make.
ma just gave me brief notes, so i'll try and fill in the details with how i did it. oh yeah, this is for a double recipe.
1. in a mixing bowl, mix together 5 eggs, 2 cups sugar (which is a lot, jill recommended using 1/4 to 1/2 cup less), 2 tspns vanilla extract, 6 tbspns water, 1 cup oil (like vegetable or canola mix or whatever), 4 tspns baking powder, 2 cups flour. mix, preferably with an electric mixer until it becomes a gooey, beige batter.

2. take 17 apples, preferably cortland i imagine, but granny smith worked out really well, not too big (we bought 2 3lb bags and had 4-5 apples left over. peel them, core them, and cut them into chunks (i cut each apple in half, then into 3X3 pieces). put them in a big bowl and then sprinkle
cinnamon on them (i don't know how much, but make sure the apple pieces are covered) and use a wooden spoon to mix them around.

3. preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4. you'll need preferably glass pans, like lasagne pans. i think the recipe fills two large ones (we used one large and two small). cover the bottom with batter; it should be really thick. add apples so that you have a layer. then cover the apples with batter, preferably so that you can't see them. bake at 350 for about 45-60 minutes depending on the size of the
pan, whether it's metal or glass, and depending on your oven. you should check after about 40 minutes and see if it looks light brown on the top (try and remember what bubbi's used to look like [golden brown-ish]).

when i made it, i tried to divide the batter in half, but i wound up using less for the first one. as a result, it came out more fall-aparty, and less like cake pieces. i also don't think i cooked the first one long enough. it still tasted good, but the consistency wasn't as good. i don't know if you remember that sometimes bubbi's cakes were better than others,
and sometimes you could see the apples poking through the top. it has to do with how much batter you put on the top.

the next time, i will make a single recipe only. it's a pain in the ass to do that many apples (as a warning). also it's easier to measure out how much batter goes into it with only one. but other than the apples, it's a very easy recipe, it smells great, and everyone loves it. i think next time i'll try it with less sugar too, cuz it doesn't need that much.
posted by birdsquared at 7:40 PM on September 11, 2007

Thanks to all who shared part of their family history with us - they're all favorites! Keep them coming if you feel inspired....
posted by Flakypastry at 5:26 AM on September 12, 2007