Rosh Hashanah

"When my ancestors left Spain and settled on the Greek island of Rhodes five hundred years ago," writes Rebecca Levy of Los Angeles, California, "they brought with them their Sephardic culture. Likewise, when I fled Greece during World War II and eventually relocated to Los Angeles, I brought with me the traditions of my home. Many of my recipes are centuries old, and since each one is connected to a story, I always try to tell a little anecdote about the food so that the history will not be lost." Serve the stew over rice to soak up the juices.

This is one of the many types of apple cake popular throughout central Europe. I have seen apple cakes, a traditional Rosh Hashannah dessert, served on Sabbath and holiday tables from Israel to Australia.

Lukshen Kugel Mildred Grosberg Bellin's recipe for kugel has nothing modern about it, calling for noodles (not "pasta") and plenty of cottage cheese, butter, and sour cream. It was a treat in the test kitchens every time we tried it, and there's no need to wait until Rosh Hashanah to enjoy it. We particularly like it as a side dish to another humble favorite: pot roast.

My Grammie Ethel was best known for her cookies and fudge. But she also made a mean chopped liver. What was remarkable about Grammie Ethel's chopped liver was how mild, light and fluffy it was—it didn't taste too much like liver. (This is important when you're eight years old and a finicky eater.) Her secret was the high proportion of hard-boiled egg whites to liver. And the hand-cranked metal meat grinder my grandmother used her whole life to grind the ingredients into a chunky purée. Low-fat chopped liver might seem like an oxymoron. After all, liver is one of the fattiest and most cholesterol-laden substances known to man. By replacing most of the liver with mushrooms (keeping just enough liver for flavor) and by roasting the ingredients in a hot oven instead of sautéeing them, we create a chopped liver that explodes with flavor and is mercifully light on fat. I'm sure my grandmother would have approved. Note: To be in strict accordance with the kashrut, you would boil, not roast, the chicken liver. (This is considered a more effective way to remove the blood.) Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

The German plum harvest is celebrated every year with a festival in Bühl in the southwestern part of the country. In this simple German dessert, cake batter is covered with wedges of fall plums; a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar bakes into a crunchy topping.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Old-fashioned upside-down cake was everywhere last year, modernized with a variety of fruit and spice combinations.

Honey cake is often served during Rosh Hashanah because honey symbolizes wishes for "sweet" things to come. The cake becomes moister and its flavors deepen a day or two after it's made. Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 3 hr (includes cooling)

Roasting the lamb on a large oven or cake rack that's placed over the gratin dish allows its succulent juices to flavor the vegetables. This spring dish is one of my favorite recipes from Bistro Cooking (Workman, 1989), by Patricia Wells.

The vitamin C tablet in this recipe keeps the apple juice from turning brown.

Koosa Claritas — pale green, slightly rounded zucchini — are traditionally used in this dish, but we find that yellow zucchini make for a more attractive presentation because they don't discolor when cooked in tomato sauce.

I, who struggled for years to achieve perfectly cooked, lively green beans love Aunt Enza's overstewed green beans, soft, almost creamy, tasting of bean, cooked far beyond crunch. Although Aunt Enza cooks the green beans in an onion and garlic-flavored tomato sauce she pointed out that leftover green beans can be subjected to the same treatment. Aunt Enza has a heavy Tuscan hand with extra virgin. I've cut down on the oil but my husband Massimo always adds a little extra at the table.

A leek puree adds rich flavor. This side dish is especially good with the Brisket with Dried Apricots, Prunes, and Aromatic Spices recipe.

These delicate fish dumplings are steamed and chilled between layers of cabbage leaves to keep them moist. Leftovers can be refrigerated for a couple of days.

The 2nd Avenue Deli in New York offers this satisfying soup.

(Hasidic Caramelized Noodle Pudding) The Chmielnicki massacres in Poland in 1648, the apostasy of the false messiah Shabbetai Tzvi in 1666, the subsequent partition of Poland, and other problems shook the Jewish communities of eastern Europe. Some Jews found an answer in the freedom offered by the Enlightenment (Haskala in Yiddish). Others turned to Kabbalistic healers and miracle workers. One of these holy men was Israel ben Eliezer, commonly called the Ba'al Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name). By the time of his death in 1760, he had created a full-fledged religious movement known as Hasidism and, within a generation, the bulk of the Jews in central Poland, Galicia, and the Ukraine were Hasidim. Beginning in the late 1700s, groups of Hasidim began moving to the Holy Land in order to live a more fully religious life. They brought with them the traditions of eastern Europe, including their manner of dress and foods. It was among the Hasidim of Jerusalem that this distinctive noodle kugel, which features a tantalizing contrast of pepper and caramelized sugar, was popularized.

Begin this at least one day ahead. Serve with Potato-Leek Matzo Balls and steamed asparagus. What to drink: A full-bodied red with robust fruit, such as Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz.

These nut meringues are also called erstesternen ("first stars"), a reference to the heavenly signs indicating the end of a fast day. They are traditionally served by German Jews at the meal following Yom Kippur.