Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join 40,000 food lovers and subscribe.
Share
Rosh Hashanah Table Is Ready
Published about 9 hours ago • 3 min read
Hi Reader,
Every September, I tell myself I'm going to be calm. I'll plan ahead. I'll make lists. I'll chop onions before I need them. I'll even remember where I put the good serving platter instead of tearing through cabinets like I'm auditioning for a cooking-themed version of Mission: Impossible. It never quite happens that way. Instead, I find myself standing in the kitchen with sticky fingers from honey, apples rolling across the counter, and three timers going off in what sounds suspiciously like Morse code. And yet...I wouldn't trade it. Rosh Hashanah has always struck me as one of those holidays where the food carries hope as much as flavor. Honey for sweetness. Apples for new beginnings. Challah with more optimism than any one loaf of bread should reasonably contain. Even a long-simmered brisket feels like an act of faith: Put in the time, and something wonderful comes out of the oven. The best meals of this holiday aren't about getting it right. They're about generosity. A table with room for one more chair. Leftovers that everyone quietly hopes to take home, and the quiet belief that next year might just be sweeter than the last.
Set the Table for Sweetness
Start with the dishes that improve overnight. Brisket is famously better the next day. A night in the refrigerator deepens it, and it's one less thing to worry about on the day.
Lean into symbolic ingredients. Apples, honey, dates, carrots, and sweet potatoes aren't only traditional. Each one brings real sweetness to the dish it goes into, so the symbolism is on the plate, not just in the blessing.
Balance rich dishes with lighter ones. A pan-seared salmon or a plate of latkes alongside hearty brisket keeps the meal from feeling too heavy.
Don't skip the bread. A beautiful challah instantly makes the table feel festive, whether you bake it yourself or buy one from a favorite bakery.
Save something sweet for the finish. Honey-ginger apple tarts or a noodle kugel are what people remember on the drive home. Welcome the New Year sweetly.
This braised brisket with red wine and honey is sweet and tangy and fall-apart tender and so perfect it makes us go weak in the knees. And it's a hunk of beef large enough to feed a crowd so it has that going for it, too.
This is my way of taking poetic license with brisket, drawing inspiration from French onion soup for a braising liquid of caramelized onions and garlic, deglazed with apple brandy.
Honey-ginger apple tarts are rustic perfection. Flaky pastry crust, wrapped around a sweet-tart filling. And then everything is sprinkled with crushed cinnamon-sugar walnuts. See? Absolute perfection.
These potato latkes are, per tradition, blissfully crisp outside, tender inside. And the wonderfulness doesn't stop there. A dollop of sweet apple-date chutney takes the place of the usual applesauce and the requisite plain sour cream takes on a holiday lilt thanks to a pinch of ground cinnamon.
Challah, a traditional and ancient Jewish bread, is similar to brioche in that it's marvelously rich, slightly sweet, and indulgently buttery in the best possible way. Perfect for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah and family dinners and random homemade bread cravings. Shalom.
Crispy-skinned pan fried salmon and creamy tahini sauce are a perfect match. Toasted pine nuts and sweet pomegranate seeds add delicate crunch to round out the dish.
This roast chicken with sweet potatoes and dates is worthy of a Rosh Hashanah celebration, but is just as welcome at your next casual gathering or Sunday supper.
With the final addition of za’atar, a Middle Eastern spice mixture, this sweet carrot dish becomes another perfect combination of East meets West—a great mix of Ashkenazi tradition with Middle Eastern flavors.
These root vegetable latkes elevate the traditional potato latke by transforming sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnips, or celery root into a spectacular holiday side dish that's not only clever but stealthy healthy as well as gluten-free.
Noodle kugel, a popular Jewish casserole often enjoyed during holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, is made with egg noodles, creamy custard, dried fruit, and, sometimes, a sweet, crunchy topping. This traditional dish is wicked versatile and can be gobbled up warm or cold, for breakfast, as a side, or for dessert.
Why, hello! Leite's Culinaria is the James Beard Award-winning site that helps home cooks and bakers put dinner on the table and laughs in the kitchen. Hungry for more? Join 40,000 food lovers and subscribe.
Hi Reader, It's already 9:30 on a Monday morning, and you haven't checked your email.That's the whole idea.Labor Day is one of the few mornings a year that lets you ignore the clock without guilt. No conference calls. No school drop-off. The coffee is on its second pour, and you're still in whatever you slept in.The kitchen can wait a little.Pancakes are more interesting when you're on a second cup of coffee. A cinnamon bun tastes better when nobody at the table is hurrying you to finish it....
Hi Reader, August is generous.Not just with tomatoes and corn and stone fruit, though it's generous with those. It's also generous with confidence. By now, you've grilled enough chicken that you don't need to check the thermometer every thirty seconds. You've made enough tomato salads to know when to stop adding ingredients.You've probably found one or two recipes this month that stopped you in your tracks.The temptation, at the end of a month, is to move on. A new cookbook on the coffee...
Hi Reader, Late August rewards a market shopper who knows exactly what she's after.Which is why I never do.The stated plan was peppers. I leave with an armful of glossy eggplants and peppers in every shade from pale yellow to deep crimson. Basil that smells like it was picked five minutes ago. A bag much heavier than my original list.The best move, I've found, is to stop fighting it.This is the brief moment when the produce is at its best: eggplants glossy under the lights, peppers snapping...
