Honey Cookies
Submitted by: Lakewood native and cookbook author Sarah Lasry.

“It’s a family tradition to eat something sweet after Yom Kippur. My Aunt Rachel (a never ending source of delicious foods) makes massive batches of this cookie for this holiday season. My daughter is also a huge fan of my honey cookies!”

You need:
4 c. Flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/2 c. Oil
1 1/4 c. Sugar
4 T. Honey
3 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 325 F degrees. Mix all your ingredients in bowl until well combined. Using a tablespoon or a small ice cream scooper, drop small dollops of cookie batter on to your cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Tip: Add one egg if batter is too dry.

Cheesy Potato Kugel
Submitted by: Stephanie Goldman of North Jersey, on behalf of Taglit-Birthright Israel participant Debbie Sharnak of East Brunswick.

“From the Taglit-Birthright cookbook, this recipe is ideal for Yom Kippur, as it can be made ahead of time–simply wait to complete the last step of the cooking process until the holiday ends, so the kugel may be served hot.”

You need:
3 pounds peeled and shredded potatoes
1 onion, chopped
4 eggs
2 ½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
5 TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Place potatoes in a colander and squeeze out excess moisture. In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, oil and onion. Add shredded potatoes and cheese into bowl and mix well. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Raise heat to 450 degrees F and bake 5-10 minutes until browned.

Low-Fat Noodle Pudding  
Submitted by: Somerset County residents Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN and Kathy Siegel, RDN, CDN, co-founders of Nutrition Babes.  

“It’s a family fave!”

You need:
8oz dry wide high fiber egg noodles or other whole grain egg noodles
¼ cup light whipped butter or light butter with olive oil
1 cup sugar1 ½ cups egg substitute (equals 6 eggs)
1 pound container nonfat sour cream (2 cups)
1 pound container low fat cottage cheese (2 cups)
1 ½ cups skim milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3oz golden raisins (3 large single boxes)
2 medium-large red delicious apples, peeled and grated; cinnamon on top

Spray a 9x13 glass or Corningware pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Cook noodles to lower end of cooking range on package directions. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain noodles and transfer to a large bowl. Add butter and sugar, stir until well combined. Add remaining ingredients except cinnamon and combine well. Pour mixture into pan and sprinkle top heavily with cinnamon. Bake for 15 minutes at 400F and then lower temperature to 325F and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let set for 5-10 minutes. Cut into 24 pieces. Makes 24 servings: 149 calories.

“You can add different dried fruits to change the flavor. Apricots, dates, pineapple or other favorites work well. If you wish to lower the sugar content even further, you can replace 2 teaspoons with one packet of  Truvia or Stevia.”

Bubbie’s Brisket
Submitted by: New York chef Mindy Kobrin

“It has a special family spice!”

You need:
5 lbs first cut brisket (do not trim any fat that is left on meat)
4 medium size onions, sliced
5 shallots, peeled
8 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 large cans beef broth
2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup red wine

For Bubbie’s seasoning:
½ cup kosher salt
¼ cup cracked black pepper
¼ cup garlic powder
¼ cup onion powder
2 Tbs smoked paprika
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Mix to incorporate. Store in airtight container.  

First, preheat oven to 275°F. Season brisket heavily on both sides with Bubbie’s seasoning and smoked paprika.  Heat a cast iron fry pan so water sizzles on it.  Sear brisket on both sides.  Remove to a platter. Lower heat and pour beef broth in pan and stir to get all the bits of seasoning and meat from pan. Place brisket in a large roasting pan with a lid. Sprinkle onions, ginger and whole garlic cloves. Pour heated broth over meat. Cover and roast for 3-4 hours, basting every half hour or so until meat is very soft.  Remove from the oven and let meat cool. Remove meat from juices and slice. Return meat slices to roasting pan and reheat for serving. Serve with juice on the side or together.  Serves 6. Prepared in 30 minutes or less plus 4 hours to bake.

Edamame salad
Submitted by: New York foodie Sheridan Gayer

“It's refreshing, satisfying, protein rich, and can hold anyone over until the main course warms up. The vegetables can be cut and prepped before the fast, after you're home from kol nidre services, or in the afternoon break.  And it can be dressed overnight too. (I'd save cutting the avocado until just before serving).”

For the Dressing, you'll need:
1 tbs White Mellow Miso Paste
2-3 tbs Warm Water (to melt miso in)
Sesame oil
3 tbs Citrus juice (orange, lime or lemon otherwise)
2 tsp Lime liquor
3 tbs Rice Vinegar (I used pesto rice vinegar in this version)
Ginger (fresh or ground, 1/2 tsp)
Garlic (usually 1tsp ground, this time I boiled 4 cloves w/the edamame)
Tamari or Soy sauce (I used shoyu this time, and try to keep it gluten free so everyone can enjoy)
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp Mustard powder
1-2 tbs mirin
2 tsp brown sugar
More options: allspice, chili flakes or chili oil, dried beer, sherry if you're out of mirin

Vegetables:
Edamame (shelled frozen)
Red pepper
Celery (leaves included)
Pea Shoots
Avocado
Romaine heart
Mushroom stems, crumbled
Scallions (chopped)
(past recipes I've used corn or baby corn, sliced mushrooms, water chestnuts, or radishes)

Chop veggies a consistent size, waiting to chop avocado until the rest of the ingredients are mixed (even dressed) and then add it in. I use the greens and whites of the scallions, but whatever you have on hand. I also tore the romaine and the pea shoots.

For the dressing, start by melting miso into warm water (I try to use as little warm water as needed for miso to melt) then add in oil, emulsify, spices, juice, liquor, soy, mirin and shake it up. Taste by dipping celery or lettuce into dressing and adjust accordingly, then pour over vegetables.

And finally, I myself recently heard about Beyond Bubbie, which is chock-full of holiday recipes. Be sure to bookmark that URL, too!

photo credit: swanksalot via photopin cc