Charoset

Unlike the majority of our gentile celebratory foods, which gain a spot on our tables simply for being delicious, Jewish cuisine is notorious for the symbolism of each item present.

Matzo and only other unleavened breads because the when the Jews left Egypt they didn’t have enough time for leavened (chametz) bread to rise and/or because it was easy to carry with them on their journey back to Israel.

Bitter greens to symbolize the embittered life of enslaved Jews in Egypt and salted water to represent the tears of the people.

There are many other symbolic dishes that represent various struggles and tribulations in Jewish history, but I admit the most appealing (speaking only of taste) is charoset.

Charoset is said to represent the mortar the Israelites used while bonding bricks in Egypt. There are two different kinds: Sephardi, which is cooked and usually paste-like to more closely resemble the mortar of ancient times, and Ashkenazi, which is more rustic and always contains nuts, apples, cinnamon and sweet wine – ingredients King Solomon used to describe the children of Israel.

I like the Ashkenazi version because, well, I’m not Jewish and I can pick on taste alone. I’d like to try making it with pistachios instead of the traditional walnuts, but I’m not sure if I get in trouble for messing with the recipe too much.

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carrot cake

We celebrated a birthday in the house recently and the chosen cake was carrot. I was pleased with this choice because I've been craving carrot cake for months now but the husband doesn't like it. When there's only two of you in the house you have to make sure that both of you are going to enjoy it - otherwise there's an unequal gaining of weight and that's just not fair. Sadly, that isn't an issue anymore.

I adapted Alton Brown's carrot cake recipe and it turned out fabulously. The cake itself is very dense and I really like that it wasn't too sweet. I upped the spices and switched vanilla bean for the extract in the icing recipe - both great decisions.

The recipe makes just enough for one 9 inch round cake and the right amount of icing to cover it. If you want to do a two-layer cake I'd suggest doubling both recipes.

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cinnamon and honey applesauce

I went grocery shopping at the commissary the other day to restock the fridge after vacation and found that they had installed two huge bins of 'dinged' produce. These are the fruits and vegetables that have bumps and bruises - a little more damage than you're average cosmetic defect - with discounts to match.

There were all sorts of different items in the bins - zucchini, red delicious apples, bananas. The only item I was really interested in was the packages of granny smith apples.

Bumped and bruised granny smiths? Sounds like applesauce to me.

OK - it actually sounded like apple pie, but I convinced myself that applesauce was a much healthier alternative.

Less than two dollars for five pounds of apples later and I was on my way home to make some applesauce.

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sour cream zeppole

Zeppole are an Italian style ball doughnut with more variations than one could count. They can be both sweet and savory, light and fluffy or dense and cakelike.

It seems that there is little zeppole can't be - including delicious. The dinner at Tenh Penh has proved to be particularly inspirational for recipes, for it is there that I had the most delicious doughtnut I've ever had in my life.

I should add right now that I have never liked doughnuts. I'm not typically a fan of much anything that's sweet, instead favoring savory preparations or a dessert with a strong sourness or bitterness - like this Meyer lemon tart. However, at Tenh Penh I ordered a doughnut dessert just because I wanted to see how they made them.

When they arrived they were piping hot, fresh from the fryer and coated in a cinnamon sugar mixture. I have never enjoyed a doughnut quite so much as I enjoyed those little beauties.

After returning home I was still itching to have another so I set out to find just the right type of recipe. I chose, instead of a yeast recipe, a doughnut leavened with baking powder. The addition of sour cream adds not sourness, but a creamy, underlying richness and a complexity of flavor that strays far from the flat sweetness of your typical maple bar.

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Puff Pastry Sopaipillas

Sopaipillas are a type of fried pastry dessert liberally powdered with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with honey. Traditional to many Latin cultures, there are multiple variations of the dessert utilizing several different types of dough.

This version deviates widely from the traditional preparation in that it is baked instead of deep fried. I'm fairly certain, however, that if one were inclined to deep fry puff pastry they would immediately drop dead from a karma-induced heart attack.

When I was young my mother used to use the leftover scraps of pie crust to make tasty little treats. She'd sprinkle the pieces of dough with cinnamon sugar and bake them until golden brown and crispy - easily my favorite part of the baking process. These sopaipillas are the same idea, using the leftover scraps of puff pastry from another recipe. I can't stand just throwing away perfectly good pieces of puff pastry and this application allows a means of saving them and a means of gaining at least three pounds just by looking at them.

Just brush the pieces of leftover puff pastry with a beaten egg and bake at 425F for about 16-18 minutes or until deep golden brown. Liberally sprinkle with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and drizzle with honey.

Instant treat.