"honey cake" news and stories

Bacon-wrapped dates. Photo: YumSugar.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

The salty-sweet pleasure of bacon-wrapped dates.

Honey cake is a sweet way to ring in the Jewish New Year.

Spain can now boast the honor of the world's longest restaurant table -- over three quarters of a mile long!

Bratwurst is a must when throwing an Oktoberfest celebration.

In a bid to waste less food and energy, college cafeterias prep to go tray-less.

That classic steak and potato dinner can be turned into a tasty salad.

Do you care if your dining companions order the same dish you're having?

Rosh Hashanah, the start of the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown tonight and kicks off the High Holy Days. As we head into this season, I thought I'd feature my very favorite Jewish holiday cookbook. Called The Jewish Holiday Cook Book, it was written by Leah W. Leonard and was printed in 1955. The recipes in it are homey and make me think of the food that my Aunt Doris used to make (she was an hors d'oeuvres hobbyist).

The book is organized by the Jewish holiday calendar and so opens with recipes appropriate for celebrating Rosh Hashanah. A key at the beginning of the book reminds us that traditional foods for this holiday include Honey and Apple (to remind us that life is sweet), Honey Cake (delicious stuff if done right) and Tzimmes of Carrot (which according to the recipe in this book includes carrot, potato, sweet potato and beef brisket, although I find that it is most frequently made as a carrot-based sweet side dish).

While this cookbook has an unfortunate fondness for foods molded in rings (also, much like my Aunt Doris) the recipes are wonderful for people who want to evoke a sense of classic, Americanized Jewish holiday cookery. In addition to offering recipes for every Jewish holiday, it also offers sections on Sabbath cooking as well as recipes to make home celebrations (like weddings and bar/bas mitzvah ceremonies) more festive.

• How to sear tuna to perfection.
• Chef Lydia Shire is trying to duplicate Bailey's Butterscotch Sauce, a favorite childhood memory of hers.
• I've never liked hot apple pie. It's probably because I was so used to eating it cold when I was a kid, either from the fridge or a Hostess pie, that a hot one never appealed to me. But here's how to make the perfect apple pie.
• Taste Test: which root beer is best, Mug, Stewart's, Barg's, Virgil's, IBC, or A&W's?
• A recipe for Honey Cake.
• More recipes this week: Moroccan Fish and Vegetable Casserole, Marshmallow Fluff, and Bacon and Chive Biscuits.