The Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time to invite family and friends to celebrate an American tradition with a home-cooked feast. The essential elements are turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and yams. And, of course, everyone looks forward to several delicious desserts. My mother was very proud of her very special veggie stuffing and used it for chicken as well as turkey. She mixed everything together and placed it in the bird…

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a holiday full of hope and optimism as well as apples, honey and round challahs. Many of the traditional dishes that are served feature honey and apples to assure “a sweet new year.” It is said the custom of eating apples, a fruit whose fragrance is associated with the Garden of Eden, forecasts a New Year that will be smooth, sweet and well-rounded….

Simchat Torah translates as “rejoicing with/of the Torah,” and it is one of the most joyful of all the holidays. Congregants sing and dance in synagogues as the Torah is carried around the bimah seven times, and children are encouraged to join in the festivities by waving flags and carrying miniature Torahs. This year, to celebrate the tradition, I developed a cookie recipe made in the shape of a flag….

A vegetarian seder can offer special delights The mainstays of a traditional Passover seder, celebrating the Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, tend to be a carnivore’s dream: gefilte fish, chicken soup with matzah balls, stuffed turkey and lamb shanks. Today, though, more and more families are planning a vegetarian Passover seder menu. It is easy and timely, as the Passover holiday arrives each year at the same…