Easy Rosh Hashanah side dishes

Cafe Society
#1

Not for me, for my stepmom - I am a cooking maniac who will try just about anything, while she, well, isn’t. What are some Rosh Hashanah side dishes that would go well with beef brisket? She didn’t specify any veggies, or anything that she absolutely isn’t willing to try, but she’s not really an adventurous cook, so they should not involve any unusual ingredients, tons of prep time, or complex techniques.

Go ahead, suggest away! She’s not much of an improviser, either, so recipes would be appreciated.

And if this is too boring for you, I’m also making beef brisket for Rosh Hashanah - my sister and her husband won’t eat cooked veggies, period, or just about anything that isn’t strict meat-and-potatoes. My mom, my boyfriend, and I, however, are willing to try just about anything, and though I swore I was only making the brisket and dessert because I didn’t have the time this weekend or want to host Rosh Hashanah on a Monday night to begin with - long story - chances are that I won’t stick to that promise. Plus we are being overwhelmed by CSA veggies - in the fridge at the moment, I have the following - all organic:

Potatoes
Beets
Bok choy, though that is probably looking rather unhappy by now
Thompson grapes
Plums
Apples
Pears (not ripe yet)
A huge mango
2 different small lettuces
Spinach (not much, maybe half a pound)
Crimini mushrooms
Onions
Garlic
Lemon balm, which I have no idea what to do with
And there’s more - I know I’m forgetting things - plus a rather well-stocked pantry, and you can assume I either already have or know where to find just about any missing ingredient. So go ahead, exercise your creativity! And in return, I will share a virtual slice of what will be our traditional honey-based dessert this year, because my birthday is Sunday and I want a chocolate birthday cake, dammit!

Chocolate-Honey Dome Cake with Chocolate-Honey Glaze

#2

Don’t worry. Pretty soon they will overextend themselves, you can whip them at Gettysburg, then you can march through their homeland burning and pillaging. Unfortunately in 100 years time they will have returned and be running the country, but you can’t have everything.

#3

Charoses is easy to make and very tasty.

Steam up a bunch of asparagus if you can. Goes beautifully with brisket. Steam up some red new potatoes for the tater crowd.

I spent my formative years as The Ignorant Son. :smiley:

Chappy New Year ! ( insert much-missed Jewish Payas Icon here )

ETA: Brilliant. Brilliant !!!

#4

Gingered beets are pretty easy- a recipe from Winnie Stein is in the Sundays at Moosewood cookbook. If you’re interested and can’t find it, advise.

#5

I’ve got Moosewood at home somewhere - I already sent my stepmom a recipe for beets in orange sauce, too, which is pretty easy.

#6

This might fall under the “too complicated” header, but you can make a layered gratin using the potatoes, onions and mushrooms.

Since the High Holiday meals at my in-laws’ are always kosher, I would make it dairy-free using a recipe like this one, but if you’re cool with meat and dairy on the same plate then this or this would be a better pick.

Also, since you mention you’re not sure what to do with your lemon balm… the simplest option would be to make herbal tea (good hot or cold) or add it to a lemony vinaigrette for a little extra zing. You can also sub it for lemon verbena, which has a similar flavour - I’ve seen recipes that call for verbena in cakes, ice creams, sorbets and marinades.

#7

Oh, I’m cool with that - it’s far from what I would consider to be complicated. My stepmom would probably consider it to be too complicated, though.

ETA: and we do not keep Kosher by any stretch of the imagination - probably the only thing we would draw the line at eating on a Jewish holiday would be pork. But I sure as hell am going to make that chocolate-honey cake with real dairy products.

#8

Update: I had asked my stepmom if there were any preferred veggies, etc., and her response was “green. and easy. string beans or asparagus.”

So I thought what I had sent already was pretty simple, but maybe it needs to be kicked back even a notch more…seriously, why would one even need a recipe?

#9

Oy.

How about beans almondine, then? Just steam a bunch of green beans, and then take a saucepan, melt some butter (since you’re not squeamish about dairy), add a handful or two of sliced almonds and saute until the almonds are nice and toasty. Pour over steamed beans. Serve.

That’s about as easy as it gets short of plain steamed beans. :slight_smile: