Simple Touches to Beautify Your Rosh Hashana
The TableI’ve learnt that special moments and memories are created from more than just a good dish. It’s the accumulation of multiple components, the company, the ambiance, the traditions, the memories from years past, those special holiday dishes your mother brought out once a year together with the family honey jar. It’s the sentimentality and nostalgia that helps form these special moments. The good news is, we keep it very simple.
Don't be fooled into thinking that elaborate is always synonymous with beautiful. It’s the little subtle touches that go a long way.
Minimalism is not the absence of something, it's the intentionality of choice.
So choose wisely. Keep things tonal to create that soft cohesive look. I love fresh, white linens with soft, vintage florals. Apples are the perfect way to combine practical and sentimental. They act as great place card holders whilst simultaneously reminding us all to have a sweet new year.
Wooden place card holders or wooden honey dippers are other ways to add that little holiday touch while keeping things earthy and minimalistic. They can be tied around individual honey jars, or threaded with some pretty ribbon and placed on the plate to add to that soft, romantic feel. They are both great for gifting too, tie around a bottle of wine, or a basket of fresh baked goods you’re sending to a friend.
Apples are the perfect way to combine practical and sentimental.
the foodI’ve learnt that it’s better to master the art of layering flavors and textures than it is to know how many cups and tablespoons you need for a recipe.
Using fresh ingredients to build flavors without turning to pre-packaged sauces is foundational to the way I cook. Fresh herbs, nuts and spices, layered with vegetable creams, cooked grains, and simply prepared proteins, is how I take complex restaurant dishes and simplify it for the home cook.
I love that this blueprint gives me unlimited variations without feeling complex or difficult to execute. But more than that, I love that it gives me a composed and beautifully plated dish for entertaining over the holidays. I love that it means I don't have to over prepare and cook a million things, with a hundred and one sides.
What I put on the table feels minimal and refined, and comes together in a thought out and effortless way.
My holiday menu goes something like this:Light, plated fish appetizer:
Salmon Crudo Salad with Pomegranate and Apple
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A nice but different kind of soup:
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Apple Chips
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A plated protein with a vegetable and carb:
If I'm hosting a lot of guests, I’ll make two versions of this and serve it plated, family style.
Crispy Duck Breast with Root Vegetable Cream, Farro Risotto and Sliced Apple
Tarragon-Crusted Veal Rack with Butternut Squash Cream and Sauteed Mushrooms
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Salad:
Warm Spicy Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
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Dessert:
Rhubarb compote with Vanilla Ice cream and Crumble (Recipe in Fleishig magazine Rosh Hashana Issue 2021)
Nana Tea with Pomegranate Chocolate Bark
Here are some of my favourite Rosh Hashanah recipes:
Some of my favorite Sides:
Whatever you choose to put on your tables this year, remember that your own special family traditions evoke the most beauty and meaning. How lucky we are to usher in a new year surrounded by family, friends and everlasting traditions!
Wishing you a beautiful, sweet and happy new year,
