Rosh Hashanah Baking and Recipes

I love Jewish holidays because they are always the perfect excuse to bake something(s) delicious. This year has been no exception. For Erev Rosh Hashanah (the night the holiday starts), my family's custom is to have dinner at my grandparents'. My grandpa is known for his potato kugel and outstanding roast chicken recipes. I have the link below to both recipes, neither of which ever disappoint. I provided the challah (baked in the traditional round for Rosh Hashanah), using my paternal grandmother's coveted recipe. I also provided dessert, a apple cinnamon rum cake, a modest adaptation from Once Upon a Chef.

This post is coming a night early because everything was too good not to share today. Tomorrow, (Monday), I'm making salted caramel apple cupcakes (with homemade caramel of course) and will update this post to include them.

Click here for the recipe of Jenn Segal's (Once Upon a Chef) apple cake. I could not recommend this recipe more. I added a pinch of cinnamon to the batter and also sprinkled it on top with the sugar. This gave the cake a deliciously warm depth of flavor. I served it with hand-whipped cream.

Click here for the Chicken Provençal my grandpa made. It is an outstanding recipe. The recipe only calls for chicken thighs (my favorite piece) but he makes it with breasts and thighs. He also adds fresh thyme from his garden.

Click here for the best potato kugel recipe ever. If you have only had noodle kugel, these things can not be equated. Gross, sweet noodle kugel is nothing like this delicious cross between latkes and savory kugel. My grandpa uses matzah meal instead of flour when he makes it to make it "more jewish".