As I was growing up, one of my grandmother's specialties was a meat-filled kreplach which she made in great batches every year before the high holidays. We would eat some on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and then freeze the rest in small plastic bags and bring them out on special occasions throughout the year. These were like gold in our family -- they were counted out carefully, watched over constantly once put on one's plate (lest a table neighbor get mischievous), and bartered for in creative ways. In later years, after I was married, my grandmother would come to my house to make the kreplach. (One brazen, but still-loved, sibling was caught more than once raiding my freezer for the valuable packages.) I have precious videotape of Grandma rolling out the handmade dough, placing the meat filling onto the cut up pieces, and pinching the edges together before dropping into the boiling water. I have no written recipe from her, however, as she never used one -- everything was done by look or feel or taste. She measured water into the dough in the cracked eggshells and she sniffed the meat filling to see if there was the right amount of onion.

After I was married, I discovered that kreplach were also a specialty of my husband's grandmother. Nana's kreplach looked and tasted different, but were equally treasured in her family and I came to love them also. Nana's kreplach were smaller and had rounded edges, while Grandma's were larger triangles with pointed edges. Nana's dough was thicker, but the filling was made with cooked flanken or brisket; Grandma's dough was thinner and filled with hamburger meat. Nana's were served in chicken soup or pan-fried in oil or margarine, while Grandma's were either served in soup or broiled gently with a shmear of chicken fat.

After both our grandmothers passed away, my husband David and I finally decided it was time to make our own kreplach. In honor and memory of our two grandmothers, we make a version that is a combination of both of their recipes, and includes a short cut or two. Making kreplach the old-fashioned way all in one session is a time-consuming activity, taking hours to produce these treasured morsels that are consumed in a flash. We always marvel at how our elderly grandmothers managed to make these themselves, in small kitchens without the modern conveniences that we have today. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED BY THE LENGTH OF THIS RECIPE. There are many steps, but they are not difficult, and they don't have to be done all at one time. You can also halve the recipe and, although you'll get only about 50 kreplach, it will take much less time and labor.

We serve kreplach only to our most special guests, and hope that they taste the love and history that goes into each one.

This is a wonderful dish to serve company, because it is easy to make, can be made in advance, and is not a run-of-the-mill entrée. It is great for fancy buffets or casual sandwich meals and will elicit oohs and aahs from your guests, guaranteed. Serve the corned beef with a good quality roll, half-sour pickles, and, on Chanukah, potato latkes and applesauce.

Thanks to Julie's Auntie Barbara for the basic recipe. She cooks the corned beef in a pressure cooker, as do I, but you can also make it in a regular pot. The ingredients for the glaze are not hard and fast. Try adding a few teaspoons of a bottled sweet and tangy glaze, a half-cup of pineapple juice (instead of some of the ginger ale), or, to dress up the dish, canned pineapple or mandarin oranges. The sugar and fruit will add sweetness, the mustard provides the tang, and the overall effect is pure gustatory delight

Food Editor's Notes:

This is one of my mother’s specialties. She has cut down on the fat by using mayonnaise or soup instead of added chicken fat, but it is still delicious. Do not process this too fine; there should be some small chunks left to provide texture. I freeze the livers from all my chickens year-round, so that my mother will have an ample supply for our Rosh Hashanah and Passover meals.

Food Editor's note:  Some people call these pot stickers, others dumplings, or wontons.  Whatever the name, this version is absolutely delicious!  My husband and I, along with dozens of other guests, devoured hundreds of these at a recent party hosted by Julie and her husband Doug.  Milan is a family friend of theirs who generously brought this appetizer to the party and then graciously agreed to share the recipe with ShalomBoston.com.  When I made these at home, my boys practically inhaled them, even without the sauce, which, by the way, you can tinker with any way you like.  And if you have eaters who are sensitive to spicy foods (these are mildly spicy), just use regular sesame oil instead of the hot version.  You can assemble the pot stickers and freeze them for later – just fry or steam them up before serving.  Or, if you're having a big crowd, fry them in advance as well and just reheat in the oven.  These are definitely a crowd-pleaser!

My mother makes a delicious cabbage soup.  I had never made it, but felt that I should.  So, on a snowy day when we couldn’t really go anywhere, I decided to get the recipe and make the soup.
I called my mother for the recipe.  She said, “First I take the soup bones and the meat and boil it up for a couple of hours.  No, first I sauté the onions in my big soup pot, then put in the bones and the meat.”
How many soup bones so you use?
“Well, I use four – because I need to have one for each of my grand-dogs – but you only have two dogs so you probably only need two bones.”
I did not think I could write up the recipe saying: Use as many soup bones as you have dogs.  So, I attempted to quantify amounts.  The thing to remember is that it would be hard to mess this soup up.  So if you have more or less dogs, it is ok.  If you want it meatier, use a bigger piece of brisket.  It will be delicious.

Food Editor's Note:  This is delicious!  I made it with almost 3 pounds of brisket, as I love a good, meaty soup.  But you definitely need a very large pot – 12 quarts would be best.  I made the beef stock in an 8-quart pot, my largest, but I had to do the second phase in two pots!  You can make the beef stock in advance and refrigerate or freeze it until you are ready to continue.  Cut up the tomatoes before adding to the pot, or just break them up towards the end of the cooking when they are soft.  This recipe makes a lot of soup – about 6 quarts, which serves 12 or more.