Food Editor's Note:

This is a delicious alternative to the traditional cranberry relish. It is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy, but without nuts, and beautiful to present on a round glass serving dish. It is very popular in our family and even the children love it. You will need an 8 1/2-cup ring mold for this recipe, which makes about 16 good-size servings. Prepare this at least one day in advance, refrigerate, and unmold just before serving.

Here’s the story behind this recipe. I was asked to bring charoset to the nth annual potluck seder a bunch of my friends threw every year. Having never made charoset before, I dutifully searched through Jewish cookbooks and articles to make the perfect charoset. I decided I needed walnuts, apples, wine and honey.

The first error was that I didn't think I was chopping the walnuts fine enough and threw them into my food processor and started grinding away. As things began to turn to paste, I kept adding more apples to “chunk” it up and wine to get the right color, because I thought the apples looked too white against what was now the walnut paste. The wine turned everything this really interesting purplish color. At that point I figured the honey was totally out of the question.

Slightly embarrassed, but having used the entire pound of walnuts, I brought it to the potluck seder. The host took one look, cracked up, and someone ran out to the hardware store around the corner to buy a “Pesadich” trowel to serve the charoset. It actually worked quite nicely when we made Hillel sandwiches (and for leftovers). It soon became a tradition for me to bring the mortar type of charoset and someone else was assigned to bring a “traditional” charoset.

I should note that this is best served with Larry’s killer homemade horseradish rather than the stuff from a jar.

Food Editor's Note:

Most people like cole slaw, especially with a deli sandwich or at an outdoor barbecue. But ask them about their favorite type of cole slaw and you will get a wide range of answers. Some prefer creamy cole slaw, while others like a vinaigrette style. Some like it sweet, some not sweet at all, and others sweet and tangy. You can vary the vegetables (red or green pepper, yellow or red onion, celery) and the spices (celery seed, mustard seed, garlic). With this creamy version, you can even add nuts or raisins. To thin the very creamy dressing, add additional vinegar or a little bit of water. Cole slaw is a snap to make if you use a food processor with its separate blades for slicing, grating, and chopping. Or, try a vinaigrette-style cole slaw.