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Great traditional and not-so-traditional High Holiday fitvorites from good cooks around town.

ANNABEL COHEN

ring frequently. Toss the beans,
peppers and mushrooms with a lit-
tle salt and pepper and top with
the almond mixture.
Makes 8 servings.

Special to the Jewish News

eople are very territorial
when it comes to holiday
cooking.
Farmington Hills' Ada
Walt is what you would call a bal-
labuste — a great homemaker. And
those who know her know and love
her gefilte fish. She relates this
interesting and telling story:
When her children were small,
her son and his friend insisted that
their mother's gefilte fish was better
than the other's. So one holiday,
the mothers traded fish and
promised to be honest with their
opinions.
"We exchanged pieces of fish,
mine a darker, golden color and
hers snow white. The next day my
neighbor came to my house and
said, 'I have to be honest. Your fish
was terrible.' And I thought her
fish was tasteless, bland, like
mashed potatoes."
You don't have to search hard to
come up with your own version of
this story. Just change the fish for
soup, matza balls, brisket, kugel
and add your own adjectives: too
sweet, too much pepper, too hard,
too soft.
Which goes back to the fact that
people are territorial when it comes
to holiday cooking. And not just
about what tastes good to them.
What you eat for the holidays
tells more about you than you can
imagine. Very sweet fish means
most likely your ancestors were
from Poland, where many people
ate fish sweeter than in, say, Russia.
Go down the list of what you're
serving and most likely each item
has to do with the climate, country

LOIS WALTS' CREAM CHEESE
MASHED POTATOES from

Debbie Colman, Bloomfield Hills

8 large Idaho or russet potatoes,
about 4 pounds
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter
salt and pepper to taste
milk as needed

Julie Schlafer prepares her special kugel.

and availability of ingredients of
where your grandmother or great-
grandmother lived.
The following are appetizer and
side-dish recipes loved by local
families. Though they haven't been
officially tested, they've been pleas-
ing hundreds of hungry eaters for
years.

FRENCH GREEN BEANS
WITH PEPPERS, MUSH-
ROOMS AND SEASONED
ALMONDS

from Cheryl Rasansky, West
Bloomfield

Topping:
3 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1-2 tsp. Moir's Epicurean Secret

Seasoning, or to taste
Vegetables: 1 pound frozen French
style green beans, thawed
3 Tbsp. margarine
1 bell pepper, julienne cut
or cut into matchsticks
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
kosher salt and pepper to taste

Make topping:
Melt 3 tablespoons margarine in
a medium skillet. Add almonds and
stir to coat. Before serving, pour
over the top of the beans.
Cook or microwave beans accord-
ing to package directions. While
the beans are cooking, melt the
other margarine in a large skillet.
Add the mushrooms and cook until
just softened. Add the peppers and
cook for a few minutes more, stir-

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a large
pot half-full with cold water and a
teaspoon of salt. Bring the water to
a boil over high heat as you prepare
the potatoes. Peel the potatoes and
cut them into large chunks. Place
the cut potatoes in the pot and
bring the water to a boil again.
Lower heat slightly and cook
potatoes until tender. Drain the
potatoes very well and allow them
to stand for about 3 minutes before
whipping or mashing them with
the remaining ingredients.
Spoon the potatoes into a casse-
role or baking dish, smoothing the
top only slightly and bake for 45 to
50 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika
and dot with butter and serve.
If you wish, you can make the
potatoes up to a day in advance
and bake just before serving. Makes
12 servings.

GEFILTE FISH MOLD

from Lorraine Lerner,
West Bloomfield
"This is the fish recipe I make for
every holiday. It is adapted from a
local cookbook and is attributed to
Tillie Brandwine. I now use a