Here is our first Guest Blog !
This is what Lauren Steinman Watral has to say about herself
First and foremost I am a wife and mother of 3 girls. Professionally, I created and developed a geriatric care management business to pursue my dream of a private practice. I am owner and founder of Raleigh Geriatric Care Management, LLC established in January of '09.
Four months ago I received an unsuspecting email from a long lost cousin who had attended the funeral of my uncle in Yonkers, NY. While there, he expressed to attendees that perhaps it was time for a family reunion.
After all, our family had never had one.
The theme, he pondered, would be to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Novogrodski family arriving in the United States.
Thus, a birth of a reunion.
Emails started flying around the country and the world to include California, Washington, New York , North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, England, and Israel. Then, a facebook page was created to encourage facebook users to post and become friends of the Novogrodski Reunion. And www.geni.com got some action from the family as members posted their names on a growing family tree to allow us to learn on which branch from which we came.
Plane arrangements, recipe exchanges, hotel reservations, and car rentals were all part of the planning process until the day finally arrived to travel to the Catskills in upstate New York for the big gathering.
The party took place on a farm of 165 acres of land which proved to be the perfect venue for many excited family members who hadn’t seen one another in a very long time.
Needless to say the 75 committed people began arriving and the anticipation continued to develop until we all gathered for a fun filled weekend on the farm where we enjoyed hay rides, a soft ball game, and lots and lots of food all prepared by the hosting family.
The weekend was filled with lasting memories but the one that stands out the most, I describe here: My grandmother used to make the most awesome cookies, rugelah, which became known as one of the staples for Thanksgiving and the Jewish holidays. These cookies are particularly labor intensive and always a hit especially with a gentle dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
So, I had this idea prior to the reunion, that I would bake many dozens of “Grandma Rosie’s Cookies” thinking, “What is a family gathering without them????” For days, my kitchen turned into a bakery as I churned out dozens and dozens of rugelah for the family to enjoy.
And enjoy they did!
Everyone took pleasure in the taste of a memory that only Grandma Rosie’s cookies could provide.
The sounds of “hmmmmmm” and “yummmmmm” and “ohhhhhhhh” and “wowwwwwww” warmed my heart and soul to provide a little of the past to the Grandma’s descendents.
So that everyone could continue to enjoy the taste of days gone by, I provided the recipe with Grandma Rosie’s photo which I include here.
Grandma Rosie’s Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 T sugar, divided
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt
2 cups flour
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (opt)
1/2 cup raisins or currants
2 T cinnamon
XXX sugar
Beat butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 T sugar, vanilla, and salt. At low speed, mix in flour. On floured surface knead dough until smooth. Divide into 3rds. Shape each piece into a 5” circle, 3/4” thick. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour or overnight. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, (walnuts) raisins, & cinnamon in a bowl. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll 1 piece dough into circle. Spread top with 1/3 of sugar mixture. Cut circle into 12 wedges. Roll from long side to the point. Shape into crescent. Bake in lower third of oven 40-45 minutes at 325. Let cool and sprinkle with XXX sugar.
