Getting ready for Sukkot

This is the holiday intensive season of the year.  

 My husband and son went to the Lower East Side to buy a lulav and etrog.  Some years the etrogim available are a little bit sad, greenish shriveled and not quite full of הדר, splendor and glory.  This year's etrog is pretty magnificent.  It's hard to imagine a better looking etrog.

Dear friends from Israel are joining us tonight. I made chicken, trying to recreate the mind-blowing chicken my son made a few weeks ago with paprika, cayenne pepper and lots of freshly squeezed lime. If I get close to the fabulous chicken my son made I will be happy.

We are also eating these roasted Brussels sprouts. My son and I prefer them more charred. My husband prefers them less charred. I think this is a good compromise.

The challah still has to bake.

The oven is currently occupied with a plum tart (almond crust, and a layer of pureed apricot under the plums), and will be baked as soon as the tart is done.

This plum tart reminds me of my late friend Herta. This isn't exactly her plum tart, which was more classically German. Herta would have approved of the the neatly placed plum slices and the pairing of the almond crust with the plums. She would have done a marzipan lattice over the fruit. I can't approach Herta's elegance but I do think about her as I put mine together.

! חג שמח