Our ultimate goal is for every one of our readers to find something here that works for them, whether it’s presented on a paper plate or on fine china.

A few weeks ago, Bassi Gruen wrote a fantastic editorial about the balance between oversharing and keeping things private, and how it’s impacted today’s writing style. Only a day or two after reading it, I experienced a similar balance issue. An article came in that had an entitled undertone as well as several references to social media, all of which made me uneasy. While the article spoke to a common stress point, and probably would have validated many readers in this era of raising kids, it also exposed and possibly normalized flaws in our lives that I didn’t think were necessary to highlight.

The fact is that the more we hear about a less-than-ideal fact of life, the more it seeps into our subconscious and somehow makes it more okay. This may not be exactly about oversharing versus maintaining privacy, but it’s a close cousin: normalizing the shameful versus validating a common challenge. The balance is always tricky.

In that vein, this week is the first of our Chanukah content, and we know you’ll love what we have in store. Lots of you will recreate many of the recipes and ideas presented in these pages, and there are many others whose Chanukah nights don’t look like the ones in the magazine. For all of you in the latter category, whether we say it outright or not, our goal is for you to feel validated and comfortable in our pages.

The FT staff members represent so many of you, no matter your age and stage (or the state of your kitchen at 6 p.m. on a school night). And our ultimate goal is for every one of our readers to find something here that works for them, whether it’s presented on a paper plate or on fine china.

CHANIE NAYMAN
Food Editor, Family Table

My favorite sugar cookie dough recipe is from the CookupaWedding cookbook series, a cookbook created as a hachnassas kallah initiative.
It’s 1½ sticks margarine + 1 cup sugar + 1 egg + ½ tsp vanilla extract + 2 cups flour + ½ tsp baking powder.

Bake at 375°F (175°C) for 15 minutes.

When Water Works

When sautéing onions, start with oil to get things moving. Then you can move on to water, adding it in very small increments. This actually helps release all those brown bits of flavor you want in your final dish.

You Know This, Right?

Add a full carton of vegetable stock to your cholent for a real game-changer on flavor!

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 718)