Black-Bottom Cupcakes

It was traditional at Mosaic Law for the Bar Mitzvah family to sponsor a Kiddush for the entire congregation, rather than a private lunch for invited guests. And the Kiddush tended to be a full lunch since services did not get over until after noon.

The standard (and easy) Kiddush was tuna salad, egg salad, bagels, lox spread, and brownies. Bo-ring. For our Bar Mitzvahs, our Havurah and other friends would spend three days in the kitchen preparing increasingly interesting meals. And since we had four kids, as well as helping with our friends’ Bar Mitzvahs, we got to experiment with different recipes and menus. We tried serving family style on each table rather than the buffet so people would not have to stand in line so long. We made a Chinese tuna salad that was lettuce based (like Chinese chicken salad) rather than mayonnaise based. For Michael’s Bar Mitzvah we ambitiously made cookies, and discovered that it is MUCH easier and quicker to make brownies and other bar-type cookies.

I have not made some of the standard Bar Mitzvah recipes often since then. But they all remind me of those days in the kitchen. Judy Mannis made black-bottomed cupcakes. Michelle Gordon made her killer shortbread. Only Denni could make Chinese noodle salad. And I always made baklava.