Kids Table, Feed Them First Or... ?

It's been a long time since I entertained a large group for shabbat that included many small children.   Kids can be a wonderful addition to the table or they can be a distraction - and its nearly impossible to know in advance whether the kids in question are best seated at a kids table in the dining room, fed first then allowed to go play, or some combination - 

I'd love to get some feedback from parents with small children - Any thoughts or suggestions?

Challah - Take 2

Trying again with the overnight challah recipe - this is actually the third time - 

I've been keeping track of the recipe modifications, and though I haven't tasted this week's attempt yet, I think I'm getting closer.  Research is needed to determine if now that I've switched to bread flour, and increased the flour in the recipe, if I should use more yeast - this week I had three cups of flour and 1 package of yeast.  The finished results just don't seem to rise quite high enough - maybe I should try a longer first rise.

If you're a successful challah baker and can shed some light, please give me your thoughts.

Shabbat Shalom!

Post - taste note:  Flavor is really there!  Have the right amount of honey - the texture was a bit too dense though - going to try more yeast - or maybe as I thought on Thursday, a longer first rise

It's All About the Product!

That was a piece of advice I got a few years ago, not about food, but the essence of the advice is that to do the job right, you need the right tools.  The "product" in the advice I got (thanks Karen!) related to haircare, but this morning, I realized that I had been using the wrong "product" to cut bar cookies my whole life!

The right "product" to cut bar cookies is.... a pizza cutter!  My fudgy chewy brownies, that are usually shaggy and messy when cut with a knife came out with perfect edges this morning - I used a pizza cutter held against a metal ruler for a straight edge - by the way, a washable sturdy ruler is also an inexpensive kitchen essential.

I really want to emphasize how terrific a pizza cutter is for cutting bar cookies - Last night I made Coconut Pecan Topped Brownies which usually are a complete disaster to cut.  I made perfect beautiful bites, cutting with a pizza cutter against a metal ruler.