On January 6, 2005, I trekked to Northeast Philly to immortalize a bit of family lore. With camera, camcorder, tripod, apron, cutting board, and my favorite knives, I went to Bubby's house. My mission, to learn and record for posterity, the process of making knishes!

What is a knish? It is manna, it is ambrosia, it is... well! In culinary terms, it is a thin, flaky pastry crust surrounding any of a variety of delectable fillings. It is roughly spherical, about the size of a golf ball. It is similar to Spanikopita in concept.*

On that day, we would make over 100 of these gustatory goodies... a quantity which, without strict rationing, might feed 3 or 4 party guests. This batch was, indeed, earmarked for a family gathering 10 days hence which, ironically, I missed because of an intervening case of flu. Which is why I cannot chronicle herewith the conclusion of the project... the consumption (or more like a feeding frenzy I'm told) of the kinshes.

The story unfolds in three parts: Prepare the Dough, Prepare the Potato Filling, and Build the Knishes. As a reward for making the journey, on the last page you will find a link to the written recipe that you can download and print for your own recipe box.

* I've had knishes from New York, touted to be the world's greatest, that are more like large hush-puppies. Feh!