Three light dessert cakes from Antoinette Boulangerie, above, and a box of honeybee and apple cake pops from Lil Cutie Pops make tasteful gifts.  (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

Delectable and symbolic foods for Rosh Hashanah, a celebration of the Jewish New Year that begins at sundown on Sunday are popping up all around the Greater Green.

Preparing a holiday dinner for a few or many, finding the right ingredients and cooking all day can often take the fun out of the feast. PieHole has done some of the legwork for you, rounding up sources for pre-made dinners, desserts, hostess gifts and basics for a sweet new year.

Sickles Market in Little Silver stocks a choice of round, braided or raisin challah for your holiday table.  (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

Sickles Market in Little Silver can be a one-stop-shop this year if you’re hosting a first- or second-night dinner. The farm market offers a full catering menu based on turkey, brisket or salmon with all the trimmings. Enough to feed up to ten people, the meal includes matzo ball soup, kugel, appropriate side dishes, a round or braided challah and dessert.

Don’t forget our butcher shops for specialty meats like brisket and turkey. Stew Goldstein, owner of Monmouth Meats on Monmouth Street in Red Bank, tells us that brisket is the big seller for the holiday. He said you can still order a full or first cut, and “nose off” is the best. He also told us to “Cut it against the grain. Cutting a brisket properly is very important.”

Just down the Monmouth Street from Goldstein’s shop, Antoinette Boulangerie bakes its own challah, which signify the cycle of the year. The shop also carries some beautiful desserts that will be appreciated by guest and host alike. The seven-inch, round, orange and blueberry sponge cake filled with pineapple mousse and glazed with a mango gelatin coating is a gratifying end-of-meal-treat. Artful in appearance and ethereally light, it is a graceful compliment to a heavy meal.

The tradition of dipping apples in honey at most Rosh Hashanah tables signifies wishes for a sweet new year. The  Red Bank Farmers Market on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.in the Galleria parking lot on West Front Street offers a choice of locally grown apples and honey.

If you’re out to impress the younger crowd, consider the special apple and honeybee cake pops sold individually or in a pretty gift box from Lil’ Cutie Pops, also on Monmouth Street in Red Bank.

Rugelach, that sweet little rolled cookie filled with a myriad of ambrosial flavors, can be found at La Rosa’s Bakery on Newman Springs Road in Shrewsbury. An employee assures us the chocolate, raspberry, nut and almond flavors are always in stock.