“There’s nothing better than a little coffee, a little cake and a little kibitz,” Jessie-Sierra Ross told the Journal. “We eat to remember, we eat to connect, we eat to nourish, we eat to love.”

Ross, who identifies as a Ukrainian Jew, grew up conservative; her mother was Jewish, her father was not. “My father was actually a World War II refugee, and had gone through some pretty traumatic and terrible times, one of which was not having enough food at a very tender age,” she said. “So in my house, when we had food, it was not only nourishing [and] something that was an art that could tap into memory, but it was a celebration because of all those hardships.”

Ross, who prefers salty blintzes, said she would never share her mother’s recipe. However, there’s a family blintz story ingrained in her memory. “My maternal grandparents’ [families] came from separate sides of Ukraine. one side liked sweet, one side liked salty,” she said. “My grandpa would come over and put some salt into the blintz’ mixture; my nana would taste it and put sugar into it, so that was our growing up.”

The founder of the “Straight to the Hips, Baby” blog and author of “Seasons Around the Table,” Ross took the leap from prima ballerina to the food and cooking world, after she retired from professional dance and started a family.

“I started cooking at my mother’s side at six or seven years old, just fascinated by not only the chemistry of bringing food together and the sort of food is love aspect, but also just spending quality time with my family,” she said, “That passion for food continued to grow with me, even if I couldn’t always indulge: My daily staples were yogurts, oranges and bowls of chicken soup, but that didn’t stop me from the occasional cocktail and slice of Brie.”

Once Ross’ blog took off, she started doing food photography and styling, magazine articles and TV work. Her recently published cookbook, “Seasons Around the Table,” naturally covers the four seasons, and melds gardening, home decor, lifestyle and food and drink. The linchpin is entertaining: Inviting people to the table and creating beautiful tablescapes for people to enjoy. This could be flowers, little objects of art or even pieces of family history.

“I love bringing out my great grandma’s huge crystal compote dish, which you can’t really use anymore, but I stick a bunch of fruit and flowers in there,” she said. “I bring her to the table; it’s a way to remember and it’s a way to really enjoy what you have with the people you love.”

Ross said you don’t need a special occasion to make a special meal. And, when you host, you need to remember what is and is not important. “Focus on the flavors, focus on the food and obviously the guests,” she said.

You do not have to serve five or six courses, have a piece of silverware for each course or even have matching plates. You just need to get people to the table.

When you are planning a dinner party, start with your menu plan. Decide on your focus: maybe it’s the main dish, perhaps it’s a fancy dessert. “Choose one thing to put a ton of your energy on – and by a ton I mean something under an hour because in my world I’m too busy to do much else – and supplement with simpler recipes,” Ross said. “Simpler doesn’t mean less flavorful.”

For instance, if the main course is a roast chicken, also make a beautiful, crispy, smashed potato with olive oil, dill and garlic, along with a fresh green salad.

If you’re going to make a complicated dessert, use the sous vide to make a prime rib. Don’t even bother with the oven.

“It’s all about your time management and expectations,” Ross said. “If you can create a stunning dish at the table and everything lines up, your guests will be astounded; it takes very little to make this huge impact.”

For a simple dessert that’s a certain hit, the recipe for Ross’ apple and pear crumble is below.

Learn more at StraightotheHipsBaby.com and follow @StraighttotheHipsBaby on Instagram and Jessie-Sierra The Last Bite on Substack.

For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:

Apple and Pear Crumble

4 large Honeycrisp apples (about 800 g)

2 large Bartlett pears (about 500 g), washed

1 tsp (4.8 g) vanilla extract

¼ tsp (0.75 g) kosher salt

2 tsp (5 g) cornstarch

1 cup (128 g) all-purpose flour

1 cup (200 g) sugar

½ tsp (1.3 g) ground cinnamon

½ cup (115 g) cold butter, cubed

Optional: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9-by-13-inch (23 × 33 cm) baking dish.

2. Peel and core your apples. Cut into quarters and then slice thinly (⅛ inch, or 25 cm). Add them to a large mixing bowl.

3. Next, cut the pear from the core in quarters, leaving the skin on. Slice into ⅛-inch (25 cm) slices. Add to the bowl of apples.

4. Sprinkle the apples and pears with the salt, vanilla, and cornstarch. Gently mix and set aside.

5. In another large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix quickly with a fork.

6. Add the butter, and — using your hands — incorporate the butter into the dry mix. “Squish” the butter in, using the heat from your hands to melt it slightly.

7. When the butter starts to clump with the flour, begin to crumble up the clumps. The end result should look like a mix of sandy dough, with a few larger chunks.

8. Add the sliced apples and pears to the prepared baking dish. Spread the fruit out to even thickness.

9. Spread the “sandy” crumble mixture all over the fruit.

10. Bake for 40–50 minutes on the middle rack, until golden and slightly bubbly.

11. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. (I like to let mine rest for about 40 minutes, so the crumble is still warm, but not too hot; that way I can top with a scoop of ice cream and not have it immediately melt!)

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.