In case you haven’t yet heard, this year, Hannukkah starts on Thanksgiving. That is rare. In fact, Hannukkah won’t start on Thanksgiving again for another 70,000 YEARS. Unless you happened to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone from Dumbledore before he could destroy it or otherwise have discovered the key to everlasting life (and if you have, please do share!), let’s assume you won’t be around for the next Hannuksgiving.
Therefore, it’s time to celebrate, Jews and Gentiles. So let’s start with the food:
Pumpkin Challah from The Shiksa in the Kitchen
Challah. Quintissential jewfood. Add pumpkin and it’s basically Hannuksgiving in bread form. This Pumpkin Challah looks incredible. Plus, it is from one of my favorite food bloggers (FYI for all you goys – Shiksa means “non-Jewish girl” in Yiddish… and goy means “gentile”). Though Challah is pretty tricky to make sometimes, I’d definitely suggest giving this a shot. Also, as an added treat, maybe stir some cinnamon and/or cranberries into the dough? YUM!
Sweet and Sour Brisket from Food & Wine
Hold. The. Turducken. This recipe for Sweet-and-Sour Slow-Cooked Brisket looks pretty stinkin’ incredible (and tasty to boot)! Though one can’t obviously skip the turkey (there’s an AWESOME recipe for a Maneschewitz – pronounced “Man-eh-sheh-vitz” – Brined Roasted Turkey on Buzzfeed), this dish would be great in lieu of chicken, steak, or the ever classic (and non-kosher) ham.
Challah Apple Stuffing from Buzzfeed
Buzzfeed really killed it with their How to Celebrate Thanksgivingukkah article.
Challah Apple Stuffing. I cannot wait to make/eat this dish. Even my mother is excited, and she loathes cooking for hours upon hours. You bet your tuchus (translation = “bum”) that we’ll be making this stuffing next Thursday. As with the Pumpkin Challah, I feel like you could definitely get away with adding some cranberries to the recipe.
Cranberry Applesauce from Buzzfeed
I am totally making this Cranberry Applesauce next week. And I can’t wait to do so! This recipe looks super easy… and it even incorporates the ever-classic Manischewitz. And it’s Bubbe (“grandmother”) approved – what is there not to love?
Sweet Potato Bourbon Noodle Kugel from Buzzfeed
Good lord. Sweet Potato Bourbon Noodle Kugel. What’s there not to love? For all you goys, kugel is a casserole-like dish usually made from either egg noodles or potatoes. My family usually eats it around the High Holidays (Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur), and we make it with egg noodles. In my mind, there is nothing better than a fabulous, sweet, egg noodle kugel.
That being said, I am pumped beyond belief to try out this dish. Not only does it have the egg noodles to which I have become accustomed, but it also has sweet potatoes (yum), brown sugar (double yum), and bourbon (yay). My family will absolutely be cooking this on Thursday. No questions asked.
Egg Benedict Latkes from What Jew Wanna Eat
A) Most amazing blog title ever. So there’s that.
B) I’m not sure if I’ll be making these Eggs Benedict Latkes on Thanksgivingukkah / Hannuksgiving, but I will absolutely be making them before Hannukah is over. You can count on that! Also, is it just me or would this make an amazing morning-after-
C) If you want to do Latkes on Thanksgivingukkah, I would suggest using my family’s recipe: latke + lox (smoked salmon) + sour cream + caviar = YUM.
D) In case you don’t know what latkes are (no shame in that!), they’re potato pancakes, commonly eaten as a Hannukkah treat. Though most people pan fry their latkes in order to get a french fry-esque taste, my family bakes the latkes so we can get that added crunch. Something to try: sweet potato latkes (serve them with applesauce)!
Apple Cake from Food52
The Rosh Hashannah tradition of apples and honey to ring in the new year has apparently expanded to every facet of Jewish life. Apple and honey hamentaschen for Purim, matzoh with an apple and honey haroset for Passover, applesauce with a pinch of honey for a normal day, the list goes on and on.
Well, this Apple Cake definitely fits into the appley mold. Though it doesn’t say to include honey in the recipe, I think it would go beautifully with honey drizzled over the top or on the side atop some vanilla ice cream… YUM.
Pecan Pie Rugelach from Buzzfeed
Yep, I saved the best for last. Pictured above is Pecan Pie Rugelach. Never had rugelach? Basically, it’s an Eastern European “pookie” (cookie + pastry): it is shaped like a pastry but has the consistency of a cookie.
I actually made a few batches (translation: a zillion) of rugelach Tuesday night in preparation for , my office potluck, and actual Thanksgiving next week (rugelach keeps really well in the fridge/freezer). And by a “few batches” I mean I made two batches of this Pecan Pie Rugelach (total yield = 64) and two batches of What Jew Wanna Eat’s Nutella Rugelach (total yield = 96). Yes, I made 160 “pookies” on a Tuesday night, no big deal.
On the plus side, though rugelach seems really labor intensive, it really isn’t as much as you might think. Though it took me about three and a half hours to finish baking, the vast majority of that was spent sitting around and waiting for my oven to cook the rugelach (I have a pretty small oven and a finite amount of baking trays).
Quick hint: make sure that you brush the rugelach with an egg-water mixture and sprinkle some sugar on top of each piece before you stick them in the oven. It helps the “pookies” get the right coloring / texture / consistency / taste / all over rugelach-ness.
What are you thankful for this Thanksgivingukkah? What is your family making? Any good gelt-related recipes out there?
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat
Aw thanks for including a few of my dishes. Jew the best!