Food Editor Demos Thanksgivukah

By Rivky Bergstein

In what is literally a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, Chanukah and Thanksgiving overlap on Thursday, and American Jews everywhere are excited.

Dubbed “Thanksgivukah,” this intertwining of celebrations has chefs, foodies, and regular home cooks conjuring up menus which combine the traditional foods of both holidays.

Chabad Shluchim in the U.S. have tapped into the frenzy to draw crowds of people to their Chanukah and pre-Chanukah events as an opportunity to teach and inspire about the Miracle of Lights alongside the giving of thanks (itself an essential part of Chanukah).

Although Chanukah goes way beyond the externals of the “traditional” foods, Thanksgiving is very much tied to the official “Thanksgiving dinner,” and as such, people are looking for interesting ways to have their turkey with their latkes.

Many Shluchim, wishing to provide such an opportunity for their communities, have called upon Shifra Klein, editor-in-chief of the Joy of Kosher magazine and a foodie in her own right, to demonstrate various “Chanukah-Thanksgiving” menu options.

On the menu in both Chabad of Cobb, GA and Chabad of Chattanooga, TN: Eggplant with tahini sauce topped with a fresh herb salad and supremed lemon, naturally sweetened ice tea, stuffed latkes, chicken roll-ups with cranberry sauce, kale quiche, and chocolate parfait.

Chabad of Atlanta’s glamorous event featured the same foods, but with a Shabbos twist factored in: four stations with various Shabbos elements – wines and assorted bechers, 6 types of cholent, 4 types of challah and dips, candles and candlesticks and a live performance of Shabbos songs provided the Shabbos’dik ambience and gave people insight to a real Shabbos meal.

The cooking demonstration combined Chanukah, Thanksgiving, and Shabbos all rolled into one. On the menu: 1 dressing 3 ways — Israeli salad with a twist, green beans with mango and pine nuts, and quinoa salad all with a basil dressing; gefilte crab cakes with spicy mayo, eggplant with tahini sauce topped with a fresh herb salad and supremed lemon, naturally sweetened ice tea, chicken roll-ups with cranberry sauce, kale quiche, not to mention chocolate parfait. (No one left hungry.)

On the delectable menu in Chabad of Orange, NY: Baby spinach with mushroom, sweet potato and a balsamic dressing, chicken roll-ups with cranberry sauce, kale quiche, pumpkin muffins (and Bundt cake) with pecan pumpkin glaze, and chocolate parfait.

At Chabad of Westport, CT, Shifra hosted a unique event for teens – A Kosher “Chopped” contest where the teen contestants, were divided into four groups, and each given a closed box of regular and unique ingredients consisting of potatoes, kale, fresh cranberries and prepared horseradish with which to make an original latke and sauce to go with it as well as regular pantry ingredients to assist them.

The contestants were given a basic latke recipe to use as inspiration. Midway through the competition, they were also given a curve-ball ingredient – fresh parsley or mint which they had to incorporate as well.

The final dishes were judged by Shifra Klein, food blogger Liz Rueven of kosherlikeme.com and 2 other local foodies and the teams scored points for taste, creativity and presentation. The contest proved to be a lot of fun for the teens and a wonderful way to get them into the Chanukah spirit and some very interesting and tasty dishes were created.

Naturally sweetened iced tea

½ pitcher seltzer
½ pitcher apple juice
1 cup ice
2-4 tea bags
One lemon or lime, sliced

Combine all ingredients in pitcher.
Serve immediately.

Broccoli stuffed Chicken rolls

1/2 cup Italian dressing
5 thinly sliced cutlets or fillets, about 1 pound
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed and drained well (cut lengthwise if large)

1. Preheat oven to 350?F. Lightly grease a baking dish, large enough to hold all of the rolls without touching, with cooking spray.
2. In a shallow bowl, pour dressing over cutlets. Let marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
3. Fill a second shallow bowl with breadcrumbs.
4. Take one cutlet, coated in dressing and lay it in the breadcrumbs, gently pressing into the crumbs so they adhere to the cutlet on one side.
5. Place a few broccoli florets on the edge of the cutlet, florets facing outwards on both sides.
6. Roll up the cutlet and broccoli like you would a jellyroll.
7. Place seam-side down in prepared baking dish. Don’t overcrowd or the rolls won’t crisp when they bake.
8. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
9. Spray the rolls with cooking spray.
10. Bake at 350?F for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer
pink inside.

Yield: 5 rolls

For more information or to bring Shifra Klein to your community, email: [email protected]