Thanksgivukkah

We celebrated Thanksgivukkah this year because the first day of Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving (note:  I said day, not night--technically it was the second night of Hanukkah).  To properly get in the spirit, we tried to merge traditional Thanksgiving dishes with traditional Jewish dishes, some to more success than others.

Our Grass Valley friends Todd and Delia and their son Max joined us before driving on to San Jose to spend the rest of the weekend with her parents.  Ta-Chen and Ben also joined in the fun, as did Tina and Karsten (Shaya was in Baltimore this year celebrating Thanksgiving with her father).  Tina had to work that day, so everyone came over for champagne and sweet potato latkes around 7pm before we moved on to the big bird.  I also made some warm roasted nuts with rosemary and shallots for folks to nibble on with their drinks while we all assembled in place.



This year, in honor of Thanksgivukkah, we brined our turkey in Manischewitz which turned it purple, but it also made it super delicious.  Seriously, that turkey was the best I think we've ever made.






We also had a bunch of tasty side dishes including a gluten-free (but not Kosher) cornbread dressing, Tina's bigos, horseradish mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and brussels sprouts.









It was a nice group size for dinner--large enough for a nice variety of conversation and opinions but small enough to feel intimate.



Afterwards, we all enjoyed the chocolate pecan pie I made the day before.


And I committed a MAJOR party foul by forgetting to serve the galette that Ben made.  But it did make a delicious Black Friday breakfast the next morning...and I'm secretly glad I forgot because then I didn't have to share it with anyone else!





Happy Holidays, everyone!

Recent Meals

Just a few recent meals around Chez Schwarm.

Moroccan Chicken on a bed of wilted spinach and carrot puree with a harissa-orange sauce
and moroccan-spiced squash from Jamie Oliver

Sauerkraut Flammkuchen

different flammkuchen teig than we've used in the past

finished product--delicious!

 
Chorizo Manchego Cheese Puffs (otherwise known as it's Thursday!)

my second attempt at pate choux after the success of gnocchi parisienne 

oh, so good!  cheesy and spicy.  I could see these at our next cocktail party!