The Hanukkah Meal
relax, it's a woman's holiday!
Who wants to spend countless hours planning Hanukkah meals as family and friends gather to celebrate together, as always -with food? It's wonderful to have this oasis of cozy warmth and light in the middle of a cold dark winter, an excuse to bundle up, get out and visit. The kids may be out of school and we want to take part in special Hanukkah activities, but we still have our mantle of responsibilities. How can we handle it all with a smile?
Photographed by Chayim B. AlevskyFirst, remember that our dedication to family and community is a mantle of royalty, not a burden that keeps us from our mission in life. This is our mission. This is a leadership role, and a leader must have a plan. That's why I am giving you some of my all time best recipes and planning tips from Cooking for The King. I hope you'll try them and let me know how it all worked. Consider it my Hanukkah gift, especially for you.
You are the Queen of the Kitchen Hanukkah Meal Plan16 Mix and Match Recipes for 8 Nights
of Easy and Elegant (or Cozy and Comfortable) Hanukkah Meals:
Kosher Beef Bourguignon ~my Jewish version of Julia Child's very un-kosher recipe Smoke n'Cola Brisket ~a Hanukkah tradition with a sauce that is wonderful with latkes Oven Fried Chicken ~you don't have to tell them it's not fried! Chicken and Wild Rice Pilaf ~easy and elegant Garden Vegetable Chili ~can serve this in so many ways Oven Barbecue Salmon ~for your dairy meals Classic Potato Latkes ~and video! Winter Vegetable Fritters with Creamy Dill Sauce ~a different kind of latke Oven Fried Eggplant ~creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside Low Fat Latkes ~baked in a muffin tin Dixie Corn Dollars with Honey Mustard Sauce ~a Southern tradition, perfect for Chanukah Caesar Salad ~you can make Chicken Caesar Salad with this because it's pareve! Snappy Slaw ~great make ahead, gets better every day Frittata This! ~easy dairy dinners Cupcake Menorah ~everyone decorates a cupcake, light them before dinner and eat them for dessert Sepahrdic Wedding Cookies ~for Hanukkah we call these "Snow Cookies" Linda's Fruit Salad ~with cinnamon and a hint of vanilla Hanukkah is a holiday with great depth of meaning, ideas that we can apply to our daily lives. We eat traditional foods at our Hanukkah meals to remind us of the miracles and bravery, the dedication and purity of our forefathers ~attributes we can use to build our families and ourselves.
 Plan to enjoy relationships with all the people Hashem has placed in your life. And plan to plant memories that bond you each to one another~ and to the generations that came before us. It is not only their historic triumph over the darkness that we celebrate on Chanukkah...but our own tiny triumphs throughout our every day that we celebrate as well.
Cooking for The King by Renee Chernin
The book of Torah insights, recipes and practical tips
designed to bring majesty to the mundane.
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