Thanksgivukkah

This year was the first year in over a hundred years that Thanksgiving and the first night of Hanukkah have overlapped, leading the Internet to coin the term Thanksgivukkah!
Seeing the opportunity to host a big dinner and loving the concept of being part of a once in a lifetime event, several friends and I decided we'd get together the day after Thanksgiving to commemorate the day.
Frying in oil, as is tradition: Potato latkes.

Pretty delicious..but what's not to love about fried potatoes and onions?

Getting everything set before people started arriving. I started making desserts and seasoning the brisket a couple days in advance. Then, for about 10 minutes before everybody came, I popped everything onto sheet pans and warmed it in the oven so it would be warm, flavorful, and delicious when we all sat down to eat. 

My twist on an Ina Garten brisket recipe - tender and delicious..falling apart! (I studded mine with slivers of garlic cloves, added a little brandy and red wine to the vegetables as they sauteed, and covered the brisket with chicken stock and water before popping into the oven for 3 1/2 hours)
Roasted carrots from the same Dutch oven as the brisket, roasted balsamic red onions, fingerling potatoes with garlic aioli, Brussels sprouts, latkes, several different flavors of rugelach, a rustic pear, apple, and cranberry tart, and a huge challah to break with friends. Wash it down with a little manischewitz, and you've got yourself a feast!
There were leftovers....but there weren't THAT many leftovers! The sign of a successful night :)

First Light

I had this past Saturday morning/afternoon to myself to putt around and do pretty much whatever I wanted. Not being content to sit around (at that point), I thought I'd try my hand at making a challah. Come to find out, it was also the first night of Hanukkah..so I guess that worked out pretty well. :)

Challah is a traditional Jewish braided bread eaten on holidays and the Sabbath. According to my quick Wikipedia search: each loaf has six strands...traditionally, two loaves are served with a total of 12 strands symbolizing each of the tribes of Israel. You learn something new every day! 

It doesn't taste wildly different than any other homemade bread I've ever had, but I didn't include poppyseeds or any of the other traditional toppings. I'm liking it toasted, and it makes really good French toast..but it also looks like it's really complicated, so people assume you're a genius if you make one :)
The recipe I used was really straightforward AND taught me how to braid it - No problem!
http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-challah-bread-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-181004
Shalom :)