This recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman. It is a super flavourful dish that requires very little time to make; the only time required is allowing the brisket to marinade for 24-48 hours. Brisket is a great dish to serve at holiday time because it is simple to do and slices much easier than a turkey.
This is the first time that I have made Rugelach cookies. The dough is cream cheese based and the filling is a combination of raspberry jam, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts. They were just the right size to serve after a heavy Hanukkah meal. They also freeze well and would be a great cookie to exchange at a holiday cookie party.
I have also included a few of my favourite photos from Christmas and Hanukkah below.
This is a classic recipe for potato latkes. I was going to make them thick but David prefers them thin; I am not sure which way is right but they turned out delicious. I served them with homemade applesauce and sour cream.
Latke is the Yiddish word for pancake. Jewish people living in the Pale of Settlement in the 17th century had a diet that consisted mainly of potatoes and bread. They created latkes as a special dish because they are cooked in oil, which symbolizes the miracle of Hanukkah. They can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer. They taste great plain but can be eaten with sugar, applesauce, sour cream, or even chicken soup.
This hot apple cider is the perfect beverage for a cold winter night. I was served this drink at a cooking class and thought it would be great after a holiday meal. It is rich, delicious, and has a slight spiciness and aroma from the cinnamon and vanilla.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas and enjoying their time with family and close friends. Merry Christmas!
Making your own apple sauce is simple and takes no time at all. The flavour is so much better than the store-bought stuff that it is really worth the extra effort.
At the beginning of December my mom and I flew to New York City to close down my apartment and to take a week long Artisanal Bread Course at the French Culinary Institute. During the week we learned how to properly mix, ferment, shape, proof, score, and bake breads. We also learned the critical importance of dough temperatures and techniques for accurate calculation. We made a variety of breads during the week, including baguettes, bagels and flatbread, brioche and challah, viennoiseries and croissants, traditional loaf breads, pizza, focaccia, and ciabatta.
This past week for Chanukah I wanted to recreate one of my favourite breads that I learned in the class, “Challah.” It is rich, slightly sweet, and looks beautiful because of the braids that it is baked in. The braids symbolize the interviewing of the heaven, earth, and mankind with God. It is the perfect bread to serve at a holiday meal and would even be great to eat with honey or jam in the morning.
This was my first year celebrating Chanukah. My boyfriend David is visiting from New Jersey and since he was going to miss Chanukah with his family, I wanted to create a classic Jewish dinner for him. I even ordered a menorah from Israel so that we could light the candles over the 8 days of Chanukah. David taught my family the traditional prayer (I think it is going to take some more practice though.)
The meal came together really well, and even though I am not Jewish all of the dishes turned out the way that I had imagined them. To all of my readers that are also celebrating this holiday, I wish you a very “Happy Chanukah!”
Over the next few days I will be posting all of the recipes from this menu, so keep checking back.
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All photos by Virginia Drader unless otherwise stated. ©Virginia Drader. Please include a credit if used on a blog. Contact me to inquire about purchasing work for commercial purposes.
