Hanukkah

Credit: Minds Eye Photography

Usually this time of year I’m knee-deep in holiday parties at work. I also visit the kids’ classrooms to talk about all things Hanukkah and teach the littles how to play dreidel. M is still young enough that she still beams with pride when I’m in her classroom. Needless to say it’s usually a busy time for our family but not this year because #2020. 

We also try to host a Hanukkah party every year. What started as a small group of neighborhood families has grown into more of an event. Last time we had 80+ people in our home and I loved every second. But let me back up if you’ll indulge me. 

I’ve mentioned my grandmother before, Boo, is what we called her. Boo was a master in the kitchen and she always said everything tasted so incredible because it was made with love. She would sit at her kitchen table with her cutting board and knife to do her prep while she had a soup bubbling away on the stove and some other delicious delight in the oven. I relished my time in the kitchen with her. She lived in Toronto and I would fly out several times a year to visit for a couple of weeks. I didn’t know it then but I was learning how to throw a party, be a host, and take care of people in my home from her; which would eventually become my actual job. For holidays Boo would start cooking weeks in advance and freeze what she could (she converted part of the garage and had three more freezers, two refrigerators, another range/oven, and racks of platters & serving pieces). Once the food prep was complete she would pull out all the serving pieces and place them on the tables where they would eventually be for the day of. She’d walk through with a pen and sticky notes, write the name of each dish and place the sticky note on the platter. Genius. I do that now, professional kitchens I’ve worked in do it; she was brilliant. 

Boo enjoying an afternoon beer.

When I decided to throw a Hanukkah party my husband dutifully supported me. He wasn’t super thrilled about having a bunch of people in our house or how my list kept getting bigger year after year. He knows it makes me happy so he’s happy; he’s a good one and reminds me of my Zaida. My husband is in charge of clearing the furniture out, setting up tables, and keeping the kids occupied. I make my prep list by what has to get done each day about a week before the party. Then off to Costco I go to buy briskets, chicken, a bag of onions, and forty pounds of potatoes. You should see the looks I get when I roll up to the checkout with all this food. I typically invite the checker because why not?!

Then the cooking & set-up begins! I cook the briskets a couple days in advance because they taste better on day 2 & 3, I have a friend make the kugel for me, I get all the chicken prepped and make the marinade for it so I can pour it on and pop it into the ovens. I borrow tables, linens, flatware, & glassware from the restaurants and the kids help my husband set the house up. On the day of the party I peel the potatoes (I know some people don’t but I like to) and then usually two of my girlfriends come over and we fry latkes all day. We drink Bloody Mary’s, snack, chat and fry our little hearts out. We’ve set up a good system over the years. 

Once party time rolls around my kids are buzzing with energy because they are excited to teach all their friends how to play dreidel and act like maniacs upstairs. The gelt is usually eaten before dinner but you know what, we get to eat sufganiyot for dessert so who cares! Sufganiyot are Israeli jelly donuts and are typically eaten on Hanukkah. I have not yet attempted them. This year, I’m making them and a gluten-free version for my daughter. I can’t wait.  

My favorite part of the night is when we light the candles and tell the story of Hanukkah to our friends, most of them not Jewish. Everyone is calm, there’s a sense of wonder in the air watching the flicker of the candles reflected back to me in so many children’s eyes. I am always overwhelmed by the joy I feel in that moment. I have so many wonderful people who have come to celebrate under my roof. I know my grandmother felt the same and would be so proud to know that I’m carrying on her legacy. I know I will never fill her shoes but I sure have a great time trying. This year we are sadly not hosting our party. But, I’m already thinking about next year. I think I’m going to invite more people, put a tent in the back with some heaters and throw the most memorable shindig this neighborhood has ever seen.