Hanukkah Dinner Menu

By Food & Wine
Updated October 27, 2017
These fresh new takes on Hanukkah classic will impress even the most traditional guests, from latkes to Challah.
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Jessamyn's Sephardic Challah

Credit: Zubin Schroff
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Jessamyn Waldman, founder of Hot Bread Kitchen, grew up in Canada eating challah, the Jewish Sabbath bread. Unlike the eggy challahs of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, this version comes from the Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean, who flavored their challahs with caraway and anise. Many challahs are braided, but this one is twisted into a round, turban-shaped loaf.

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Sweet Noodle Kugel with Dried Cherries

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Noodle kugel is a traditional Jewish recipe served for dessert or as a side dish. Although it's made with cottage cheese, it develops a custardy texture as it bakes slowly in a ceramic dish. Here, Grace Parisi uses corn flakes and pecans to make a crunchy topping.

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Autumn Fritto Misto

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Antonio Ciminelli prepares this starter year-round with whatever produce is in season. In the fall, that means apples mushrooms and late-harvest zucchini, fried in a batter made extra-light and crisp by adding sparkling wine and whipped egg white. The fritto misto is best eaten hot from the pan, perhaps served in a paper cone.

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Sweet Potato Latkes with Wasabi and Wasabi Tobiko

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Rachel Klein mixes sweet and spicy flavors in this whimsical recipe, stirring pungent wasabi paste into crème fraîche to top the slightly sweet latkes and garnishing them with wasabi tobiko (flying fish roe) and peppery radish sprouts.

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Holiday Beef Brisket with Onions

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When Bruce Aidells was growing up, his family's Hanukkah-Christmas celebration always meant brisket, and this was one of their favorite ways to prepare it. Look for the leaner, flat-cut, or first-cut brisket with a layer of fat that's at least 1/8 inch thick. If you can't find a 6-pound piece, buy 2 smaller pieces. Like most braised dishes, this brisket is best made a day or two ahead.

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Fresh Horseradish Relish with Apples and Cranberries

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Cranberries give horseradish a festive bold color and add a touch of tartness in this holiday relish.

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Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Thyme

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Chef Nuno Mendes separates brussels sprout leaves by hand before sautéing them, an extremely time-consuming task. Thinly slicing the sprouts vertically—by hand or with a food processor fitted with a slicing blade—gets similar results in a fraction of the time.

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Beet, Pickled Cherry and Crispy Shallot Salad

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Doughnut Holes with Raspberry Jam

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Chef Ginevra Iverson serves her light, crisp, sugared doughnut holes with sweet-tart raspberry jam. She won't send any imperfect doughnut holes into the dining room; misshapen ones, she says, become snacks for the kitchen crew: "They get slathered with jam and devoured by whomever gets to them first."

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