Thanksgivukkah

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. They go together like stuffing and menorahs, like football and dreidels, like Pilgrims and Jews. Like Thanksgiv and ukkah. It’s been 125 years since Thanksgiving fell on the first day of Hanukkah, or the first day of Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving, depending on your allegiances. Everyone’s excited! Thanksgivukkah has its own Twitter account, its own widely shared BuzzFeedlisticle (“How to Celebrate Thanksgivukkah, the Best Holiday of All Time”), and a $3 million Manischewitz marketing campaign. The New York Times cafeteria got into the spirit, serving a special Thanksgivukkah lunch (“You won’t have that meal again for 70,000 years, so enjoy it,” tweeted one totally jealous ProPublica staffer). And a New York fourth-grader named Asher Weintraub successfully Kickstarted the “Menurkey”—a turkey-shaped menorah—which people are buying. In the words of David “the Latke King” Firestone in the pages of the New York Times, “As the two Google Calendars that rule our lives, Jewish and secular, collide in spectacular fashion, we are letting the gravy of one holiday freely flow into the olive oil of another.” – Slate/Allison Benedict

LARRY DAVID THANKSGIVING SPECIAL

TURKEY PINATA

Everyone loves playing with a piñata, so why not use one to combine both holidays. Take a turkey-shaped piñata and fill it with Hanukkah gelt. The foil-wrapped gold coins are the perfect filling – plus they’ll look great as they come falling out of the sky!

MENURKEY

THANKSGIVUKKAH MENU IDEAS

Pumpkin Challah by Reform Judaism: An unconventional twist on traditional challah, this dough incorporates pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree.

Sweet Potato Noodle Kugel – Rhubarb and Honey: Combining all the flavors of sweet potato casserole (earthy sweet potato, tart orange, spicy cinnamon, and toasted nut) with the heartiness of a custardy, crunchy noodle kugel, this Thanksgivukkah mash-up is one for the ages. 70,000 years, as a matter of fact.

Turkey and Sweet Potato Latkes by Foodie Tots: There’s no reason not to re-purpose some turkey leftovers into a batch of these Turkey and Sweet Potato Latkes later in the week. They’d make a great day-after brunch, in fact. They’re essentially a turkey and sweet potato hash, fried in rounds. Top them with a cranberry apple sauce.

Cranberry Applesauce by Christine Byrne at BuzzFeed Food: This sauce is the new essential topping for latkes and turkey.

Coconut Macaroon Pumpkin Pie by The Shiksa in the Kitchen: Takes a Jewish holiday classic like macaroons, making it into a pie crust, and then filling it with a pumpkin custard.

Turkey with Pumpkin, Figs, & Honey by Kim Kushner: If you’re not up for stressing out and cooking an entire turkey, this is the recipe for you. Braising a turkey breast alongside a few turkey drumsticks in a velvety sauce made of pumpkin, red wine and figs is an easy, but sophisticated approach to Thanksgivukkah. You won’t need to worry about hours of cooking time, and you can ditch the meat thermometer. You will know this succulent dish is ready to go when the aroma begins to blow your mind, and the turkey meat starts falling off the bone. A modern way to cook turkey!