Chrismukkah

In our house we don’t just light the menorah candles or hang our stockings by the fireplace, we do both by celebrating Chrismukkah.

I thought we were pretty original with this unique holiday tradition, but apparently I was wrong, since it’s been featured on shows like The O.C. and there is even a wikipedia entry explaining this “pop-culture neologism”.

Chrismukkah starts with dusting off our menorah and rush-ordering Hanukkah candles from Amazon, since local stores don’t seem to carry them (Eric went to a holiday store and they offered up a box of “Dutch holiday candles” which contained a total of 4 candles!).

Next we decorate the house. This year Domino was in charge of decorations.

Of course there is gift exchange. Eric usually gets eight gifts, one for each night of Hanukkah.

What else can a Jewish woman ask for… except maybe a pair of designer stilettoes, and now I’ve got both

No holiday is complete without a feast of specialty foods to share with loved ones, so every year we host a Chrismukkah party and invite some friends to light candles and spin a dreidel or two.

This year’s menu included:

After hours of laboring in the kitchen the dinner came together nicely

And everyone seem to enjoy it (no food poisoning as far as I know)

We had some classic appetizers including a cheese platter, shrimp cocktail, trail mix, pineapple, and homemade salmon dip with crackers.

The first course consisted of a holiday salad (mixed greens, sweet white onion, candied pecans, pomegranate, turkey bacon) and Challah bread.

Then we sampled some classic Jewish dishes like mini-Reubens, latkes and beef brisket in mushroom sauce.

For dessert, there were two cakes: richly-flavored Gingerbread and delicious Dutch Apple cake (I got the recipe from www.smittenkitchen.com)

If you want the recipes for any of the items on this year’s Chrismukkah menu, leave me a comment, and I’ll reply with the recipe details.

We conclude Chrismukkah festivities with Jewish Christmas (aka Chinese food and a movie). 

Chinese Food on Christmas

[Jane Asks]: What are some of your traditions during the winter holiday season?