hot potatoes and sexy latkes!
it's the Hanukkah post! we talk about tradition, martinis, and how to be a jewish martha stewart!
It’s the time we have all been waiting for – the Hanukkah post! I am not religious AT ALL, but there is something so wonderful about the spirit of Hanukkah (GIFTS! FRIED FOODS! CANDLELIGHT!) Hanukkah is one of the only holidays outside of birthdays and Thanksgiving where my family all gets together, and now that my sister has children, there is a really special joy in watching them unwrap gifts and get so excited! Needless to say, I have been looking forward it it immensely this year.
I hope you all have been having a wonderful holiday season with good food, good drinks, and good friends. I said in a toast at my holiday party (we’ll get there) but one thing I love about Hanukkah is the story behind the holiday. The world has been a very hard place this past year and in the spirit of the holiday, I hope in the new year we all take a little bit of our light and use it to make something long lasting and wonderful.
Okay, now that I am done being sappy, it’s time to be fun and talk about my Hanukkah party!!! It’s my second year throwing this party, and each time I learn more about becoming a jewish Martha Stewart and the limits of people that can fit in a NYC studio!
The party is called “Vodkas and Latkes” and it’s centered around a latke + martini bar. As such, I went full designer on the latkes and ordered 40 latkes, sufganiyot (traditional jelly filled donuts) and caviar from my favorite jewish institution: Barney Greengrass!
Our friend Mitch made his grandma’s brisket recipe (it involves Lipton onion mix) and it was a huge hit! Our other friends made homemade applesauce. As queen Ina Garten said – If you can’t do homemade, store bought is fine! To top it off, we had sour cream (Lactaid brand obvi – I’m really trying to get a sponsorship…does anyone know anyone?), lox, chives, dill, and CAVIAR, cause were RICH!
I also pre-batched vodka, gin, espresso, and 50/50 martinis for everyone! I’m a vodka girl, so the cocktails leaned heavily in my favor, however I feel most people prefer gin? Would love to see how this shakes out:
For the gin and vodka, you do 300ml spirit of choice, about 50ml vermouth and about 85ml water, and BOOM you’ve got yourself a batch martini! Now repeat that about 4 times for each spirit and you have a Hanukkah party! I also made my sink an ice bucket, which is just a personal favorite thing to do of mine!
Leave me a comment and let me know what martinis you would love to see batched below:
I also NEED to write an ode to Barney Greengrass – it holds a very special place in my heart and it would be a disservice to not speak about it on my substack! Some people talk about going on a birthright trip, but my birthright is taking the C train to 81st st. Between Barney Greengrass, Zabar’s, etc, this is where MY people descend from and taking my boyfriend there for the first time felt like showing him a whole new deeper side of me. My parents and I also go and between the waiter who has been there for 30 years, the loud volume, the cranky attitude, it just all feels like home and the food itself is my ultimate comfort food. You will sit down and the waiter will immediately ask you if you’ll get the latkes, but it WILL be phrased in a way where it is not even a question…something along the lines of “You want latkes?” but minus the question mark. PRO TIP: you ALWAYS get the latkes.
The final holiday tradition is Chrismukkah! As someone who grew up Jewish, I never got to decorate a tree, so my good ol’ goyem boyfriend suggested I come over to help him decorate. Thus, Chrismukkah became a part of my life. Our tradition involves making Ina Garten’s iconic cosmo recipe and decorating the tree each year. As an added blend of cultures this year, he learned to make our queen Alison Roman’s matzo ball soup. You too can learn to make it here:
He GOD TIER matzo ball soup and when I sent my parents a picture, they asked when he was converting!
You may see the picture above and ask “Limes…WTF Aaron?” To which I say, shut the fuck up I will Chrismukkah however I like. Just kidding, this comes from when we went to Tulum this past summer, we were looking for a place to eat lunch and encountered a roadside restaurant deli/BBQ place and they had matzo ball soup. The idea of eating matzo ball soup in 95 degree heat in Tulum sounded too chaotic for me NOT to try so I did it! And…it was not bad! They served it with corn in it and a wedge of lime on the side. The wedge of lime hit so surprisingly right that now I always crave it when I eat matzo ball soup, so we had it as an addition to Miss Alison Roman’s!
Thanks for sticking around for my holiday post, and I hope you enjoyed reading about my holidays! I hope you all get some latkes, some cosmos, and some great gifts this year! If you are liking what you are reading, please consider sharing with your friends and all content is free, but a paid membership will have all money donated for diabetes research.
type 1 is my fave
I am not joking when I say I feel like a celebrity getting a mention in TYPE 1 🥹 Your Hanukkah party was everything, Aaron! And thank goodness you shared those martini recipes 😚🤌