Hanukkah Party

This weekend was our third annual Hanukkah party. When Mr. B and I moved in together, I adopted Hanukkah as the holiday that would be at our house, and I love hosting it. 

Well, usually. This year turned out to be a bit stressful- I had a busy weekend outside of hosting the party, plus there was a medical issue just before dinner that involved a frantic call to 911 and a visit from the paramedics. Luckily all is okay now. 

But the incident served as a reminder that the point of these parties is to enjoy family. I'd been really stressed and worried about the food (my husband's family includes a myriad of intensely picky eaters) and feeling a lot of pressure, and in the end the only thing that mattered was being together. Especially because dinner was freezing cold by the time we were able to eat. 

Our dinner menu was a pretty standard Hanukkah one:

• Brisket
• Roast chicken (full disclosure: I bought this at Costco and butchered it up. So much easier.)
• Quinoa with fresh herbs and olive oil
• Ina's Cape Cod Chopped Salad
• Ina's French String Beans (sauteed with shallots and roasted peppers)
• and of course, latkes:

I always cater my latkes from Wegman's, I can't stand the awful potato and onion smell that hangs in the air. The idea of my guests leaving with that clinging to their clothes gives me nightmares.

Appetizers I kept mostly simple, with a crudite platter, cheese, and these smoked salmon and cucumber canapes, topped with a dollop of creme fraiche and chives:

I set a table of blue and mixed metallics. The tablecloth had silver running through it, as did our bowls, but our chargers and flatware were gold. I ran a string of white Christmas lights down the middle instead of using candles. I thought it was a fun take on the whole "Festival of Lights" thing.

After dinner, we always open presents. We exchange gifts with my husband's family completely on  Hanukkah, and my family on Christmas. There's ten of us, and it's only one holiday, yet I'm always in shock at the sheer quantity of gifts:

This year, I got a brand new, top quality blowdryer, perfume, Deborah Lippmann nail polish, a watch, a new top, an Amazon gift card, and a Lenox challah knife from my mom. Whew! It's not even Christmas yet.

Here's to another Hanukkah. Looking forward to a (calmer) one next year.