ChaNuKah Party - food ideas

[yummyinmytummy]

Hi Hounds-

I am hosting about 20 people for ChaNuKah. I want to do HEAVY appetizers. I will have latkes. I have good cooking skills, but a small kitchen.

Ideally, there would not be a lot of oven or stove items. I am thinking things that can be hot (before the guests get there crock pot or hot plate freindly ), room temperature, or cold.

I wlll have a nice big cheese/meat plate.

What should I do?

Thanks in advance.

YIMT

[the_MU]

Cheese/meat???? Nobody is seriously Jewish, I guess. Once you have that, all you need is bread/crackers/condiments, and crudites. Everything else should be pretty simple/minimal.

You don't mention if you are cooking the latkes yourself. You should have applesauce and sour cream to go with them. For extra, how about mini-knishes? Jelly donuts? Chocolate coins? Variety latkes (carrot, zucchini, sweet potato, beet)?

Serve something bubbly (prosecco or cava, etc) with everything and people will be happy.

[Emme]

haha, i was thinking the same thing. we always have roast chicken along with our latkes and applesauce. (we don't keep kosher, but we don't serve sour cream with our latkes.)

i was going to suggest mini-knishes as well, perhaps filling with chicken as well.

i know you want to go appetizer heavy, but brisket is such a crowd pleaser and could be done low and slow... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/quick-fix-meals-with-robin-miller/peppercorn-brisket-recipe/index.html ... maybe you could slice it into toothpick friendly pieces, or "two-bite" size pieces.

kugel cut into two-bite pieces might also be good too.

These hazelnut and olive rugelach look good! http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo... (could use vegan dairy substitutes if that proves to be an issue.

)

Maybe a nice black bean hummus. With some parmesan puffs...

Of course, sufganiyot, honey cake, apple fritters etc.

And i second the idea of a smorgasboard of latkes - potato, sweet potato, artichoke, cauliflower, butternut squash, etc etc.

[hankstramm]

It's very easy to do a brisket and some kasha and bowties. I know you said apps.

[Nyleve]

For some bizarre reason, we have gotten into the tradition of having a large tray of sushi (my son makes it) and a selection of martini-esque beverages (martini purists please note I mean pretty drinks served in martini glasses). This allows for a serious latke gorge-out because it's the only really filling thing on the table. Otherwise the latkes end up relegated to a side dish status when, really, we only just want to eat latkes.

[cheesecake17]

We always have veggie sushi at our Chanukah party. It's of many appetizers...

[iluvcookies]

If your guests keep kosher, you shouldn't be serving a meat and cheese plate. If you aren't sure, please ask them.

That said, if you will do Kosher then pick either meat or dairy. Dairy seems more well suited to apps--especially lox and cream cheese, assorted fishes, crackers, a fruit plate. Latkes are good with sour cream and applesauce. Potato or noodle kugel is good too.
The Kosher board here on Chowhound is a good resource too.

Curious.. why do you capitalize the N and K in Chanukah?

[yummyinmytummy]

Iluvcookies - OF COURSE I would never serve anything traife to my friends that keep dietary laws- come on. Dietary laws are not a concern.

I capitalize it for my goyim friends to help them pronunciate the word correctly. IT WORKS.

[iluvcookies]

Sorry, but your comment about food laws above gave me pause, so I thought I'd mention it. You might (or might not) be surprised at what some people consider dairy, like a friend of mine who made lasagne with bechamel sauce using soy milk and real cheese and said "it has no dairy, only cheese" Huh???

Regardless, Dairy apps and fish would probably be the easiest in terms of preparation.

[superfinespot]

yes to the mini knishes - have ketchup, mustard

make these ahead and cut into appetizer sizes:
spankopita
kugel

no oven req'd:
smoked salmon canapes
bagel chips, cream cheese dips
apple chips
chocolate dipped apricots
endive boats
eggplant dip & homemade pita chips

[Emme]

instead of salmon canapes, id suggest salmon croquettes.... so easy to make ahead (can easily bake and allow to remain warm in a crockpot... salmon, onion, saltine crumbs, old bay, egg, salt, pepper, ketchup... combine and good to go!

[rockycat]

Maybe not quite what you're looking for, but our contributions to this year's Hanukkah pot luck will be a killer eggplant parmesan (recipe from Epicurious and bonus points for including both olive oil and cheese), and 86-proof chocolate cake (Maida Heatter never-miss recipe) baked in the NordicWare Jewish Star bundt pan, and Nigella Lawson's Jelly Doughnut cupcakes. Still undecided if we'll do those as mini-cupcakes or not.

The host at our party always takes care of the latkes and he makes at least 3 varieties. He makes those ahead of time, freezes them, and reheats in the oven as needed. You might find that idea helpful.

Spinach artichoke dip always goes over well, as does hummus. For a more Israeli presentation, let the hummus come up to room temperature, spread it on a plate, and pour a small puddle of good olive oil in the center. A sprinkling of pignolis is optional but nice.

[snifflyfro]

Same here, apps are #1.

What we do homemade latkes. This year 10 lbs of potatoes.

What else on the menu....

Pizza Bagels
Pigs in the blanket (beef dogs)
Turkey salami cuts

NEW: Maybe some Mini Kinishes as per this discussion

Nobody kosher here. About 25-30 guests, of which 10% or less will be Jewish and even less kosher.