This post was created in partnership with Whole Foods Market to celebrate their delicious holiday market meals, which make entertaining a breeze.
Hanukkah was one of the few Jewish holidays my very non-traditional parents insisted we celebrate each year. Gathering around the menorah was never about the presents or the latkes or the dreidel, though those were happy bonuses. The holiday was a favorite because my mom had her own ritual for lighting the candles that celebrate the fabled Old Testament miracle of one night’s worth of lamp oil lasting eight nights through.
In my mother’s version of remembrance, each night we dedicated one of the candles to a specific, real-life miracle we wanted to see. One night might be for peace, another for health. By the end of the eight nights, we recited a litany of personal benedictions, shining in Hanukkah candlelight. My mother’s ritual made Hanukkah vibrant and alive for us, and I grew up wanting to set the same tenor for my friends and family.
But gathering even a small group to light candles and share a meal can be stressful, particularly in the frenzied atmosphere of the holidays. Whole Foods Market’s Hanukkah meal for eight was the perfect solution, allowing me to host a modern Hanukkah party that honored classic (and not-so-classic) traditions and seamlessly incorporated my own twists.
The Whole Foods Market holiday dishes—wine-braised brisket, classic potato latkes with apple chutney, cumin-spiced carrots, and green beans with crispy garlic parsley—were a perfect foundation upon which to build a feast. Picking up these four, pre-cooked dishes from my local Whole Foods Market was a breeze. Each was prepared as meticulously as I would have done myself—perfectly spiced, beautifully flavored, and truly fresh.
I wanted to make sure I had some traditional Jewish comfort foods for my guests, and the Whole Foods Market chefs took every bit of guesswork out of what would have been a daunting and time-consuming process to make my first brisket ever. Picking up these dishes meant I only had to turn on the oven and whip up an easy autumnal salad and some harissa creme fraiche for the latkes.
I could then turn my attention to setting a beautiful, buffet-style table using natural, seasonal accents from Whole Foods Market’s floral and produce departments—and to planning a DIY Hanukkah chocolate gelt-making station.
Click through to read an overview of how the evening came together, with full tutorials for everything from stunning natural table decor to additional food items to entertainment—and of course that DIY chocolate gelt bar.
