Many many years ago, before Rihanna and pumpkin spice lattes, the God of Jewish Things and the God of American Things sat down to discuss the future. The God of American Things designated that her holiday, "Thanksgiving," should happen at the end of November so all the Americans could take advantage of fall's seasonal bounty for their celebratory feasts. The God of Jewish Things agreed that Hanukkah should always fall in December, so the glow of the menorah could warm the cold winter nights. They shook hands and marked it in their calendar. As the God of American Things stood up to leave, she spilled her mead all over one of the pages in the calendar. "I'm so sorry!" she wailed. "Eh, I'm sure it's fine," said the God of Jewish Things, trying to soothe the frantic, slightly intoxicated God of American Things. Alas, all was not fine. That page, by chance, was 2013.
For the first time ever, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving fall on the same day this year, November 28th. This will not happen again until 79811, or for another 77,798 years. Although I like to imagine that the story above is true, the cause for this freakish overlap is the United States' use of the Gregorian calendar, and the Jewish religion's use of the lunar calendar. Thanksgiving happens to be oddly late this year, and Hanukkah is absurdly early. Thus, Thanksgivukkah is born.
If you're stuck trying to figure out what to bring to your Thanksgivukkah celebration, look no further than the intensely epic, "whoa"-inducing Thanksgivukkah Dreidel Down. A la the KFC Double Down, which uses two chicken patties in place of traditional buns, I'm using crispy potato latkes as the bread for this insane sandwich that celebrates these two food-loving holidays. The Dreidel Down is first piled with Thanksgiving's main event, roasted turkey. Latkes are traditionally served with applesauce, so I added some cranberries to the condiment to bring out some Thanksgiving zing. Putting in a layer of stuffing made from traditional Jewish challah and fresh herbs brings texture and savory spice. Eat this while discussing what you're thankful for and/or lighting the menorah. L'chaim/God Bless America!
For assembling your Dreidel Down:
- 2 latkes
- 2 thick slices of roasted turkey
- ¼ cup of cranberry applesauce
- 1 slice of challah stuffing
1. Place one latke on a plate.
2. Add slices of turkey on top of latke.
3. Place slice of stuffing on top of turkey.
4. Place cranberry applesauce on top of stuffing.
4. Place 2nd latke on top of applesauce to create sandwich.
5. Enjoy!
