First, I helped my mom with our Christmas dinner, which for us Jews more more like a Hanukkah dinner on Christmas Day. Every year, my mom makes her special brisket. She cooks it the night before submerged in this sweet and sour sauce that has things like ketchup, orange juice, and Worcester sauce in it. She then makes my dad slice it and the sliced meat marinates in the sauce all night. It is so delicious. Everyone who's ever had it has liked it. The sauce is the best part. Then it makes an amazing sandwich on crusty bread the next day.
On the side we tried this absolutely decadent twice baked potato casserole. It's everything you love about baked potatoes in one dish. Potatoes are essentially mashed with butter, cream, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, and scallions. The mixture is spread into a baking dish, then topped with yes, more cheddar cheese. I don't think I need to say any more.
My dad isn't really a potato fan (rare, I know) so we made him a special request - farfel with mushrooms. This recipe is a very traditional Jewish dish and the recipe comes from a Jewish cook book I got for my bat mitzvah. Farfel is a small round pasta, sort of like pearl couscous or pastina. In fact, since my mom couldn't find farfel at the local market, we used pastina. This is one of those dishes that is so simple you assume it will be bland, and then its so very not. The farfel is mixed with sauteed mushrooms and onions, parsley, and just salt and pepper. It's very wholesome and especially good when soaking up stray brisket juices.
This was just the first of my holiday meals. We hosted our very first dinner party on New Year's Eve! Stay tuned...
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