7 Easy Ways To Add Jewish Flavor To Your Thanksgiving Table
From pumpkin cheesecake to za’atar turkey, there are myriad ways to add a Jewish accent to your holiday table. Image by iStock
By Liza Schoenfein November 19, 2017
Whether you choose to make or buy, there are myriad ways to add Jewish flavor to your Thanksgiving feast. Here are a few of our favorite ideas:
1) Instead of basic dinner rolls or cornbread, try one of two pumpkin challah recipes: Shannon Sarna’s pumpkin-spice challah or Leah Koenig’s take on Maggie Glezer’s pumpkin challah (this one with cranberries) from “A Blessing of Bread.”
2) Molly Yeh is aces at merging traditions, and her recipe for bagel stuffing is a great example.
3) A near effortless way to give turkey an Israeli accent would be to sprinkle it with the Israeli spice blend za’atar, as you may already be doing with roasted chicken.
4) Sweet potatoes take a Jewish turn with several recipes in our archives including sweet potato kugel, sweet potato hummus, or Paula Shoyer’s crunchy quinoa with sweet potatoes.
5) If you’d rather buy than make, Israeli-owned Breads Bakery has a number of special sweet or savory options for the holiday. Cranberry-gouda rolls are great — slightly sweet, with a wonderful tang from the sour fruit — and a new offering, a harvest babka, a savory babka filled with roasted sweet potato, red onion and gruyere cheese.
Breads Bakery introduced this pear crumble tart for Thanksgiving. Image by Liza Schoenfein
6) If you’re looking for dairy- and gluten-free and kosher pareve holiday desserts, By The Way Bakery has you covered with Thanksgiving offerings including pumpkin “cheesecake,” apple, pecan or ginger-=pumpkin tarts and pear-cranberry coffee cake.
At Thanksgiving, Greenberg’s transforms the classic black & white cookie into one that incorporates either pumpkin or sweet potato. Image by Courtesy of William Greenberg
7) In addition to traditional fruit pies and Thanksgiving-themed frosted cookies, William Greenberg Desserts has the ultimate twist on the Jewish Deli treat: sweet potato black and white cookies.
Liza Schoenfein is the food editor of the Forward. Contact her at schoenfein@forward.com or on Twitter @LifeDeathDinner
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
