Happy Thanksgivukkah
I thought I would see the sights, taste the foods, and come back to the states with a lot of good souvenirs for my family and friends. I ended up getting more than I would have ever bargained for.
Alex Nepon Winter, 2011
I can't express how grateful I am for the gift of the birthright trip. The trip exceeded my expectations. I really feel that this experience made me more appreciative of my Jewish heritage. I hope you can continue sending people to Israel for a long time.
Genevieve Silbert Summer, 2006
I just wanted to let the donors, the state of Israel, and everybody who made this trip possible, that this was one of the greatest experiences of my life. As a Jew, I can honestly say that this trip changed my life...let's keep this miracle going!
Jonathan Herson Winter, 2007
Mind-blowing. That's what I think of when I recall my trip to Israel. It was the single most moving experience of my life. I thank the supporters and donators with all my heart because I am such a better person and a better Jew because of it.
Jason Marcus Winter, 2011
Down Arrow

Send an eCard to Friends & Family

  • eCard Option #1
    ✔  SELECTED
  • eCard Option #2
  • eCard Option #3


Send Your
eCard

eCard
Sent

8 Nights of Thanksgivukkah Leftovers

1st night

Spiced Sweet Potato Latkes with Yogurt Serves 4–6 Debbie Sharnak, Birthright Israel Alumna (Summer 2011)

What do I need?

  • 3 cups grated sweet potatoes
  • 3 tbps flour
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp mild paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground chipotle
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • Oil for cooking
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion (~ 1 medium onion)
  • 2/3 cup Greek yogurt

How do I make it?

  1. Preheat oven to 392 degrees F or 200 degrees C.
  2. Mix the sweet potatoes, onion, spices and flour together in a large bowl with a fork. Blend in the eggs and mix thoroughly.
  3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. When skillet is hot and oil begins to shimmer, begin cooking latkes.
  4. Place four pancakes in skillet per round, flattening each with fork.
  5. Brown latkes for about four minutes per side, until golden brown, and place on a paper towel to drain.
  6. Keep cooked latkes in warmed oven until ready. Serve warm, adding a dollop of yogurt to each.
Spiced Sweet Potato Latkes with Yogurt
2nd night

Pretzel Challah 6 Small Loaves Molly Yeh, Culinary Niche Trip Alumna (Summer 2013) — My Name is Yeh   T  F

What do I need?

  • One batch of this challah dough
    (Do add the cardamom. Stop after step 6 and meet back here.)
  • 3 tbps flour
  • 1/4 cup food grade lye
  • 5 cups water
  • Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
  • Also: rubber or latex gloves and protective eye wear!

How do I make it?

  1. Once you have made your dough and it is fully risen, divide dough into 6 equal parts. divide each of those into 3 parts, roll them out into 1-inch ropes, and braid them together. place on floured baking sheets and freeze for 20–30 minutes, or refrigerate for an hour.
  2. As the loaves chill, put on your gloves and eye wear, and prepare the lye bath. in a casserole dish, combine the 5 cups of water and the 1/4 cup of lye. add the lye slowly so that it doesn't splash.
  3. Preheat oven to 400.
  4. Prepare two baking sheets with greased parchment paper. using two spatulas or your gloved hands, carefully dip each loaf into the bath, top side down, giving the top side 10–15 seconds before placing it onto a baking sheet. sprinkle with salt. bake for 15–20 minutes, until loaves are golden brown and cooked through.
Pretzel Challah
3rd night

Caramelized Turnips with Crispy Brussels & Roasted Chestnuts Serves 4–5 Jason Cohen, Birthright Israel Alumnus (Summer 2012)

What do I need?

  • 2 large turnips, peeled and medium diced
  • Olive oil for roasting
  • 1 tbsp light brown sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 lb or 1 kg brussels sprouts, cored and halved
  • 8 oz or 220 g chestnuts, shelled

How do I make it?

  1. Toss turnips in olive oil and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Roast at 400 degrees F or 200 degrees C for 35 minutes until fork tender.
  3. Toss Brussels sprouts in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Roast at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for 25 minutes until al dente.
  5. Roast chestnuts at 250 degrees F or 120 degrees C for 20 minutes until aroma intensifies. Season with salt.
  6. Mix all ingredients together and serve.
Caramelized Turnips with Crispy Brussels & Roasted Chestnuts
4th night

Easiest Sufganiyot Ever Makes 8–10 Molly Yeh, Culinary Niche Trip Alumna (Summer 2013) — My Name is Yeh   T  F

What do I need?

  • 1 roll of store-bought biscuit dough
    (or, I suppose you could make your own!)
  • Canola oil, for frying
  • A small bowl of sugar, white or powdered
  • About 1/2 cup jam (or any other filling)

How do I make it?

  1. Let dough sit at room temperature for 20 minutes so that it's easy to roll out.
  2. On a floured surface, roll out dough until it's 1/2-inch thick. Cut out 2 1/2-or-3 inch circles (I like using a ball jar lid).
  3. Fill a pot with 2 inches of oil and heat it to 360 F. You'll want to keep the temperature between 360 and 375.
  4. Fry the dough until each side is a deep brown. Test one to make sure they're not doughy in the middle.
  5. Transfer donuts to a paper towel, pat off any excess grease, and then coat with sugar.
  6. Fill with jam using a squeeze bottle. If the jam is being difficult, warm it for 30 seconds in the microwave.
Easiest Sufganiyot Ever
5th night

Pumpkin Bread 1 Loaf Rachel Kessel, JNF Israel Adventure for Graduates and Young Professionals Alumna (Summer 2012)

What do I need?

  • 1/2 lb of butter
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cloves
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 2 lbs or 900 g pumpkin
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Up to 1 cup of water, if needed

How do I make it?

  1. Peel and grate the pumpkin.
  2. Cream butter and sugar with mixer until smooth.
  3. Add remaining ingredients, starting with the dry items.
  4. Mix thoroughly and add water until it has a smooth consistency (medium thickness).
  5. Bake at 325 degrees F or 160 degrees C for one hour.
Pumpkin Bread
6th night

Brussels Sprout Latkes with Balsamic Dijon Sour Cream Makes 10–12 Molly Yeh, Culinary Niche Trip Alumna (Summer 2013) — My Name is Yeh   T  F

What do I need?

  • 4 cups shredded brussels sprouts
    (You can find brussels sprouts in the store pre-shredded.)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • Kosher salt and pepper to taste
    (I use about 4 big pinches of salt and a couple good cracks of pepper)
  • The juice from 1/2 a lemon
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or chickpea flour
  • Oil, for frying (I use canola)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 4 tsp balsamic vinegar

How do I make it?

  1. If you've bought your sprouts pre-shredded, comb through them and chop up any big chunks because those could cause the latkes to fall apart.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the sprouts, onion, salt, and pepper. stir in the lemon juice and egg whites, and then stir in the flour.
  3. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a pan over medium heat. using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon, place dollops of the mixture in the oil. gently flatten them with a spatula. fry until golden brown on each side.
  4. For the balsamic dijon sour cream, simply combine all ingredients (and place in a cute ramekin).
Brussels Sprout Latkes with Balsamic Dijon Sour Cream
7th night

Chestnut Hummus Chanie Apfelbaum — Busy in Brooklyn   T  F

What do I need?

  • 10 oz roasted chestnuts (store-bought or roast your own)
  • 1/2 cup tahini paste
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/2–1 cup water
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

How do I make it?

  1. Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender.
  2. Puree until smooth.
  3. If the hummus is too thick, add more water until desired consistency is reached.
Chestnut Hummus
8th night

Thanksgiving Pita Chips Chanie Apfelbaum — Busy in Brooklyn   T  F

What do I need?

  • 3 pitas, cut into wedges
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp ground sage
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt

How do I make it?

  1. Add all the spices to a bowl and break up herbs with your fingers.
  2. Brush the pita wedges with olive oil and sprinkle spice mixture on the chips.
  3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15–20 minutes until golden and crispy.
Thanksgiving Pita

"I had a little Dreidel, I made it out of…PUMPKINS"

The spinning top game has its origins in antiquity. When the Greek armies of King Antiochus controlled the Holy Land, Jews had to hide in caves in order to learn Torah. Legend has it that when the teacher would hear the Greek soldiers approaching, he would instruct the children to hide their torah scrolls and take out their dreidels instead.

The toy goes by many names, most commonly dreidel (Yiddish) or sevivon (Hebrew), both meaning "to turn". The dreidel has has four sides: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hey), ש (Shin), and is usually played with coins, jelly beans, chips, or gelt (chocolate coins). Collectively, these letters are interpreted as, "a great miracle happened there". The miracle, in this instance, is Hanukkah! In Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter פ (Pei), rendering the acronym — "A great miracle happened here". This year, the Miracle will be the once in a lifetime overlap of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving.

  • נ    Nun    nischt    NOVEMBER    "nothing"

    The next player spins.
  • ג    Gimel    gantz    GRAVY    "all"

    The player takes the entire pot. However, if the player lands on Gimel twice in a row, they get nothing and have to GOBBLE like a Turkey!
  • ה    Hey    halb    HARVEST    "half"

    The player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number.
  • ש    Shin    shtel    STUFFING    "put in"

    The player puts one or two in the pot
  • Every person takes turns spinning the dreidel once and then passing it clockwise when the turn is over. When you have no pieces left, you're out! The game goes on until one person has won everything.