Our Family Feast to Celebrate Hanukkah

Last Saturday, we had our family over to celebrate Hanukkah. We had quite a feast, with everyone contributing something to it. I got pictures of most of it, but I think I may have missed a couple of dishes since everyone was ready to start digging in!

We started with Matzah Ball Soup, which I made with the homemade Chicken Broth that I mentioned last week. Next, we moved on to Roasted Chicken, Latkes, Spinach and Pancetta Risotto, Spinach Pie, Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce and Homemade Bread (by My Husband!). It was truly a feast and everyone enjoyed each part of it.

I made the Roasted Chicken, and it turned out absolutely perfect! It was moist and the skin was nicely browned and crispy. Last week I tried Martha Stewart's method of a high temperature roast and rubbed butter on the skin. While it turned out nice and moist, we weren't as happy with the skin on it as it was not as crispy as we prefer.

It sill looked really nice, but I adjusted it a bit when I made it on Saturday. Once I had it rinsed and dried, I stuffed it with a quartered onion, 4-5 cloves of garlic and a good hand full of fresh thyme. Then, I sprinkled the outside with some salt and pepper. The last thing I did was rubbed extra virgin olive oil all over the skin. I still roasted it in a 450 degree oven. The first 45 minutes, I roasted it uncovered so that the skin could brown properly. Then, I tented foil over it until it reached the proper temperature. It turned out moist and delicious! Everyone enjoyed it, and I had enough leftovers from the two roasted chickens to make chicken salad and a chicken noodle soup that I'll tell you about very soon.

Here are photos of some of the other dishes we enjoyed:

Cranberry Sauce

Spinach Pie

Artisan Bread

I'll be sharing more on the bread my husband as well as the truffle bars that were part of the dessert plates this week. So, do come back and visit!