Tonight at sundown, Jewish families around the world will gather together to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights. Hanukkah commemorates the victory of a small group of Jews, the Maccabees, over the army of the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus in the second century BCE. After the Jews drove the Greeks out of Judea, they attempted to restore their temple, which had been destroyed in the war, only to discover that there was just enough oil to light the lamp that held the eternal flame for one day. The story is that a miracle occurred and the small amount of oil lasted for eight days, which was how long it took to make new oil. That is why Hanukkah lasts for eight days.

It is traditional to celebrate the holiday by eating food cooked in oil. Sounds healthy, right? In Israel, they eat jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot, and Sephardic Jews make dough fritters called bañuelos, that are like beignets. The most well-known Hanukkah food for Eastern Eurpoean Jews, like my family, are potato pancakes called latkes. Every Jewish family has their own carefully guarded latke recipe. Latkes are fattening, a pain to make and the smell lingers in your house for days. They are also absolutely delicious. So, it is okay to indulge in these holiday treats once a year.

Latkes, while delicious, do not quite constitute a meal, so many Jewish families will round out their holiday dinner with a traditional brisket. Brisket is a wonderful dish to serve a crowd because it is true comfort food. Shreds of meat that melt in your mouth,  winey, tomatoey gravy that soaks everything it touches — who can resist such satisfying warmth at this cold and bleak time of year?

The key to tender, melt-in-your-mouth brisket is long, slow cooking in liquid. That liquid is then served alongside the meat as a flavorful gravy. To cook your brisket, choose a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. The brisket should fit snugly in whatever vessel you choose.

My brisket recipe is best made the day before you plan to serve it. On the first day, I brown the brisket on the stove and then braise it in the oven in a savory gravy for hours. Once the meat is cooked, I refrigerate it and the gravy separately overnight. The next day, I slice the brisket — a time-consuming job but one that is ten times easier when the brisket is cold, by the way — and degrease the sauce. About an hour before I want to serve the brisket, I place the slices of meat in a deep baking dish, pour the gravy over the meat, cover with foil and reheat it in a hot oven. If you only have one day, however, you can still make this recipe, but try to skim the grease off the top of the gravy.

Best wishes for a happy Hanukkah from West of the Loop to your family!