Dairy Chanukah Party Menu: A Make-Ahead Plan for a Crowd

A dairy Chanukah party is a gift to the host. Dairy food is forgiving, it freezes well, and the classics people want (cheese latkes, potato latkes with sour cream, sufganiyot) can nearly all be done ahead. This menu feeds 12 to 20 people with only reheating and salad tossing on the day.

The menu

Dish	Make-ahead	Label
Cheese latkes with berry sauce	Freeze up to 2 months	Dairy
Potato latkes with sour cream and applesauce	Freeze up to 3 months	Pareve latkes, dairy topping
Baked ziti, two 9x13 pans (method below)	Assemble and freeze up to 1 month	Dairy
Big green salad with a jar vinaigrette	Cut the day before	Pareve
Smoked salmon or tuna platter (optional)	Set up the morning of	Pareve fish
Sufganiyot	Freeze the dough up to 1 month	Pareve

Some families do not serve fish together with dairy, or serve them on separate plates. Follow your family’s custom.

Baked ziti that freezes

For each 9x13 pan: boil 1 lb ziti 2 minutes less than the package says and drain. Mix with a 24 oz jar of marinara, 15 oz ricotta, 1 egg, and 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Spread in the pan, top with 1 more cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup grated parmesan.

• To freeze: cool, wrap tightly in plastic and foil, freeze up to 1 month.
• To bake: thaw overnight in the fridge. Bake covered with foil at 375 F for 30 minutes, then uncovered 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling and hot in the center (165 F).

The timeline

When	Task
3 to 4 weeks ahead	Fry and freeze potato latkes and cheese latkes. Assemble and freeze the ziti.
1 to 2 weeks ahead	Cut and freeze donut dough rounds. Make and freeze applesauce and berry sauce.
2 days before	Move the ziti and sauces from the freezer to the fridge.
Day before	Wash and cut the salad vegetables; store dry. Mix the vinaigrette in a jar. Set out platters and labels.
Party day, 3 hours before	Take donut rounds out to thaw and rise.
1 hour before	Ziti into the oven.
30 minutes before	Fry the donuts and let them cool on a rack.
15 minutes before	Latkes onto sheet pans, straight from the freezer, at 425 F (potato) and 350 F (cheese).
Guests arrive	Fill and dust the donuts, dress the salad, serve.

Ovens only hold so much. If you have one oven, bake the ziti first, then raise the heat for the latkes while the ziti rests under foil. It stays hot for 30 minutes.

Keep the latkes crisp

Hold the potato latkes on a wire rack in a 225 F oven, uncovered, for up to an hour. The full method is in how to keep latkes warm and crispy.

Setting up the table

Put the latkes at the start of the line, toppings right beside them, then ziti and salad, and donuts on a separate dessert table so the line keeps moving. A small sign that says which dishes are dairy helps guests who keep a strict separation at home.

Hosting a meat dinner instead? See the make-ahead Chanukah party menu with brisket.