[mellow music playing]
Downloaded from YTS.MX
[Andrew] It's the holiday season.
[doorbell rings]
Oh!
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
[Zoe] A time for family, friends...
How's it going? Good seeing you, man.
[Zoe] ...and of course, lots of food.
Are you punching my dough?
I did by accident.
After 30 years of friendship,
Zoe Francois and I are finally joining forces
to throw an epic holiday party.
Happy holidays.
[Zoe] Sharing some of our most beloved Christmas
and Hanukkah family traditions.
You so chefed this up.
[Andrew] Learn our secrets
for giving favorite traditional recipes
some holiday flair.
Aah!
Tips and tricks for sharing the work...
[Zoe] And the fun.
[Andrew] Grab a plate, let's eat.
[all] Whoa!
[Andrew] Pull up a chair and join the party.
[all cheering]
[laughter]
[birds chirping]
[whimsical music playing]
[Zoe] It's the holidays.
It's my absolute favorite time of the year.
And I love to decorate and throw parties.
It's just the time of the year that you go over the top,
and it's all right.
In fact, it's expected.
And it occurred to me that I have never
thrown a party with my friend Andrew.
After three decades of friendship,
we've decided to host a mashup Christmas-Hanukkah party
for some of our friends.
So I'm gonna have him over for lunch,
and we're gonna talk about what we wanna do.
And so, I wanna make him something super tasty.
Ah, it smells so good.
This Spicy Spinach Artichoke Dip
is a quick and delicious recipe
that's so easy to throw together.
I'm gonna sauté the onions and garlic
and the jalapenos.
I'm gonna add my spinach,
and then my artichoke hearts.
Okay, so while that is sitting there,
I'm gonna mix up my cheese
and all the creamy bits.
Stir it all together,
put it right back into the pan,
a little bit of cheese on the top,
and then I'm using jalapeno.
Intersperse those with the Fresno.
One last one.
This looks great.
Andrew and I actually met over the phone.
He needed a pastry chef,
I needed a job.
I landed in Minneapolis
and I met him for the first time,
and I was like, "What have I gotten myself into?"
This man is crazy.
He's also brilliant.
I think it took about 20 minutes
for us to decide that we would be lifetime friends.
She was so talented.
I mean, I knew back then
she was gonna be a star in this business.
Through the years we've done a lot of the same things.
I've held her children as babies,
and she and her family
are part of my extended family.
Mmm!
Ah, just look at that.
That toasty cheese,
I love it.
All right.
I just need Andrew.
[whimsical music playing]
Hello!
Hi.
I'm in the kitchen.
You've gotta deal with that stoop, lady,
if you have a shovel.
No, I was fine coming straight in.
I'm cold.
If I had to describe
the relationship that Zoe and I have,
is that I am her very irritating older brother.
-I'm just gonna-- -Yeah, just hang it there, that's fine.
-Are you starving? -I am starving.
It just, just came out of the oven.
Like, your timing could not be better.
[Andrew] I love it.
All right, this is artichoke dip.
[Andrew] One of my favs.
I tried to burn your face off with this,
-and it's really not spicy at all. -[muffled] It's so good.
I would rather eat this...
-Mmm. -...on a cold snowy day
than just about anything else.
-'Cause it warms you up. -I know.
The thing that I think I love the most...
-Mmm. -...about this time of year
is actually gathering family.
-Biological... -Yeah.
-...and chosen. -Chosen.
We haven't thrown a party like this together, so I'm really excited.
When you were little, did you do holiday stuff?
Depending on when Hanukkah landed,
we would do my mom's family,
and then we would do Christmas with my dad's family.
-[Andrew] Mmm-hmm. -And I loved it.
And I had thought that was totally normal.
And I brought the boys up
-doing both holidays too. -Me too.
When Noah was about five,
he'd just come from nursery school at the temple.
He looked at me one day,
and looked at his stocking and the tree,
and looked at me like,
"We're Jewish."
And I was like, "But we celebrate everything big."
The other great thing about it,
is like, all of the food mashups.
So, we have 48 hours.
We have 48 hours.
Should we, like, figure out
-food and... -Yeah.
I need a minute to think about it,
especially with baking.
-Mmm-hmm. -It's all a little bit of a timing issue.
So, give you a night to think about it?
[Zoe] Yeah.
So I'm gonna finish up my cookie house.
I think it'll make a really sweet centerpiece.
-[Andrew] Can I help? -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Traditionally, people would make a gingerbread house,
but my house looks like a sugar cookie.
And every year I do this,
and every year it gets a little bit more ornate.
And I add more details.
Eventually, I'm hoping to make a life-size one,
so we can have the party in the house.
When we bought the house,
we found all the blueprints.
I was gonna do the cookie just...
-you know... -Yeah.
...eyeballing it.
But I have this.
So I can really get, you know, precise.
Your part may not be as precise,
-but-- -No, mine's gonna be precise.
I love Andrew just like a brother.
Do I have to do that thing where I, kind of, like...
Limber up?
-You're in your tracksuit. -No, I did. I stretch--
-You can do... [laughs] -Oh...
before I came in, 'cause I knew that you would want me...
What do you need me to do?
If you could do some brick pattern on the sides like this.
-And then if you want to-- -But so, hold on...
Did I lose you already?
No, no, no, no. I just wanna do it right.
[Zoe] So this right here, we'll put...
-[Andrew] It's gonna be this. -Yeah, perfect.
And then we'll glue them all together.
-All right. -Yeah, we'll do-- Yeah, go.
You do your thing.
Man, are you precise.
I have to say, your piping skills are to be commended.
Yeah, we might need... [laughing] a few more days.
Do you wanna get together tomorrow,
-and go over our menus? -Yes.
[Zoe] I like that we're doing the two different holidays.
100%.
-It's awesome. -I love that.
What do you actually have at the holidays?
What would you serve?
-What would I serve? -Yeah.
My grandmother's brisket,
which has kicked off Hanukkah
every year in the Zimmern family
since they could afford brisket,
which was probably right after the Depression.
You gotta have fried items 'cause it's Hanukkah.
Latkes?
[Andrew] I do Latkes.
Who doesn't love a nice fried potato pancake?
And I'd bring stuff and decorate them.
[Zoe] I was thinking some, like, rosemary buns
[Andrew] You have to.
I think green beans, you know,
I think it's an important part of balancing out the plate.
Right? Easy but elegant.
These are all very classic.
Can we lean into sweet potato, yam land a little bit?
[Zoe] Oh, yeah.
This is what I'm thinking for dessert.
A Buche de Noel.
'Cause I do it every single Christmas.
Oh, I know.
[Zoe] It's a showstopper,
and it's just a super fun dessert.
I wanted to do Sufganiyot,
-the stuffed jelly donuts. -Yeah.
But I was thinking I would do, like, a play on that.
You know, we need to, like, glam this up a little bit.
-We gotta glam it. -[Andrew] I'm all for it.
Maybe for a little hors d'oeuvre-y thing.
Maybe like little falafel.
The guest experience
at a holiday party is really important to me.
So I wanna put out things that folks can help themselves to
while I'm finishing things up in the kitchen.
I don't like host, hostess gifts.
-For someone to bring us. -Oh.
[Zoe] We need to make something for them.
Well, I was thinking hot chocolate mix
-so they can go home-- -You make your little kits?
-Yeah, with marshmallow. -With Toffee Matzo,
-which is my thing. -Yes.
[Andrew] And it's super easy to make.
[Zoe] This menu is ridiculous,
and so much fun.
-It's gonna be awesome. -[Andrew] Plus, it honors the holiday.
Everybody is gonna be included.
We have a lot of food to make.
[Andrew] It's gonna be fantastic. I'm really, really pumped.
I love that I took on, like,
all of these giant projects for this party,
and Andrew,
I think, basically, just has to stick
a piece of meat into the oven. [laughs]
In order to get this all done,
we're gonna have to do some of these things individually.
So, Andrew's gonna go home
and start his brisket.
And I'm gonna get started on the Buche de Noel,
and then we're gonna get together
and combine our efforts.
Nothing says the holidays to me
like my grandmother's brisket.
It is the centerpiece
of every great first night of Hanukkah celebration.
Brisket is it, for me.
My grandmother just used onions.
And then she finished it at the end with a little bit of red wine vinegar.
That was her secret.
When it's holiday time,
I try to make it a little more elegant.
I just do mirepoix,
really nicely diced celery,
carrot, onion,
and leek.
I hit it with a bottle of wine
and I braise it for five or six hours.
It's just...
a smidge more elegant.
Something like this brisket,
I can do a couple of days in advance.
Making day of celebration really, really easy.
Essentially warm, slice and serve.
I'm gonna make a herb mixture
of sage,
paprika,
and thyme.
And then I'm gonna add some good salt.
This is actually my grandmother's salt cellar
that was her mother's.
And this was in her apartment
when I was a little kid.
And it actually hung
on a little hook
because she had no counter space.
And I love it. This is probably
my most treasured...
food possession of any kind.
This is where it all started, right?
This is the world's first watering hole
when it comes to my culinary career.
Nothing brought our family more happiness
than eating the brisket
on a holiday afternoon or evening
in my grandmother's house.
I would sit on the stool at the end of her tiny kitchen
in her teeny little apartment on West End Avenue.
And what would come out of there
was the best and most delicious food,
and the most joyous times.
It's probably the reason that I do what I do today.
And you just lay that down away from you.
The smell of brisket to me is Hanukkah.
Mmm.
Absolutely perfect.
Tomato paste.
And we're gonna add this whole bottle.
I like to bring this to a boil.
I want this to be cooking right away when it goes in the oven.
It's going into a slow oven.
And that, my friends, is the key
to a good roast like this.
It's gonna be cooking for the full
five, five and a half, six-ish hours
that it's gonna take to make this brisket tender.
-[dog barks] -Yes!
Upstaged by my eldest.
Every year, I make a Buche de Noel.
It's just a really traditional holiday dessert.
It's the Yule Log in a cake.
That's my signature move every Christmas.
They're always a little bit different.
Like a different shape,
a different flavor combination
just to keep myself entertained.
This year, I'm going for a chocolate sponge cake,
and then I'm gonna fill it with ricotta
and sour cherries,
and espresso buttercream,
and then of course, the meringue mushrooms
because they're so much fun.
The beautiful thing about a sponge cake
is that it's light and airy.
And the way that we're gonna get that
is by whipping a lot of air into our eggs.
I'm going to whip air into the yolks.
And then I'm gonna whip the whites separately...
Mmm.
and marry them together.
Look at that.
Stirring in the sifted flour
and the cocoa mixture is the last step.
We're making all of these components ahead,
and then we get to save the best part for last,
decorating.
Probably more than I need, but it's fun.
Mmm.
We might get a little puff of the powdered sugar.
Ooh.
And hopefully, our cake is there.
Yes!
Perfect.
And I use the towel to roll it.
You need to do this while it's hot
so that it's still super flexible,
and you just use the towel
to roll this into a nice, tight log.
I love making meringue.
It's just egg whites and sugar,
and I'm gonna use this for both the meringue mushrooms
and the buttercream frosting.
My dad's mom was obsessed with Christmas.
She made, probably, 12 different kinds of cookies every year.
We loved it so, so much.
I mean, I grew up on a commune.
We weren't allowed to have sugar except at the holidays.
So of course, I love the holidays.
[gasps]
Ta-da!
So, we're gonna have our Buche de Noel or Yule Log,
and it's gonna have little meringue mushrooms on the top.
This is the cap of the mushroom,
and then we can do the stems.
After they're baked, we'll assemble them with dollops of chocolate.
Okay, now they're ready to go into the oven.
I add butter and espresso powder mixed with vanilla
to the remaining meringue
to create the buttercream frosting.
Mmm, it is so delicious.
Andrew's gonna love it. Mmm.
For our filling, I'm gonna make
a sour cherry ricotta whipped cream,
and I'm gonna fold in little mini chocolate chips.
It's reminiscent of, like, a cannoli filling.
Every bite has some of the filling.
When I go to decorate it tomorrow,
it's going to be absolutely gorgeous.
The key to throwing a great party,
holiday or otherwise,
is to get as much stuff done ahead of time as possible.
That's why I'm gonna make my falafel mixture now.
I'll take to Zoe's,
fry it there along with my latkes
right before our guests arrive.
The moves here are pretty simple.
Chickpeas.
I have cardamom and cumin,
I have an onion, I have some garlic,
and some hot chilies.
I have parsley, I have mint and cilantro.
I love frying falafel.
It's perfect for this time of year
because it's fried.
You have to remember, the whole Hanukkah celebration
revolves around the miraculous intervention of the divine
that allowed the oil in the lamp in the temple
to last for eight days instead of one.
So, fried foods are traditionally a huge part
of the holiday celebration.
Herby chickpea perfection.
Chickpea flour and baking soda.
So the last thing that I need to do is stick it in the fridge,
then I bring it to Zoe's
and basically, then it's nap time
until the alarm on that brisket goes off.
[yawns]
[Zoe] This is going to be insane.
We have a lot of food to make.
Andrew already made his brisket.
Look at that.
[Zoe] And I prepped the Buche de Noel components.
He should be here any time and we'll cook together
until our guests arrive in about eight hours.
I know the oven in gonna be wild.
So I'm gonna bake these dinner rolls in a Crock-Pot.
I promise you this works.
And they're so simple.
It's just bread dough with a roux of flour,
milk, and water added to the mix.
And it just makes for the most fluffy,
beautiful, stretchy bun.
The rosemary...
[sniffs]
just gonna be so beautiful with the brisket.
Let it rest about an hour.
Then we can divide it and make our rolls.
Hi.
I'm really excited to get back in the kitchen
and cook next to Zoe again.
Do you need some help?
Yeah, this has to go right in the fridge
but luckily, it didn't spill in the car.
All right. Ooh, it smells so good!
I know her moves, she knows my moves,
we are like hand in glove.
Dude, what is... What do you...
Are you punching my dough?
I did by accident.
I assume that you are gonna take over the oven,
so we're gonna actually bake them in the Crock-Pot.
-No way. -Yeah.
Doing it in a Crock-Pot
is a genius move.
-Okay, so you wanna help me... -Yeah.
-...break it into a dozen rolls? -Sure.
Equal sizes.
Actually, you divide, I'll roll. Yeah.
-Classic-- -No, not so much
-It's a classic under-flouring. -Not so much flouring.
No, it wasn't. That's a classic...
Oh, my goodness.
This is gonna be a long day. [laughs]
We don't wanna dry them out.
No, we absolutely don't.
Even when he's in someone else's kitchen,
he's in charge.
You know, I move around a kitchen
more like a dance,
and he is a little bit more like a storm.
You wanna pinch all the, like, little loose ends
to the bottom.
-That way you have a nice-- -Dumpling style.
-Yeah, dumpling style. -We have a nice...
This is the classic fireman's carry.
Everyone two by two.
How many buns did we come up with?
I don't know.
I thought we divided them into 12.
I wasn't counting your work.
Neither was I.
[laughs]
Okay, that's it.
Then we put the lid on,
and then at the very end,
I'm gonna throw them into the broiler
and give them some caramelization and some beautiful color.
We'll check in an hour and see what we've got.
-That's it? -Yeah, that's it.
-Amazing. Okay. -I know, so cool.
[Andrew] Zoe says, "Oh, I'm gonna make the Sufganiyot."
I happen to be a big, big jelly donut fan,
which is what those are.
And she's completely changed the game.
Baking them as mini Bundt cakes
filled with orange marmalade,
glazed with chocolate ganache,
and then decorated with gelt,
the gold...
[mimics explosion]
Hey, just try to keep it in the bag.
[Andrew] If you ask anyone in America
what's the traditional Hanukkah food,
you know what they're all gonna say?
-[Zoe] Latkes? -Latkes.
-And if you ask anyone in Israel... -Yeah?
-...what's the traditional holiday food... -Yeah?
...do you know what they're gonna say?
-Sufganiyot. -That's right.
I think that's...
[mouthing]
[laughs] Oh, dear.
This why you left me alone in the pastry department.
This is bringing back such amazing memories for me.
I loved working with Andrew in the kitchen.
Mmm, yeah.
And then pop them into the oven.
[Zoe] Yes!
[Andrew] Ooh, that smells good.
[Zoe] It smells so good, doesn't it?
And I forget the intense energy
that Andrew brings to a kitchen, and his passion,
and his love for the food.
-I think it's still, like, super-hot. -Very hot.
-But your hands are tough. -[Zoe] Hot potato.
My family doesn't consider a holiday complete
without seeing a big, orange bowl of whipped sweet potatoes.
But I started seasoning them with two very unusual ingredients.
The first one is goat butter.
That sharp, acidic quality that conventional butter doesn't have.
And, then, I put in smoked brown sugar.
-Smell that. -Oh!
-Smoked. -Brown sugar went to the barbecue.
That's exactly right.
That smokiness of the brown sugar
just goes right in there and really elevates the potatoes
into that "Wow" category.
You only got one spoon.,
Oh, thank you.
Mmm.
It is so good. It's perfect.
[Andrew] The sufganiyot cakes have cooled and we're ready to top them
with ganache made from bittersweet chocolate, heavy cream,
butter, and light corn syrup.
[Zoe gasps]
No, they need, like, just a little sparkle to go to a party.
-Some holiday. -[Zoe] Yes, some holiday.
-And, I think, a little gelt on top of there. -[whoops]
I know.
So much fun, and it's beautiful, and it's celebratory.
-And it's so Hanukkah, right? -[Andrew] It's very Hanukkah.
-[Zoe] And it's edible gold, so... -[Andrew] Yeah.
Also, we got to use tweezers.
I know. Such a chef move.
[instrumental holiday music]
Okay, so, we have to assemble the Buche de Noel.
I thought that we would put it at an angle
-and, then, cut this one in half. -[Andrew] Yeah.
We're gonna glue the whole thing together with the buttercream,
-and do one on top, one on the side. -[Andrew] One on the side,
so it looks like a fallen log.
-So you wanna get, like, a swirl. -Oh, I see. I see.
-Like rings of a tree. -Yes, there you go.
I made some meringue bits and pieces
that need to get assembled into mushrooms.
[Andrew] I am completely ill-suited
to do any kind of delicate decor work at all.
And Zoe's very aware of that,
which is why she assigned me the job of taking
two teeny, tiny, little mouse paw sized pieces of meringue
and join them with a tiny, little dot of chocolate.
That's her way of getting me out of her way, so that she can do her work.
-How's it going over there? -Stressful.
Yeah, you seem a little... I'm so surprised, 'cause they're so beautiful.
And, then, like a nice Jewish grandmother, she looks over, she goes,
"Oh, isn't that sweet. You did a lovely job."
I know what that's code for.
This is not one of those desserts that we're gonna go settle on.
A little gold, a little pearl, luster dust mushrooms,
and some sugared cherries. I think that should do it.
Where are you going?
I think this one needs a little color.
Little bit of snow. Right?
Just a very delicate shake, man. There you go.
I'm so proud of this.
A bouche de Noel to beat the band.
-I mean, come on. Stunning. -[Zoe] Yeah.
[instrumental holiday music]
[Andrew] There are two seasons for green beans,
-summer and Christmas. -[Zoe] Mmm-hmm.
I thought, let's steam some green beans, keep it super healthy.
And, then, of course, I ruined the whole dish
by making a sage brown butter hollandaise, essentially.
But it's the holidays. You're gonna work out afterwards.
That's what New Year's resolutions are for.
Who do you have to know around here to get bowls?
[Zoe laughs]
You could not cut peanut butter with this.
-What kind of bowl? Here. -Why do you have so many serrated knives?
-[Zoe] Goodness, bread. They're called bread knives. -[Andrew] Oh, my...
I need to take all these home and put them on a wheel.
-[laughing] -How do you cut anything?
[Zoe laughing] I don't!
-Do you wanna know something? -You are obsessed.
The only sharp knife you have is a little one.
Because it was lost in the drawer,
I didn't even know it was there. [laughs]
[Andrew] This is gonna start my emulsion
along with a little bit of mustard and a little dash of cayenne.
[Zoe] That's a lot of butter.
You're gonna brown that?
-[chuckling] Yeah. -For that amount of green beans?
-See, everyone loves the sauce. -Yeah, mmm.
-[Andrew] The dairy solids... -[Zoe] Yeah.
...actually get picked up by the sage and cling to them,
which makes them extra yummy.
It smells so good.
Brown is the color of flavor.
[Zoe] Oh!
-Mmm. -[Andrew] And, then, take that sage-infused butter,
and you pour it over the eggs and lemon to emulsify your sauce.
I just think it's out of this world.
It's so, so good. Oh, my God.
Okay. Okay.
-Yeah. -Okay.
But don't you think we can just eat that?
-Oh, dude! -Do you wanna just sop up a bun with it?
-Yeah! -Okay.
Oh, the sage! [laughs]
You did not!
Yeah, that's awesome.
All right, onward.
Latkes are the most essential part of a Hanukkah celebration.
Well, maybe the menorah comes first.
But right after the menorah, it would have to be the latkes.
Are you a latke person?
Oh, yes. My grandmother was the latke queen.
-Was she, really? -Yes.
She's watching us, so you better get this right.
Oh, believe me, the ghost of all the Zimmerns past
are looking down, as well.
-So everyone has their favorite style. -[Zoe] Yeah.
-My grandmother, she loved crispy potato cakes. -Okay.
She didn't feel those were latkes.
-Latkes had to have egg and matzo meal... -Yeah.
-...in it to absorb the moisture. -Okay. Sure
'Cause there needed to be a pancake-y element to it.
I've played around with this recipe over the years
and I steam Yukon Gold potatoes,
put 'em through a ricer,
couple of eggs, some matzo meal, Idaho Russets.
Essentially, three different ways, grated,
really ground along with the onions.
You have a mandoline?
Okay, yeah.
Okay, so we have grater, food processor, a mandoline.
You so chefed this up.
[laughing] These are gonna be really incredible.
Andrew's latkes apparently require
every single piece of equipment that I own,
and I own every piece of equipment.
-What's all this about? -[Andrew] This is all of my grated stuff,
and I'm just gonna combine this with the egg
and a healthy dose of white pepper.
-[Zoe] Do you need these drained? -[Andrew] Drained and cooled.
-Hit me, baby. -[laughs]
-[Andrew] Load me up. -[Zoe] All the way?
-[Andrew] As much as you can put in there. -[Zoe] All right.
-So you see all that moisture... -[Zoe] Mmm-hmm.
[Andrew] ...that's in there from the potatoes and the egg?
-That's where that comes in. -Okay, how much?
-Enough. -Just a sprinkle?
-[Andrew] When we form these very delicately... -[Zoe] Yeah.
-[Andrew] Right? -[Zoe] Yeah.
[Andrew] Look at all the lacy bits.
-Your grandma went through all this to make hers? -No.
-I'm just gonna say that list as many times as-- -She had an old, rusty...
-She had an old, rusty version of this. -Exactly.
That's why I brought it. You didn't even touch it.
Do you wanna know something that's really at the heart of all this?
Don't you get asked all the time in interviews,
"If you could cook for one person, who would you cook for?"
Is it your grandma?
-I wanna cook for my grandma. -[Zoe] Aw.
'Cause she taught me...
I mean, motivate... I sat in her little kitchen, and that's what...
[Zoe] Yeah.
-I mean, I wanna make her these latkes and... -[Zoe] Yeah.
Then, she'd yell at me and she'd go like, "Eh, they're okay."
But, then, she would call my dad later and say, "I'm so proud of him."
-It's so sweet. -And I wanna make her roast...
I wanna make all the recipes she taught me.
-You know? -Yeah.
And that's... Yeah.
I feel the love.
Latkes, to grandmas...
-It's a big deal. -...were a big deal.
-Big, big deal. -Yeah, my mom talks about that all the time
with her mom.
It's very sweet.
[upbeat instrumental music]
[Zoe] It's been a busy day getting ready for our holiday party,
and we have about four hours until our guests arrive.
The dinner table is center stage tonight
and I'm doing a really simple tablescape.
I love doing a tablescape.
It just sets a mood.
And this one, I didn't wanna use,
like, a traditional cloth runner,
so I'm just using eucalyptus.
And these actually just picked right off of my front hedge.
And, then, what I'm gonna do is put these little bouquets of flowers,
and each one is in an antique silver vessel.
And I've just been collecting them.
This one is actually from my grandmother.
And, so, each one of these means something to me.
These one's a little creamer.
It's so simple, but it comes together and it's so elegant.
[upbeat instrumental music]
I have to send people home with something
and, of course, it has to be a sweet.
So I thought it'd be really fun to make hot chocolate kits
and, then, the homemade marshmallows right at the top.
[Andrew] And I have to do toffee matzo for my gifts.
-So does everyone get a mug? -Yeah.
I'm giving everyone an old tin.
[Zoe] I made the marshmallows last night
and flavored them with cardamom and ginger.
The key here is to get enough powdered sugar
so that the marshmallows don't stick terribly to your cookie cutters.
-[Andrew] Hmm. -[Zoe] And, then, you can do all kinds of shapes.
Do you know what that is?
-[Zoe] Brown sugar. -[Andrew] Correct.
Toffee matzo's really the easiest recipe in the whole world.
It's a lot of fun.
I've been eating toffee matzo since I was a kid.
Aunt Phyllis made it in our house.
[Zoe] Do you want paper or foil?
-[Andrew] I'm gonna do paper, then foil. -Paper. Oh, got it. Okay.
What Aunt Phyllis did was, she greased the foil, then greased the paper,
then put the matzo down and poured the caramel on top.
Then baked it.
Then brought it out, and while it was hot, she put chocolate all over it.
It's gonna get pretty melty pretty fast. You can almost see it.
And then, we're gonna sprinkle the nuts on.
Always toast your nuts beforehand,
'cause if you just sprinkle them on top, the chocolate's...
-[Zoe] Mmm, smells so good. -[Andrew] Yeah.
[Zoe] Ah...
Okay, this is just hot chocolate mix
that's just cocoa powder, sugar, some milk powder,
and a little bit of cardamom to match the marshmallows.
And they'll float up to the top when they add their hot milk.
-It's a great marshmallow. -[Zoe] Yeah, it's a great marshmallow.
-[Andrew] Mmm-hmm. -Ta-da!
[Andrew grunts]
-That's enough, don't you think? -Let me see.
-[Zoe] Yeah. -[Andrew] Yeah?
Yeah. I want this little bit.
-Mmm. So delicious. -[Andrew] Fold that over.
But here's the fun part.
Doesn't that scream
-"You're getting Christmas cookies"? -It's so cute.
-But you're not. You're getting toffee matzo. -It's really...
It's really, really lovely.
I have to say, I think my greatest move at the holidays
is I adopt the role of merry prankster.
The Christmas tins are a fun gift for guests.
But I'm beyond excited about the huge surprise I have planned for Zoe.
Can I have some of your scraps when you're done?
-Gonna put 'em on top of my sweet potatoes. -[Zoe] Oh, yeah.
That would be delicious.
We have this beautiful, lacy, almost like a doily of marshmallow
that we can drape over the top.
Mmm, so cool.
And it's perfect.
The marshmallows, the sweet potatoes, this lacy bit.
Like, ah, heaven.
Is there anything else left on this menu to get done?
-Once we can finish these. -Oh, my God, yeah. The brisket.
We have two hours until guests arrive.
It's getting down to crunch time.
So I just want...
-It's ice cold and it's this thick. -[Zoe] Okay.
So a couple of hours in there just at 200 degrees
and, then, we'll get everything out.
-Don't you think? -I have to... I forgot something.
-What do you mean you forgot something? -I have to go.
-What do you mean you to go?
I have to go. I'll be literally back in an hour.
All my stuff is ready to go.
-Everything is keeping warm. I have to go. -Dude...
-What do you... I don't understand. -I have to go! I have to go!
Great. I'll clean up.
-[Andrew] I'm not talking to you anymore. -Bye!
We're in the middle of preparing a dinner party.
I cannot believe he just left me here.
Yeah, make a mess in the kitchen and head out.
This is the last thing I have to do,
putting the finishing touches on my sugar cookie house.
This is my happy spot.
So pretty.
The really beautiful part of the holidays
is to give someone a gift that they're not expecting.
Okay.
I had the idea, let's bring Mom in for the party.
She hasn't seen her mother in a while
and you can't have a holiday celebration without at least one mom, right?
Okay, I know you hated me before.
-[Zoe] What? -[Andrew] But look what I picked up at my house.
Oh, my God, it's taken you so long. I can't get this thing out...
[slow instrumental music]
What have you done? Oh, my God!
-Surprise! -[squeals] What did you do?
I forgot your mom at my place.
Oh, God. I hated you so much.
What are you doing here?
-Oh, my God. -I brought Mom. We can't have a holiday without your mother.
-Dude! -I'm so happy to see you.
[Andrew] Yeah. Mazel tov.
[Zoe] This is the thing about Andrew,
the fact that he showed up with my mom is just...
[choking up] That's Andrew.
He is like... At the end of the day, he's all about love.
[instrumental holiday music]
[Andrew] I'm ready to rock and roll.
-Okay, I have to change. -[Andrew] What do you mean?
-Don't change. Please don't change. -[laughs]
-You did a nice job cleaning the kitchen. -I love you the way you are.
-Don't change. [laughs] -I can't believe you did this.
-I just... You just are wonderful. -I know. It's all right.
-Thank you. This is crazy! -Yeah, it's all right.
[upbeat instrumental music]
-Look at this marshmallow. That is brilliant. -[Andrew] Thank you.
Zoe's mom, Lorraine, is finally here.
So, now, we can really get the party started.
That's so sweet. I love it.
-This is my homemade falafel recipe. -Oh! Beautiful.
This is beautiful.
[sizzling]
Then I'm gonna fry my latkes.
I'm making these for an audience of one,
-and that person is standing in the kitchen with me. -[Lorraine] Aw.
-Because your mom was the latke queen. -Yeah.
Well, my mom, she learned it from the bubbies.
[Andrew] Yeah, of course.
-My bubbies will be thrilled that someone else... -Yeah.
-...from another family is rejoicing in our latkes. -Okay. Aw.
[speaking other language]
-[in English] Everyone's in the same pool, right? -Ah, love it. Got it.
-Smells like Hanukkah. -Smells good in here, doesn't it?
-Oh, you look gorgeous. Wow. -Thank you. You do, too!
[Lorraine gasps] Is this super-hot?
-Yeah. Super-hot. -[Zoe] Yeah. Dude!
Mmm. Mmm!
-Yeah, what do you think? -Okay. I'm in trouble.
Okay.
-[Lorraine] Really good. -All you had to say.
-Don't tell him. -I'm in trouble with my ancestors.
[Andrew chuckles]
[Andrew] The guests will be here any minute,
so now I can start to top the latkes.
And after two hours of warming in the oven,
the brisket is ready to slice.
Ah!
-I'll cut that for you in a second. -[laughs]
-Look at that. -[Zoe] It's falling off already.
-Just let me eat it. -[Andrew] It's not falling off.
[Zoe] No, this one.
-Just this little bit. -Fine, that's fine.
[Zoe] Mmm, mmm!
-Mmm. -What do you think?
Merry Christmas.
-And a happy Hanukkah to all. -Happy Hanukkah.
Mmm, that is beautiful.
-[doorbell rings] -Oh! Doorbell.
-Oh. -Keep them out of here.
Dinner is a "help yourself in the kitchen" affair.
And the goal is to wow our friends when they walk into the room.
-[man] Oh, what? -[Zoe] Hi!
Oh, hi!
-Hi! -Thanks for having us.
[laughing]
[woman] Oh, thank you.
[indistinct conversation]
-Cheers! -Happy holidays!
[all cheering]
[all] Oh!
-[man] Look at that! -[laughter]
-[Andrew] Falafel-dafel. -[man] Falafel-dafel, as we should.
-[Andrew] Come, sit down. -[Zoe] Come on in.
[Andrew] Try a falafel.
-[woman 1] Yes! -[woman 2] Oh, my God!
-Yes! -[woman] That sauce is the good one.
It's the good one. Yeah, it's the spicy one.
-This is great. -[laughter]
Mmm. [smacks lips]
Grab a plate. Let's eat.
[upbeat instrumental music]
-[woman 1] Oh, my goodness. -[woman 2] Oh, my goodness.
[woman 1] Beautiful!
-Yeah! -[overlapping conversation]
[woman 1] This is gorgeous.
[Andrew] This is sweet potatoes
with smoked brown sugar and goat butter.
Steamed green beans with fried sage
-and a brown butter sage hollandaise. -[woman 1] Oh, my gosh.
Those are rosemary milk bread, but they were baked in a Crock-Pot,
-because we ran out of oven space. -[all exclaiming]
[Andrew] Very ingenious.
-A brisket with roasted veg, extra gravy. -[woman 2] It's beautiful.
Oh, potato latkes.
-No, this is too pretty. Look at that! -[woman 1] Oh, my gosh.
[Andrew] Apple sauce and sour cream, creme fraiche, smoked salmon, caviar.
-Go bonkers. -[man] I'm gonna start with the latkes. Do you wanna?
[woman] Oh, yes, please. Thank you.
-Oh, my gosh. -[man] Yum. Yum, yum, yum.
[praying in other language]
[instrumental holiday music]
All right. Let's eat.
-Yes! -That'd be great.
[Zoe] I love watching people eat something and have that moment of joy.
That's why I do this.
I mean, I love the process of it, and I had a great time with Andrew,
but without that moment of feeding my friends,
you know, then it's just cooking.
This is a great latke. The edges are so crispy.
-So good. -[Lorraine] Mmm. The brisket is great.
May I just say, the table is full,
the house is warm,
but it's the companionship of good friends that make these moments special.
[laughter]
-[all exclaiming] -[woman] And we're not finished.
We get to eat your house?
Oh, light's on!
[woman 1] Oh, my goodness!
[all] Whoa!
[instrumental holiday music]
[indistinct chatter]
-[woman 1] Beautiful. -[woman 2] Yes!
[indistinct conversations]
Being back in the kitchen with Zoe and cooking together again
was probably more rewarding and more eye-opening than I had ever considered.
She's one of my all-time favorite humans.
These are the moments about the holidays.
It doesn't matter. Perfection is so not the point.
You know? It's these moments. It's like, this is the thing that we're gonna remember.
-Cheers. -Thanks so much for having us.
-[man 1] To the hostess! -[man 2] And Uncle Andy!
-[Zoe] Cheers, guys. Cheers. -Somehow, I feel that's gonna stick.
[woman] Cheers!
-[glasses clinking] -[Zoe] Cheers!