Cooking Class: Vegetarian Side Dishes for Thanksgiving with Jennifer Abadi

• 1 pound butternut squash, pumpkin, or kabocha, peeled and cut into ½inch cubes 
• (about 3 cups cubed; you can use the pre-cut cubes sold in grocery stores)
• ½ cup (canned) pumpkin purée
• jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 2 teaspoons of lemon zest from one large lemon
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seed
• finely chopped garlic
• 1 medium onion, stems trimmed, outer skins peeled, cut into thin rings or strands
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts, stems trimmed, then cut in half (for small ones) or into quarters (for large ones)
• 1 pound carrots (orange or multi-colored/rainbow kind), peeled, stems trimmed and discarded, cut into ½-inch disks
• 1 pound parsnips, peeled, stems trimmed and discarded, cut into ½-inch disks
• white vinegar
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pomegranate syrup/molasses, date syrup, or balsamic reduction (optional but suggested)
• 2 tablespoons raw or roasted pumpkin seeds or 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 cup walnut or pecan halves (better to get the halves instead of the already chopped kind)
• dried cranberries
• ground cinnamon
• ground ginger
• ground cumin
• fine sea salt or kosher salt

• Small skillet
• Baking pan
• Peeler
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cutting board
• Chef’s/chopping knife
• Food processor
• Rubber spatula
• Measuring cups/spoons
• Chef’s knife and cutting board, for preparing vegetables
• Large mixing bowl
• Baking pan, for roasting vegetables
• Small bowl or jar, for mixing dressing
• Small skillet, for toasting nuts

Jennifer Abadi is a native New Yorker, born, bred and raised on Manhattan's Upper West Side. She is half Sephardic (Aleppo, Syria) and half Ashkenazic (Riga, Latvia). She is a researcher, developer, and preserver of Judeo-Arabic and Sephardic recipes and food customs, focusing on the Jewish communities of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Central Asia, and North Africa. She is the author of two cookbooks: "Too Good To Passover: Sephardic & Judeo-Arabic Seder Menus and Memories from Africa, Asia and Europe" and "A Fistful of Lentils: Syrian-Jewish Recipes From Grandma Fritzie's Kitchen." Jennifer teaches cooking at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) and at the Jewish Community Center Manhattan (JCC), as well as privately. Jennifer has been providing Jewish Food & Culture tours on Manhattan's Lower East Side for Context Travel since 2012."

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.