Late Early Thanksgiving – Glazed Kosher Salami

When I was a kid at Camp Onas many years ago, to change things up, we used to have theme weekends. The counselors would pick a movie, TV show, or an era – the 1950s or 1960s for example – and all the activities would revolve around the theme for a couple of days. At times we even dressed in character. Occasionally it was as simple as celebrating Christmas in July. Christmas carols, tree decorating, fake snow, presents made in arts and crafts, Santa on the roof of the dining hall.

Well, this year we celebrated Thanksgiving a little later than usual…in February.

Since about 1998, we’ve hosted an Early Thanksgiving dinner for friends. Usually in late October or early November, it’s a chance to celebrate without traveling to be with family. And it all started because we got a free turkey from the supermarket. What else were we going to do other than invite our friends for a meal?

This year we started a major construction project when we normally have our annual dinner. We would have to postpone until the middle of winter when the work was complete. The undertaking started with excitement, but then construction went on and on. Through November and December, and into January. As the February date approached, we were concerned we would have to cancel the gathering for the year, which we have never done. We didn’t abort the celebration when our kids were little, after Superstorm Sandy, or during COVID. We always found a way, whether we had to cook chickens because we couldn’t find turkey or we were forced to gather outside to minimize the chances of spreading a virus.

This year, the week before our get-together, as we pushed our contractor to finish, we finally realized it was possible; the house would be in good enough shape to welcome our guests. And so we did, although several could not attend because of the change in date.

We ate and drank well and shared the company of people we had not seen in many months. It was a pleasure to enjoy the warmth in our newly renovated house despite the cold outside. And while there’s still a punch list of items for the contractor to complete, we are happy to have been able to celebrate Late Early Thanksgiving with friends.

Happy (late) Thanksgiving

Here is this year’s Late Early Thanksgiving meal:

Appetizers:

Halloumi Stuffed Peppers with Pesto

Vegan Butternut Squash Soup

Almond Dip with Pita

Chicken Liver Pâté

Glazed Kosher Salami

Middle Eastern Stuffed Onions

Esquites with Tortilla Chips

Crudités

Main Meal:

Roasted Turkey

Porcini Mushroom Gravy

Mashed Potatoes

Corn Pudding

Butter Simmered Carrots

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Winter Citrus Salad with Radicchio, Arugula, and Endive

Cranberry Chutney

Desserts (brought by guests):

Vegan Sesame Tahini Cookies

Orange Chocolate Brownie Torte Cupcakes

Cheesecake

Salted Caramel Brownies

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Raspberries

Assorted Ice Cream

Glazed Kosher Salami

Several months ago, I saw someone on Instagram serving a glazed kosher salami. They scored it with a knife in a cross-hatch pattern, smeared the glaze on, and baked it, serving it with toothpicks at a party. It immediately got me thinking about the excellent glazed corned beef from the Silver Palate Cookbook which I have made several times over the years. After simmering for hours, the salty corned beef is covered in an orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar glaze and baked until it’s firmly coated in the sweet mixture with crispy edges. It is the perfect combination of salty and sweet. I knew it would work well with a kosher bullet salami.

Marci gave me a lot of grief about serving the glazed salami at our Early Thanksgiving gathering. She didn’t think anyone would want to pick at a pink piece of meat and she doesn’t appreciate the pleasure of salty and sweet. (For someone who is addicted to chocolate, she doesn’t even like chocolate covered pretzels, for goodness sake, almost grounds for a divorce.) But, enjoy it they did. While it was not the appetizer our guests liked the most – that was the butternut squash soup and the halloumi stuffed peppers with pesto – most who tried it liked it. (They also didn’t like it the least – that was the chicken liver pâté.) In fact, even a “vegetarian” in attendance couldn’t resist trying it. Although she only had one bite, I consider that a success.

I admit this glazed kosher salami is not something you want to serve on a regular basis, however, I thought it was delicious, the perfect appetizer at a friendly gathering.

serves 10 as an appetizer at a party, about 45 minutes, mostly unattended

⅓ cup orange marmalade

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

a 12 oz. kosher bullet salami such as Hebrew National

1. Preheat oven to 375 ^oF and line a baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Place orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl and stir until well combined.
3. Remove the salami from its wrapper and blot dry with a paper towel. Using a sharp knife, score the salami on a diagonal, cutting to about an inch from the bottom of the salami. Make sure not to cut all the way through so it stays together when baking. Rotate the salami and score again on a diagonal so the scoring results in cross-hatched wedges.
4. Place the salami in the parchment-lined baking dish and coat the top with about half of the glaze using a brush, making sure to get it into all the cracks and crevices. Be careful not to break pieces off.
5. Put the baking dish in the preheated oven.
6. After about 15 minutes brush the top and crevices with the remainder of the glaze.
7. Place it back in the oven and bake until the glaze is bubbly, the scored wedges of salami separate and the edges are lightly charred.
8. Remove to a platter and serve warm with toothpicks.

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