The guest list for the lunchtime barbecue Sylvia Fallas’s grandmother hosts on Simchat Torah keeps expanding. When Sylvia was little, there were approximately 30 guests; today, it’s nearly 50. “It’s like a clown car, there’s always room,” she jokes.
Her grandmother, who is also named Sylvia, was born in Aleppo, Syria and maintains the culinary traditions of their community in Brooklyn. For the holiday, she starts the afternoon feast with fried sambusak before heading to the barbecue. She grills beef kebabs loaded with garlic called salajahn and spicy Syrian sausages called salchicha. Her buffet table is covered with hummus, baba ghanoush, a bulgar salad called bazergan, a green salad, and much more. There are also a few American classics including hot dogs, which her uncle likes burnt, and ketchup.
And there are always pita and hotdog buns on the table. Sylvia jokes: “My grandfather hated four things in life. One of those things was soft bread, like American soft bread, so there were hot dog buns in a basket on the table, but those are really just for the kids.”
Cooking note: These kebabs are wonderful on the grill, but can also be made in a heavy-bottom skillet.
Learn more about Sylvia’s family in “For This Syrian Family, Friday Afternoon Means Coffee and Pastries” and get her recipe for fried sambousak (middle eastern turnovers).