Chanukah in Israel is truly something to behold. The words Chanukah
Sameach or Happy Chanukah can be found printed on food packages, store
windows, and even in pixilated letters on the front of buses. There is
generally a happy festive air about but it is the sufganiyah or the
jelly doughnut that really makes it worth being in this country on
this holiday.

It definitely seems to me that this greasy and delicious treat, has
gone more the way of the hamentashen, then say the rugelach. While the
rugelach can reach over the border of cinnamon and chocolate it
usually remains within those bounds. Rather, the sufganiyah and
hamentashen have more flavors that compliment their plain and
delicious batters while appealing to a greater spectrum of pallets.
Yet, I will venture to say that the sufganiyah has overtaken the
hamentashen and entered the 21st century in style. It is a vixen.

Dulche de leche—must I say more? Yes dear readers you saw it here…
dulche de leche sufganiyot. ( And just when you thought you couldn’t
eat another one you pass another shop window with another magnificent
display of lightly powdered doughnuts and you remember that Chanukah
comes once a year and there might just be a bit more room in your
belly or in your newly developed love handles. )

Much like how the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ends with the Santa
float I saw Chanukah approaching from a meter away. My local macolet
or mini-mart started selling sufganiyot at the start of November. I
valiantly resisted the urge and decided to wait until the holiday
truly began. I can’t say it was a sound decision because one week
prior to the start of the holiday the parties began and doughnuts of
every quality were being offered hand over fist. It was then that my
virtuous self-control ended and I was left to my own abandon. As I
hinted to before, the holiday only comes once a year and I’ve heard
that once it ends so too do the sufganiyot. Do you think that it’s a
coincidence that Tu Bishvat, the New Year of the Trees, is what is up
at bat and the shops will be flooded instead with dried fruit? While I
love dried fruit, I think it may still be a sad and rude awakening.
Chag sameach.

Hey everybody, it’s Hanukkah! It’s Chanuka! No matter how you spell it, it’s time for the Jewish festival of lights — eight crazy nights of dreidels gone wild, a time when latkes are as abundant as old yentas around a mahjongg table. But you don’t need to be Jewish to partake in Hanukkah traditions, particularly the gastronomic treat of latkes (or lattkes). No matter how you spell it, “latkes” is Yiddish for fried pancakes, typically of the potato variety — making it oddly similar to McDonald’s hash browns. However, Bubbe Wendy has guilted us into using her Fancy Fast Food recipe (“If you just want to use McDonald’s hash browns, then I guess that’s fine by me…”), so here goes. Oy…

Ingredients (from Wendy’s):

• 8 orders of hash browns (for the eight nights of Hannukah)
• 2 baked potatoes (with packets of sour cream and “Buttery-Best Spread”)
• 2 orders of mandarin oranges
• 1 small soft drink
• 1 bottle of water
• packets of Sweet & Sour Sauce
• packets of sugar
• packets of salt and pepper
• a pinch of Jewish guilt (may be substituted with Catholic guilt)
• organic chives (for garnish and a touch of irony)

Latkes are traditionally served with apple sauce or sour cream. We already have the latter, so we’re going to have to make the apple sauce. Unfortunately, Wendy’s sells no apple products whatsoever, so we’ll have to get creative.

What are apples? They are a kind of fruit that are sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, and so naturally we will start with Sweet & Sour Sauce. To add a fruity pulp to it, we’ll add the mandarin oranges — but that’s fine; Bubbe Wendy moved down to Boca.

Put the manadrin oranges in a food processor and purée them, then strain out the extraneous juice. Mix this pulp in a bowl with the Sweet & Sour Sauce. The color is a bit intense to look like real apple sauce, so scoop out some baked potato (minus any chives) and mix it in — the French call potatoes “pommes de terre” (apples of earth) so we’ll go with it. Mush and whisk it all until it sort of looks like apple sauce; add sugar until it’s as sweet.

Next, the latkes themselves. Take all the mini hash brown nuggets and mush them with your hands. Touching them, you’ll realize they are all too greasy for things to stick together, so we’ll need to make a batter to work as a binding agent.

Put one baked potato, minus the skin, into a food processor and add about a quarter cup of water. Hit purée and voilà: batter! Add this potato batter to your pile of hash browns and mix thoroughly in a bowl. Add salt and pepper as desired.

In a large non-stick skillet, melt a few packets of Wendy’s “Buttery-Best Spread;” there’s enough oil in it for a fry-up. Slice the top of your beverage’s paper cup and use it as a guide when forming the batter into pancakes in the skillet. Fry each evenly on both sides until it becomes crispy and golden brown. Argue with Bubbe Wendy that they do in fact, resemble McDonald’s hash browns now — but let her win the argument; she’ll try and make you feel guilty for never calling her anyway.

You are ready to serve the Hannukah latkes, but wait! You can use your fancy kitchen tools in continued preparation for the holiday: use a fondue fork to clean out the old waxy build-up in your menorah; use a kitchen torch to light the new candles.

Garnish the latkes with organic chives (for that extra touch of irony), and then have a Happy Hannukah, courtesy of Bubbe Wendy and Fancy Fast Food! Now spin those dreidels until we figure out what we’re going to do for Christmas…

READ MORE: FFF Creator Erik R. Trinidad’s travel blog on Israel and the Middle East

The best Jewish food recipe I ever found came to me not at a friends house, or at a cooking seminar, or while leafing through old cookbooks at my Bubbe’s house (which is where all my friends get them). No, I got my best recipe when I was covered in dust and spackle at 10:00 at night, halfway through a project to finish my basement.

Before I provide details (or the recipe), there are a few things about me that I would like to clarify:

First, I am NOT a carpenter, handyman or otherwise skilled craftsman. This was my first attempt at finishing any room, let alone a basement, and I made so many stupid mistakes during that ordeal that I would accuse Tim Allen of spying on me if the comedy routine he did on stage hadn’t preceded the nightly comedy of errors in my basement by a good 4 years.

Second, I am NOT a good cook. I have trouble following, much less remembering recipes so when someone starts saying “oh, it’s just 3 tbspn of frbdrgrf and a pinch of hurkamur, then whisk it in a 17 quart #5.4 smakerl dish for 27.8943 minutes” my eyes just sort of glaze over.

But I like sweet potatoes. And believe it or not, THAT’S important to this story as well.

I’m in the basement on a cool and quiet evening in November. Everyone else in the house is asleep upstairs, with 2 floors and several doors between us to keep out the sounds of my slamming, hammering and sanding (but most importantly to keep out the swearing – because I really have NO IDEA what I’m doing). I’ve got the local NPR station turned on because I need to be able to hear myself think (not that I had many valid thoughts about what I was doing) and because anything else I’d listen to would wake everyone in a 7 mile radius.

Lo and behold, a program comes on about Chanukah. I roll my eyes and immediately regret that decision because spackle dust gets lodged behind my retina and I have to spend 10 minutes flushing my face before I can see again. By the time I get back downstairs they are talking about food, specifically latkes.

I really have never liked latkes much. Blame it on the ground-mush-premix they served at my synagogue growing up. Blame it on a mis-spent youth. Whatever the reason, latkes actually come in below matzo products on my list of “happy Jewish holiday food”.

So when the folks on the radio started talking about alternative latke recipes, I turned off the sander and listened a bit. And when they mentioned sweet potato latkes, I actually sat down by the radio. It sounded incredible! It sounded like something I’d actually want to eat.

It also sounded like they were about to give a recipe, and I was sitting in my basement at 10pm, surrounded by power tools and drywall.

I found out that I can gouge words into sheet-rock with remarkable accuracy when motivated.

In the morning I brought my wife down to review my handiwork.

“Um… honey, you wrote on the wall. Actually, you wrote IN the wall.”
“Yeah!” I said, still enthusiastic, “do you think you can make that.”
“Leon, this isn’t setting a good impression for the kids.”
“I’m sure it will cover up,” I reply, “but how about the recipe??”

That evening I discovered that sweet potato latkes are, in fact, just as good as they sounded. I also discovered that some drywall problems can’t be fixed no matter how much spackle you use. My wife still looks at that part of the wall and rolls her eyes.

But each year we make at least 5 pounds of sweet potato latkes, along with a token pound of the regular kind.

Sweet Potato Latkes (courtesy of NPR, circa 2000)
1 lb sweet potatoes
1 piece fresh, or 2 Tbspn regular ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbspn sugar
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tspn baking powder

Shred sweet potatoes and mix with ginger. Mix all other ingredients together into a batter, then mix in the shredded potatoes. Fry in 1/2 inch of oil. About 1/3 cup of batter makes one latke.

Legal Stuff: I want to clarify that this recipe is *based* on what I heard back in 1999. We’ve been tinkering with it since then. Enjoy!

We took this last year, looking out through our front window on our front yard under two feet of snow. For all you folks who get snow regularly in winter, this was an epic storm for Portlanders, the most snow we had in the city in 40 years. This year there’s no snow on the first night of Chanukah, but it’s plenty cold. Wherever you are, whatever weather you’ve got, chag sameach!

It’s latke season, which also means it’s time to buy applesauce, dig out the applesauce you made in the fall, or make some from scratch now. This simple recipe fills up the house with a delicious aroma of cinnamon, and can easily be frozen in plastic or glass freezer containers to enjoy throughout the winter. Add a bit to your buttery sweet potato latkes,  parsnip carrot latkes, or spicy potato latkes; or have some plain as a snack – it’s delicious with granola or walnuts mixed it!

To make applesauce: Core apples, and peel if you prefer sauce without  skins. Cut apples into quarters, and fill as many as you’d like into a pot. Add water – you should add half the amount of water as apples. Simmer until cooked down to your liking. Add cinnamon and clove to taste. Delicious hot or cold!

Take your favorite latke recipe and substitute an equal amount of shredded parsnips and carrots for the potatoes (if you want them to be even more colorful, you can also add shredded zucchini, if you don’t mind that zucchini isn’t seasonal this time of year for most of us). The result is a lighter, more flavorful latke, and the parsnips and carrots make for a sweeter, more complex flavor than traditional potato latkes. Not to mention you can pretend you’re eating healthier because you’re eating veggie latkes instead of all those carbs (just forget about the whole fried in oil part). Chag sameach!

Holiday accommodations span far wider than hotels and motels.

Whether a host, guest, family member, friend, neighbor, colleague, or otherwise, the holidays are a time when we are all brought together under many circumstances, and required to deal with each other in ways unlike most other days. It brings out the best and worst in everyone.  For me, it often feels like these decisions define me. I have always struggled in balancing truth with tact, and tend to be either far too blunt and direct or completely spineless. And of course I also struggle with wanting so very much to accommodate without compromising my principles or even identity.

An example from my own experience. One Passover, a couple showed up, stoned, and presented me with a cake. Not exactly the Elijah I was expecting. And this was a real, Italian bakery, flour and butter laden, gorgeous cake. I had no idea what to do. Part of me was humiliated, because they know I am observant. Part of me was terrified not to be a gracious host, or to spoil the otherwise wonderful occasion. Part of me (a really big part of me) wanted to slap them silly. So what did I do? I put it out on a non-Passover plate and kicked myself for the rest of the holiday. Not my greatest moment.

There are other dilemmas. What do you serve for Thanksgiving? Do you send holiday cards? Do you attend Christmas parties or invite non-Jews to your Chanukah gatherings? Is a cookie exchange acceptable? Do you nibble on the catering at the company holiday party? I feel like November and December are fraught with these kind of decisions. And while the actual choices are very important, often the process and conversation are equally if not more significant. If you refuse that holiday ham, can you do it in a way that does not offend? How do you not break bread without breaking faith? What can you offer to mitigate your refusal?

I’d like to hear more of your stories. How do you accommodate for the holidays?

If you are looking for a Chanukah gift for a foodie (say… yourself!), or some new recipes for any of the Jewish holidays, then there’s a new book out that will be of help. Aviva Allen, author of the 2007 The Organic Kosher Cookbook, has just released a Holiday Edition. Ms. Allen provided me with a free copy for this interview and review.

Ms. Allen is a nutritionist in Toronto, CA, with a private practice. She also teaches private cooking lessons and Smart Food shopping. Smart Food shopping lessons introduces the client to new foods and how to prepare them, how to read labels, healthy substitutions, and more.

Ms. Allen’s interest in healthy cooking, eating, and education were originally piqued when she participated in the ADAMAH farming fellowship. She then went on to attend the Natural Gourment Institute in New York, followed by an internship back at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, cooking healthy, vegetarian food.

Ms. Allen wrote her first cookbook, because she felt that Jewish food was mostly “a lot of brown food” and utilized “a lot of margarine and Crisco to make the food pareve.” She explains that “there are a lot of so-called healthy kosher cookbooks out there but they have a lot of [those unhealthy ingredients].”

Ms. Allen’s new cookbook is broken down by holiday and what traditional foods are eaten at each one. She supplies recipes for healthier versions of these dishes. It is an ideal book for anyone who wants to keep kosher and also eat organic.

She explains, “There are so many different food sensitivities, preferences, and restrictions. A lot of the time you are making food for someone coming over and it’s helpful to look in the book and know what to make for them.” The book has symbols indicating for each recipe if it is vegetarian, gluten-free, passover-friendly, and if simple substitutions can be made to accommodate any of the above restrictions. There is also an index indicating all of the vegan recipes.

The cookbook includes organic, kosher chicken and fish recipes, but no beef. At this time, there is no kosher, organic beef available in Canada, where Ms. Allen is based.

Here is a recipe for Ms. Allen’s Spicy Potato Latkes, just in time for Chanukah preparations:

Spicy Potato Latkes (vegetarian)

Yield: 10-15 latkes

5 cups SHREDDED YUKON GOLD POTATO (2 lbs. potatoes)

3 Tbsp. GRATED ONION (1 small onion)

1 Tbsp. MINCED JALAPENO PEPPER (seeds removed)

3 EGGS

2 tsp. SEA SALT

2 tsp. CHILI POWDER

1/2 cup WHOLE WHEAT OR WHOLE SPELT FLOUR */**

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL FOR FRYING

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Place shredded potatoes in a towel, a little at a time, and ring out the liquid.

3. Place into a large bowl and mix together with all other ingredients (except the oil).

4. Heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan at a medium-high heat. Place a heaping tablespoon of mixture into your hands and flatten to form a disc while squeezing out excess liquid.

5. Fry latkes until golden brown onto both sides, adding more oil as necessary. Place latkes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 10-15 minutes.

6. Serve with Avocado Sour Cream. (If you want to know this recipe, you’ll need to check out the cook book! –Laura).

Notes

* Substitute 1/4 cup brown rice flour for gluten-free version.

** Substitute an equal amount of whole wheat matzah meal for Passover-friendly version.

Enjoy!

Book image and recipe reprinted with permission of the author.

Serves: 4 as a main course, more as an appetizer, easily multiplied
Total Time: 45 minutes (including chopping)

1 large sweet potato (yam), peeled and grated
1 medium onion, grated
1 c walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 T sage
1/2 c flour, or 1/4 c flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, or 1/4 c flour and 1/4 c cornmeal
5+ eggs, beaten
1 T salt plus more to taste
1/2 T ground black pepper, to taste
olive oil
butter or margarine (optional)

Tip: To speed up the chopping, I chop the nuts in the food processor, then grate the sweet potato and onion in the food processor without cleaning the bowl.

1) Combine grated sweet potatoes, onion, walnuts, sage, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss thoroughly.
2) Stir in the eggs. Mix well until mixture looks uniformly slick. Add another egg if necessary for batter to hold together.
3) Heat 1 T oil and 1 T butter or margarine (or 2 T oil) in a skillet. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out batter. Fry 1-2 minutes/side.
4) Drain on towels (clean dish towels or paper towels).
5) Repeat as necessary, keeping early batches crisp in the oven on a 300-degree baking sheet.
6) Serve plain, or with applesauce and/or lowfat sour cream. Try sprinkling a little nutmeg and/or black pepper into the applesauce.

Calling all New Yorkers!  If you’re around on Sunday, December 13th at 2pm, join me at this fun Jewish food event!

CULTURE IN THE CUCINA
How Rome’s Jews are Cooking up the Past and Future

While Jews have lived in Italy since the 2nd century BCE and are credited with popularizing staple ingredients like eggplant, fennel and pumpkin, the notion of an “Italian Jewish cuisine” is difficult to define. Still, a handful of traditional dishes – like Carciofi alla Guidia (deep fried artichokes) and Pizza Ebraica (a fruit cake-like dessert) – have managed to endure over time.

Food writer, Leah Koenig, will discuss how certain traditional recipes have attained iconic status in Italy’s oldest and largest Jewish center, Rome. She will also explore how today’s urban Jews relate to their culinary heritage. New York’s Jews have their bagels, knish and egg creams. What dishes do Italians turn to when they need a nosh, and how do these foods connect them to their past and their future?  *Bonus! Italian Jewish Chanukah recipes and tips on where to find Jewish Italian food in NYC.

EVENT DETAILS and more photos of Rome’s delicious food culture below the jump…

Culture in the Cucina
Sunday, Dec 13 – 2:00pm
Park East Synagogue 164 E 68th St.
$5 admission
Presented by the Jewish Historical Society of New York

Woman lunching in the Jewish ghetto

sweet, fried dough dessert - Pizzarelle

Rome's ancient Jewish bakery, Boccione

Menu at a Ghetto restaurant

Kosher Italian wine

Pizza Ebraica - charred to perfection

Shabbat challah, Friday afternoon

all photos: Leah Koenig