Melissa Clark kicks off the roundup with her front page story on challahs and the miracle of the oil. Writing in The New York Times, Melissa shares that oil brings CHARACTER to CHALLAH without overwhelming its eggy sweetness. The recipe is from Myrna Aronson of Providence, RI (Robin’s mothers). She adds, “Using olive oil also makes challah particularly appropriate for Hanukkah, which celebrates an oleaginous miracle. I had to use a dictionary to look up the word “oleaginous.” Melissa then includes a challah braiding video that will make your brain explode.
If you have a leftover challah, you can make her Baked French Toast With Oat Crumble Topping
Seriously though, I can’t start a Chag without the wisdom of Joan Nathan.
In The New York Times, Ms. Nathan shares A Huge French Potato Latke That Is The Size of an Entire Frying Pan with Apple Compote. It is made of pomme, which is French; and this is appropriate since Ms. Nathan is an expert in the cuisine of Alsatian, Gaulist and French Jews. As soon as she ate a version of this as pommes Darphin at Le Coucou in Manhattan (Time Out named it one of the best NYC restaurants of 2016), Joan thought “Hanukkah,” as did chef Daniel Rose (he uses grapeseed oil AND milchig butter). To Chef Rose, this latke smells “Hanukkah.” By the way, we learn that pomme Darphin was named for François Darphin in Aix-les-Bains over 100 years ago. As Lt. General Patton once exclaimed, “Darphin, you magnificent pomme cook, I read your cookbook.”
Ms. Nathan is publishing a new cookbook in APRIL 2017, titled “KING SOLOMON’s TABLE.”
Speaking of the DC-area, in The Washington Post, Susan Barocas writes about How latkes took over our Hanukkah tables — and how we can get out of that rut. She recommends Potomac’s Ellie Dayan’s Persian Potato Pancakes (Kookoo Sib Zamini). Barocas ( @shbarocas ) is the founding director of the Jewish Food Experience in the District of Columbia. For the Charlotte Observer, she has a recipe for TURKISH GREEN BEANS (FASOULIA). Also in The Washington Post, Jennifer Bleyer of “Psychology Today” screws with your brain by republishing her Five Myths about Hanukkah. And Lisa Grace Lednicer shares her story of The Blackened Latke This should not be confused with LEMONY SNICKET’s book about a SCREAMING LATKE
Speaking of lemony, a friend visited from Seattle over the weekend. So in homage, let’s look at Seattle’s tabloid weekly: THE STRANGER. In the new issue of it, Rachel Belle, tells a tale of escaping from Latke Prison, which I think is near Mercer Island Rachel writes,
Now, I adore latkes. But I also want to punch them in the face. Every year, I throw a big Hanukkah party and I make batch after batch of freshly fried latkes for all my main goys and shiksas. Because they are most delicious served straight from a sizzling pan, I remain stuck to the stove while my friends are free to hang out. I call this latke prison. And I despise latke prison!
Rachel… I empathize. I was once at a hipster latke party on Bleeker Street near Broadway, and was confined to latke prison, but i loved the frying and kitchen’s coziness. Rachel recommends frying beforhand, ordering out, or using frozen pancakes.
More time to drink coffee.
Speaking of coffee, Seattle Magazine features a recipe for Cardamom-Carrot Latkes
from Seattle-based award-winning cookbook author, urban farmer and Seattle magazine contributor Amy Pennington. In April 2017, Amy will publish Salad Days: Boost Your Health and Happiness with 75 Simple, Satisfying Recipes for Greens, Grains, Proteins, and More.
Peggy Wolfe for The Chicago Tribune shares four fritter recipes for Hanukkah in addition to a video – Mixed vegetable levivot (courtesy of Israeli-born Ayelet Danino which she and her father Rafael Masok use for their Chicago kosher catering business Bites of Pleasure); East Indian onion patties with garam masala (levivot bazal from Mizrahi Grill in Highland Park, Illinois, paired with date chutney); Chicken and leek levivot (from Eli Mizrahi); and Cauliflower levivot
Speaking of Mizrahi, The San Jose Mercury News gave the Sephardic Team the top honors in the Latke Cookoff. The team called Ruah Maccabim, with members Dina Betser, Ingrid Garzon, Arthur Garzon and Jonathan Benassaya, created what Benassaya called a “very classic” latke. Judges included: chef-author J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the sci-food guru from San Mateo; Effie Speigler, executive chef at the Oakland Coliseum; Hadar Harris, executive director of the Northern California Innocence Project; and Andrew Siporen, team leader of the Los Altos Whole Foods store.
Across town in Palo Alto, The Palo Alto Weekly reports on Lots of Ways to Leave Your Latke, I mean Lots of Ways To Love The Latke We get introduced to Ejjeh-(eggy)-latke fusion with Feta Cheese, from Roni Antebi’s father-in-law , who lived in Syria until the age of 16. Antebi is the programs director at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.; Nourish Cafe’s zucchini latkes from Robert Stayte, the culinary director at the Oshman Family JCC’s Nourish: A Newish Jewish Cafe; and Foolproof latkes, from Marc Drucker of
Menlo Park, California.
Rita Demontis for The Toronto Sun writes about Latke Licious…. and shares her recipe for sweet potato latkes (actually from the American Sweet Potato promotion agency. She also interviews Lorne Simon of MCPR Group and founder of Toronto’s R.I.D.E. Checks who ate Nova Scotia style latkes growing up, and Marshall Torgov, a recent university grad, who compares the cooking styles of his Nanny vs. his bubby.
Speaking of debates… don’t forget the annual Latke vs. Hamantaschen debate, founded in Chicago, and now held at campuses worldwide.
Francie Swidler at The Denver Post writes about her grandmother Gisa Spektor’s recipe, and that of her mother. She escaped Poland in 1939 and knows a thing or two about latke batter consistency.
Miriam Rubin ( @mmmrubin ), for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, turns to herself and the late Gil Marks for her recipes. She creates two and adapts one recipe for Classic Potato Latkes, Sweet Potato and Apple Latkes, and Ashkenazi Cheese Pancakes
The Canadian Jewish News starts with a 2015 latke expose from The Atlantic by investigative report Yoni Appelbaum. This is followed by Matt Mietkiewicz’s tribute to latkes, from frying to eating to spelling them, even at the National Spelling Bee. And in Danbury, CT, the executive director of the AE Phi sorority got interviewed about her winning latke-pa-looze recipe (based on a Rachael Ray one)
The Wall Street Journal reports on HAM-FILLED kreplach for Hanukkah and Xmas Eve at Bahr Rapaport’s Seabird seafood restaurant in Manhattan. He tells the WSJ, “It’s a way to be a jokester… I don’t know how it’s going to received” I would say, it isn’t going to be received well… it will probably be received as well as the picture of his hairy arms and bare hands arranging shellfish on ice…. May all his latkes fall apart. (no judgements, I am a jokester, too)
Jake Cohen of The Tasting Table asked (THE FESTIVAL OF BITES) some Jewish chefs about their Christmas and Christmas Eve memories: Jason Vincent, co-chef of Giant in Chicago; Jessica Koslow, chef and owner of Sqirl in L.A; Ivan Orkin, owner of Ivan Ramen in Manhattan and elsewhere; and Jenn Louis, chef and owner of Lincoln in Portland, Oregon share stories
Sheryl Julian ( @sheryljulian ) at The Boston Globe supplies readers with a recipe for Sweet Potato latkes with red onion and cayenne And Dawn Lerman, for ABC’s THE CHEW, tells viewers how to make crispy LATKE MUFFINS in a cupcake tin
Over in the SF Bay Area, at 7×7, they share a recipe for Latkes with Apple-quince-clove Conserva that are fried in duck fat.
And at The Mic, Melissa Kravitz shares Molly Yeh’s Latke Recipe. In Yeh’s Molly on The Range cookbook, Molly shares that growing up, her family celebrated Hanukkah with more chocolate gelt than latkes, but she experienced a “latke renaissance” in college, after tasting her ex-boyfriend’s dad’s thick as burger patty latkes (but she opted to marry a farmer from the great plains). They reprint Molly’s Latke Sundaes with Chocolate Ice Cream and Cayenne Sprinkles, also.
On the North Fork of Long Island’s East End (the South Fork are The Hamptons), they share the latke recipe of Sheila Muller of Aquebogue, NY who makes her potato grater latkes using the recipe of her grandmother, Sarah Cohen, and even uses her grandmother’s grater. She demonstrates her recipe for members of the Jamepsort Homemakers Club each December.
Over at the Tree Hugger blog, Lloyd Alter shares the recipe of “Kelly Rossiter’s Potato Latkes, by Way of Aunt Sara” Kelly wrote that her husband is Jewish and grew up eating potato latkes every Hanukkah. Kelly is Protestant and grew up eating mashed potatoes every Christmas. Shortly after they were married, Kelly met with her husband’s Great Aunt Sara to learn how to make latkes to humorous results.
PBS’s Religion and Ethic Weekly relies on Famed Israeli chef Einat Admony (Taim, Bar Bolonat, and Balaboosta; and Balaboosta cookbook) for her Beet Latkes with Greek Yogurt Sauce And at NPR’s KCRW station in Santa Monica, they interview the author of the Gefilte Manifesto, Liz Alpern. In Tampa, Florida, at WFLA, you can watch a latke frying video.
The recipe of Gabi Moskowitz of BrokeAss Gourmet for Spicy sweet potato latkes can be found in Western Montana’s Missoula Independent Weekly, and well as in Lena Dunham’s LENNY.
Josh Scherer at Thrillist shares CARNE ASADA LATKE TACOS Josh was the only Jewish kid in his Fourth Grade class (I am assuming it was not because he wasn’t in the 4th grade Honors class, it was just a small school.) Hey Josh… I know you worship cilantro, cheese, and American cheese, but would your bubbe approve of the cheese on meat on latke combo? Scherer is the author of the forthcoming cookbook, Culinary Bro-Down: Recipes for a Dope-Ass Life (Think “Thug Kitchen” for a Jewish kid), and he us THE Senior Food Writer at Los Angeles magazine. His blog “Culinary Bro-Down” was named a finalist for best writing in Saveur magazine’s Best Food Blog Awards in 2014.
Rachel Krantz at BUSTLE wants you to impress your bubbe. with twelve (not 8, but twelve) VEGAN LATKE recipes Her pictures can be considered Latke PORN. She writes (I added the emphases):
When I told my dad I was heading home for the holidays this year, he said, “Great! I’ll make you some latkes!” I responded, “Sounds good! So long as they’re VEGAN!” and I promised to send him some vegan latke recipes. Though the standard latke calls for EGGS, I knew it wouldn’t be a problem to find a vegan latke recipe online. As I suspected, luckily, it’s totally doable to make VEGAN LATKES, and there are plenty of traditional vegan latke recipes to be found. I did some digging, and rounded up some of the more interesting ones here. (Hint hint, Dad.)
Included are recipes for latkes, crispy ones, Basil Jalapeno Corn Fritters, Potato Parsnip Healthier Latkes, Samosa Potato Cakes With Green Chutney, Carrot Zucchini Chickpea Pancakes, Irish Potato Cakes With Basil Ranch, Spiced Samosa Patties, Onion Fritters, Potato Quinoa Patties, Crispy Smashed Potatoes With Avocado Garlic Aioli, and Vegetable Latkes With Avocado Cream. Even Israel’s Minister of Health would like some of them.
Over at POPSUGAR, they asked some celebrity chefs about their latkes. Ina Garten uses a classic recipe; Rachael Ray adds carrots and matzo meal; Nigella Lawson goes heavy on the grated apples mixed into the batter; Guy Fieri uses both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, and adds granulated garlic, cayenne pepper, and ground cinnamon; Jeff Mauromakes a latke corned beef sandwich; and
Emeril garnishes his with caviar.
The Los Angeles Times hypes Lactsoe intolerant celebrants can skip the feta; JUST as gluten intolerant readers can avoid gluten with two gluten free latke recipes from the Jewish link of New Jersey
The Orange County Register shares Pnina Shichor’s Sufganiyot (from “Cooking Jewish” by Judy Bart Kancigor) and Parsnip Potato Latkes (from The Silver Platter cookbook by Daniella Silver and Norene Gilletz). Shichor’s mother-in-law, Malka Suranyi, brought the recipe from Budapest, where the family survived under Nazi rule. Luckily an uncle owned an exclusive men’s clothing store favored by the Nazis, so the workers were spared. Pnina resides in Fullerton.
Aly Walansky at Bravo TV network, where Andy Cohen has a SUPERFICIAL hand in everything, shares a recipe for Grilled Cheese Latkes with Six (Dreidel) Spins on the Classic Potato Pancakes There is Latke Grilled Cheese from TheNosher; Cilantro jalapeno latkes from David Leite’s Culinaria 2013 recipe; Indian potato, ginger and carrot latkes from Jewish Food Experience; Chip and Dip VEGAN latkes from The World of Vegan; Classic Potato Latkes from Andy at Breaking Matzo; and Brussel Sprout and Brown-Rice-Flour latkes from Tamar Fasja at Tajinny.
In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for SeaCoastOnline and Fosters Daily Democrat, Rachel Forrest shares how she visits her friend Avi each year for a latke. PLus their Moose Lodge has a latke night. She shares Avi’s Yukon Gold potato latke recipe.
Over at VOGUE MAGAZINE, Isabel McWhorter-Rosen writes that Hanukkah and its contemporary message is needed this year, more than ever. She shares a recipe from FRANKEL’s in the neo hipster mecca of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY> She adds, “The story of Hanukkah, however, has never been more relevant and its message has never felt so needed. Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish people’s emancipation from the Greek-Syrians; it’s the triumph of light over darkness, of freedom over oppression, it’s a story of morality and perseverance and redemption. It calls attention to the power of hope—and during a season that feels so bleak coupled with the added political-apocalyptic state of the United States, it is crucial to be reminded of that. So, ’tis the season for Hanukkah to take center stage…”
At BON APPETIT magazine, Alyse Whitney shares 26 Hanukkah Dinner Recipes for readers, including Adam and Maxine’s latke recipe; strawberry sufgaiyot; and a Babkallah (babka challah). She writes, “Lighting the menorah and playing dreidel with your distant cousins is fun and all, but the best part of Hanukkah is the food. By that, we mostly mean eating so many latkes that you basically become a potato, and chasing it with some brisket, doughnuts, and Manischewitz. (Not necessarily in that order.) But to round out your holiday feast, we also have some salads, appetizers, and lox of other ideas. Challah back, y’all.”
At SAVEUR, they have 14 latke recipes from their archives, including Larry’s Firecracker Latke Popper from 2007. While at FOOD & WINE magazine, Else Inamine has four tips on making a perfectly crisp latke from Craig Kanarick, CEO of online specialty food shop Mouth, and at COOKING LIGHT magazine, they replay their five ideas for un-fried latkes such as Ribollita with Poached Eggs or Canola Oil Pound Cake with Browned Butter Glaze
Speaking of FOOD AND WINE magazine, The NBC TODAY Show shares the latke recipe of F&W’s Gail Simmons’ mother, Renee. Simmons is also a judge on some televised food cook-off productions.
Amanda Gold, writing for The San Francisco Chronicle shares Chef Michael Siegel’s recipe for Sweet Potato Latkes with Fig-Port Sauce. Michael owns Shorty Goldstein’s, which according to their website is San Francisco’s premiere Jewish deli, making contemporary and classic Jewish deli and cuisine all from scratch using local and sustainable ingredients… like potatoes and figs. Amanda also highlights the EVERYTHING LATKE Craig Stoll of Delfina His EVERYTHING LATKE FRIED IN DUCK FAT was featured at the Illuminoshi Latke Showdown at the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Calif on December 5th, 2016.
On the topic of figs… ONE GREEN PLANET provides 18 VEGAN recipes for the festival HERE, including Raw Jam-Filled Doughnut Bites; Pumpkin-Spiced Latkes; Potato and Onion Kugel With Sautéed Apples; Sweet Potato and Apple Latkes; Potato and Kale Latkes; Raw Jelly Doughnuts; Latkes With Fennel and Avocado Tartare; Rutabaga and Harvest Latkes; Sweet Potato Latkes With Chutney, Sour Cream and Curried Onion, Apple, and White Bean Topping; and more.
