About Hanukah & A Latke Recipe

Those of you of the gentile (non-Jewish) persuasion seem to be under the impression that Hanukah is a quasi-Christmas.

It isn't.

If you go to this website: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm , you will get a great explanation of the holiday and its customs. Please note the part about gifts NOT being a traditional part of the holiday, just a way for Jews to make their kids happy without celebrating Christmas.

My mother, coming from a left wing atheistic sort of family, celebrated secular Christmas.My dad fell away from his fairly Orthodox upbringing when they married (he may have done it sooner for all I know)and we always had a Christmas tree and gifts from Santa. I was the envy of all the kids in our mainly Jewish neighborhood. Now I am married to a Catholic, neither of us is observant, and we observe Hanukah with the menorah and chocolate coins called "gelt", then celebrate Christmas with our families in New York. I feel lucky to have both holidays, and to share them with my family.But they are very different holidays!

Every time I hear about the "tradition" of 8 gifts, one for each night, I want to puke!

My grandma Esther used to give us $5 each. Her son, my dad, got nothing. Period.

Hanukah wasn't about gifts for me. It was about going to Grandma's and eating potato pancakes, a.k.a. latkes (pronounces LAHT-kehs, BTW) with applesauce. And never eating enough to make her happy. As mentioned elsewhere, I was a skinny child who didn't eat well, but I've made up for it since!

When Grandma broke her hip, and ended up in a nursing home, my mother got her latke recipe. But where Grandma laboriously hand grated her potatoes and onions, Mom discovered a blender worked just fine and was a lot faster. And now both of us use food processors to do the job.

Our latkes are a little lighter than the ones Grandma made, but that makes them even better. Grandma always served them with pink applesauce, but sour cream is excellent as a dip too.

They are not hard to make--in fact, I am throwing a party at work, complete with cheesecake, cookies and other treats for the staff this week, something I've done each year since we moved to our current library.

Grandma Esther's Latkes--Two Generations Later

Peel 6 potatoes (all purpose are fine) and cut into cubes.

Cut 1 1/2 yellow onions into chunks (about 1/4 onion each)

Place onion and 1/2 cup or so of the potato chunks into a food processor (use the regular steel blade) and begin to chop. 

Add 2 eggs and 1/4 t baking powder

Continue to add potatoes until all are blended. You will have a rough batter--don't overprocess.

Add matzo meal or flour until the mixture resembles thick sour cream. 

I would put the mixture in a strainer or colander and let some of the liquid drip before starting to fry these. I tried this while making them for my family, and they held together MUCH better!

Put enough oil in a big skillet (I use an electric) to cover the bottom and heat until a drop of water sizzles.

BE CAREFUL--THAT'S HOT!

Scoop big spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil--large enough for pancakes. Mix it into the oil as you do this.

I've discovered the big blue spoon I use to scoop rice from our rice cooker is ideal for scooping up latke dough. Appropriate enough when making latkes in a house that's half Jewish, half Filipino.....

Cook for several minutes till brown, then flip and brown the other side.

Make sure to let them cook enough before flipping. It may take up to 5 minutes for the first batch, depending on how long you've preheated your oil! You should see a bit of brown around the bottom edges of the latke. I take the spoon I'm scooping batter with and place it on top of the latke and hold it with that as I'm lifting the latke with a big spatula. Keeps it secure and elimintates most breakage!

And if the first batch don't come out too well, let your oil get hotter. The rest will be fine......................

Drain well on paper towels and eat with sour cream and or applesauce!

Try them and enjoy them. Oh, and if you're going to sing, try "O Chanukah, O Chanukah"--that web site has a clip of the tune and the words, both in English and in my grandma's native Yiddish.

It's a lot prettier than the "Dreydl Song". I HATE the "Dreydl Song"!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND  ABEI GEZUNT  (Stay Healthy!)

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