Well its interesting you have posted this David because I am inviting my one Jewish friend and his gentile wife to dinner next weekend, ostensibly to "celebrate" Hannukah but for me it was an excuse to make and eat latkes. Well, come to find out he is a self titled "Jew-Bhu" (Jewish Bhuddist) and strongly dislikes Jewish food. I'm not sure why, I need to find out more. Not sure whether I should try for lighter version of traditional eastern european foods which is his background, or go totally non traditional and serve samosas, puri or roti instead!!

Oh L, EVERYONE likes latkes, I'm sure your friend was talking about gefilte fish. Yeah, that's it.

I'll be watching this one too, I'm sure Carol is having brisket.

Heck, I think I'm going to have latkes, just because I like them!

Happy Everything to Everyone!

Annie

Hannukah is here? When? OMG it starts FRIDAY arrrgghhhhhh guess I better start planning....

j/k

David, gefilte fish is, as I like to say, an aquired taste. I call it peasant food - stretching a dollar or whatever currency my forebears used in Europe. We once made it out of salmon and it was amazing. Lots of work for homemade stuff, but beats the carp (yup thats the authentic fish) out of the jarred stuff.

We do vegetarian meals so we can have sour cream with our latkes! Usually just a salad, maybe a simple fish dish.

Dessert? Jelly donuts (fried desserts) is traditional! Krispy Creme, baby, Krispy Creme. Oh and chocolate coins, called 'gelt', from the German word.

Gefilte fish isn't traditional Hanukah food, although now that I think about it, maybe if we dipped it in batter and fried it..... that might be edible! I'm picturing a corn dog looking thing with a horseradish dipping sauce. Hmmmmm......

I actually do like gefilte fish, but I go for the frozen loaf. The jar stuff makes me gag.

We're having fried chicken on Friday night with latkes and doughnuts. I'll be the one with clogged pores and arteries on Saturday.

On Sunday I'm making doughnuts with the special needs group that I work with once a month. That's the real highlight for me.

How can you tell which are the gefilte fish when you see them swimming in the sea?
They're the ones with a carrot slice on their back.

Yay David for starting this thread. I knew in the back of my mind Hanukkah starts on Friday but hadn't made any real plans. It's just Len and me so I'll probably make some latkes and call it good. Nothing too exciting or elaborate.

I don't eat gefilte fish. I don't have to, I'm not Ashkenazi! So there! LOL

We are not Jewish but we live in a Jewish neighborhood and the neighbors that I know are having the big family celebration this Saturday night. So I am wondering and asking - is it just that its convenient for all to gather on the weekend and so the Saturday night was chosen for convenience? Will they have another big dinner celebration next Friday, the last night? Or is it all just individual preferences. Just curious.

Woodie: individual preferences and convenience. Hannukah is a 'festival', not biblically mandated. It is basically a holiday lifted from the books (Apochrypha) not long ago to keep up with the popularity of Christmas. Its basis is not far from the historical truth, but we all know how those get stretched! 'They tried to kill us, we won, lets eat!'

Jews only SAY gefilte fish is a traditional food to torture unsuspecting gentiles that they invite to their houses for celebrations. They keep jars of the mysterious stuff around just for that occasion! I've heard Norweigans are the same way with lutefisk, and the Scots have their haggis. Gefilte fish is designed around the principle of "What would fish look like if you chewed it, partially digested it and then coughed it up and rolled it into a ball." But seriously, it's a delicacy! My uncle LOVES it. I was told my grandmother made a mean gefilte fish in her day and the local fishermen would bring her their carp special for that. We'll know we've truly hit hard times when we start seeing more gefilte fish on the menu. Now made with salmon . . . that's another story all together. Now it's sushi!
:)

LOL - thanks Jessy! And thanks L for the gefilte fish/lutefisk explanation! As many years as my Dad had a jar of gelfite fish around the house, he could never entice me to try it (and I was a fairly adventurous eater as a kid) and lutefisk, well happily our Norwegian relatives don't like it either. Latkes are a whole different ballgame!

Since I started lurking here in 2002 (I think) I have enjoyed these threads about Jewish food the most. Growing up in a very small town in central Texas, you can imagine the Jewish influence was slim to nil. I've taken bits and pieces from all of your recipes over the years and am happy to say I can now cook a mean brisket thanks to all of you!

My Christmas is this coming Saturday (12th). Only time we could all get together.
Dinner is...restaurant! An Amish restaurant with chicken roast beef, noodles, veggies, potatoes and gravy, all that stuff. Huge family style. My kids love it, and I decided not to cook huge meals anymore for Christmas, especially this year since Thanksgiving was just two weeks ago. We will be eating early in the day (2:00) then I will have a couple pots of soup at home for later in the evening for if people get hungry.
Baking is way behind schedule, cause my kids still want the fudges and cookies. I only have a few hours every night to work on them. Cut outs are done but need decorated. Caramel, turtles, fudges are done, but I still have peanut brittle and about 3 more kinds of cookies to bake. I better get on the stick!

What's not to like about latkes??? When I make them DH thinks he's died and gone to heaven.

Woops. Sorry. I was thinking christmas and not Hanukkah. I guess I better start looking before posting.

LOL Sherry! I enjoyed reading your post no matter what holiday it's about!

Hanukkah is an eight day holiday beginning on Friday night, so choosing to do the big family celebration is appropriate on any of the evenings. Lots of people chose the Saturday night that falls in that week simply because it's convenient.

Last year, we had a bunch of Jewish friends over for a Hanukkah celebration on Christmas! Well, you know, Christmas happened to fall in the middle of Hanukkah. This year, although Hanukkah will be over by the 25th, we're having some Jewish friends over again. The date of the party got rave reviews because there's not a WHOLE lot for us to do on that day but watch movies! LOL

Around here many people volunteer for essential services on Xmas day (so our Christian neighbors can have the day off), then EVERYONE goes for Chinese food. I have a friend who calls it Hunanuka.

I've never heard of "the big family celebration" for Chanuka. It's a very minor holiday and only gets attention in the US, because of Xmas.

I do, however, have a GREAT recipe for latkes. My Nana's, so no arguments will be permitted.

Shall we start a controversy similar to the ongoing floaters vs. sinkers matzo ball debate for shredded vs. ground potatoes for latkes? I am in the ground camp; shredded seems like hash browns to me.

(Which could lead us to a shredded vs. cubed hash browns debate ...)

Re: gefilte fish -- I was dumbfounded when I learned (I was probably at least 40) that people think gefilte fish is weird. It's not just that I love it; I think of it as so plain, it's one of the first solid foods we fed our kids.

Besides, all you people who think it's strange and icky -- what if we called it "quenelles" instead? Pretty much the same thing (although I find quenelles too finely ground and bland -- and they aren't likely to be accompanied by horseradish). Like people who turn their noses up at "grits" but happily pay 10 times as much for "polenta."

Latkes: shredded
Hash browns: cubed

Figured I'd get my opinions in, since you asked!

And here's a dumb queston, but how do you grind potatoes?

I like 3/4 shredded, then 1/4 pureed. I also like one sweet potato thrown in, just to mix it up a little.

I was just being a smart aleck. There's nothing weird about gefilte fish, and lots of cultures have similar dishes for similar reasons. There are certain foods I think that are bound to not be super popular--like spinach. Nothing wrong with that either, it just has a definitive taste and texture that not everyone is going to take to, unlike something like applesauce which almost everyone likes at least a little.

I make my latkes like Arabella, half shredded and half pureed. You shred them using a fine grater, and puree them using a blender or food processor. Actually I make mine using the food processor. I coarse shred them using the grating disk, and then slightly puree them using the chopping blade. I have done them by grating them all by hand like my Bubbe did, but frankly I don't like them that way, they taste gummy to me, but I'm sure some prefer them that way. Mom made them in the blender, got a lot of tsk, tsks. Her and Bubbe's laktkes were bluish grey, lol!

I lived in a small town with a tiny Jewish community, we used to get together for a fun party, all four or five families. Then all but my folks moved and we were down to one. With my folks having a mixed marriage we celebrated both holidays. Totally different, but each wonderful in its own way. BTW, if you're looking for a good movie to watch over Hannukah, and you haven't seen it fifty times already (this week was my first) "The Hebrew Hammer" is a good laugh. NOT for those easily offended by sterotypes, making fun of cultural sacred cows, and religion. It's a satire of "Blaxploitation" films except this one is a "Jewsploitation" film.

Gellchom:

Is your Nana's latke recipe "share-able"?

I'd love a great latke recipe.

Also, for anyone who makes and freezes them ahead of time, how do you reheat them so they're crispy for serving at dinner?

Thanks,
Happygram

Oops, Mae, I meant grated, not ground. I use the food processor. I can't believe I used to use a box grater before there was such a thing as a FP -- knuckle-flavored latkes aren't even kosher -- and it took forever. But I did it.

The baking soda is what keeps the potatoes white. Mine seem to turn pink if I don't use it!

happygram, I am delighted to share Nana's latke recipe -- from Zhabazhik, Lithuania to Portsmouth, Virginia to me to you. And they are really, really easy and fast to reheat crispy (and not make a mess) -- see instructions below.

I think this is the only recipe Nana, who died in 1982, ever dictated to me directly. It's in my handwriting on stationery from The Store (which had already been closed for years). Grandma Frieda was the unbelievable chef, but Nana Hattie had a few gems, and this is one of them. (My brother tells -- with only a little embellishment -- the hilarious story of them cooking for his bar mitzvah, in his synagogue cookbook, which I strongly recommend: it's called Out of Our Kitchen Closets: San Francisco Gay Jewish Cooking.)

Thanks for asking for the recipe and giving me a little visit with Nana. I still miss her.

Nana Hattie's Potato Latkes

3 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 egg
1 heaping tsp baking powder
cup flour
Crisco or oil (I like peanut oil)

Grate potatoes and onion. Mix in egg and powder and flour. Fry in deep fat (spoon Crisco right into the pan) in a big pan that will be deep enough. DonÂt crowd the pan; that will reduce the temperature and they will be greasy and not crispy.

To make ahead: lay on double sheet of aluminum foil and wrap tightly. When cool, place on flat surface in freezer. Heat oven to 425 F. Place foil packets on a baking sheet (or not). Remove top foil so latkes will bake evenly and crisp up. Bake frozen latkes about 7 minutes until brown and crispy. Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.

Happy Chanuka!

Ok, so I'm still confused. I figured on grating and shredding being the same thing. I don't do them by hand either. I do them with my KA mixer grating/shredding attachment. As the fall out of the chute, they drop into a large bowl of water with ice cubes. That keeps them from turning brown. Then I drain and squeeze dry before continuing.

I don't use flour, I use matzo meal -- I always make sure to buy plenty at Passover. I've never tried them with baking powder! I might just throw some in this year for good measure.

I see in my post I'm calling "grating" what I do with the fine hole side of the box grater, and "shredding" what I do with the large hole side. I "shred" mine with the grater attachment of my food processor, which has rather large holes, IMHO. That's why I turn around and puree them slightly with the blade attachment to get the pieces to a bit finer size. But when I use my had grater, the size seems a little too small, and I too do not like the knuckle bits in with them. Geez, I sound like my brother who is so particular about the "chip to dough ratio" in his chocolate chip cookies.

Anyway, here's what I might try this year, for a little nouveau latkes. I may not boil and mash the potatoes, I may use the grated raw potatoes with onion and flour, just use the spices. Mashed potatoes, hmmmmm, that just might be sacrilidge.

Aloo Tikki Recipe

Ingredients:
6 boiled and peeled potatoes mashed
fresh green chili chopped finely - to taste
1 tsp. ginger (finely chopped)
1/2 cup. cilantro leaves (chopped)
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. corriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. mango powder called amchur
Oil for pan frying

Method:
1. Boil the potato. Cool. Peel the skin and mash the potato.
2. Mix all ingredients except the oil.
3. Make small hamburger size patties but about 1/2 inch high.
4. Pan fry in a non-stick pan with oil until both sides are golden brown.
5. Serve with tamarind or green chutney.

I am not Jewish but my mother used to use mashed potato left overs to make fried mashed potato patties. She would add 1 beaten egg to the leftover potatoes and then add a little flour to stiffen up the potato and egg mixture. Then she would fry them in a skillet. So am I right in assuming that Latkes are like potato pancakes or patties?

Hanukkah has been celebrated for over two thousand years, just not with a lot of presents. Before Columbus et al introduced potatoes to the rest of the world, latkes were traditionally made from cheese. The first time I served cheese latkes everyone was amazed that they tasted just like potato latkes. Obviously at some time in the past, a frugal bolabusta (Yiddish for housewife) figured out that inexpensive potatoes could substitute for cheese. However, cheese latkes are much less work than potato. And they can serve as the main dish -- eliminating the need for gefilte fish or herring on the menu unless you actually like it.

Back on the subject of potatoes, I found a nearly identical Korean recipe for "ganja buchim" which uses cornstarch instead of flour or matzo meal. It is served with a soy-sauce-based dipping sauce. DH and I prefer that sauce, but our Korean-born, adopted-at-school-age sons prefer sour cream, so we serve both.

daylily,
Yes, potato latkes = potato pancakes. Some people make them with mashed potatoes. I've also seen/eaten some which were pulverized in a blender.

Once, at a Hanukkah pot luck, a Russian immigrant brought CABBAGE latkes. They were great. You can really make latkes out of a lot of things. One year I went nuts and did a different latke every night of Hanukkah. Yeah, I fried eight nights in a row. It got gross but I followed through.

I made apple latkes, zucchini latkes, cheese latkes, potato latkes, cabbage latkes, sweet potato latkes, and I can't remember the other two!

They were all good, just maybe not as good in a row. LOL

"Hunanuka" OMG LOL!!! Many times I am visiting the in-laws in FLA at Christmas. None of DH's Jewish relatives can cook worth a crap, so we always end up going out for Chinese that day. None of the other restaurants are open. Except once we tried an Indian place that decided to try to be open that day, and the young owner almost had a nervous breakdown he was so busy!

Livingthedream, that's kamja buchim. Kamja means potato. If you are interested, I discovered a great Korean home-cook who does Youtube videos -- Maangchi. I've tried a handful of her recipes and they all turned out good. She doesn't have a recipe for kamja buchim. My mom is a non-cook so I am finding Korean recipes online to be invaluable. (Gee, my Korean mom can't cook and I married someone whose mom can't cook either!)

I always think of gefilte fish as fish souffle balls, but I like the word quenelles better.

Pink,

I have made Chola Tikki from the recipe on the Manjula's Kitchen website and they are very good. It is similar to the Aloo Tikki recipe except that it has chickpeas along with the potato. When I do it, I usually just do a rough mash on the chickpeas and potatoes together so there are still some chunks of potato and chickpea.

It's a favorite with us.

I'm thinking of making beignets since I was just in New Orleans. The recipes on the web either have butter milk or evaporated milk. The box of beignet mix that I looked at had buttermilk in the ingredients list. Not sure what difference it makes in the final product.

On the great "shredded" vs "ground/finely grated" debate for latkes, I come out in between - I like to do about half finely grated and about half shredded or coarsely grated. If they are all finely grated, it doesn't have enough texture for me but if it is all coarsely grated they aren't pancakey enough. I might try pink's suggestion of coarse grating with the food processor and then giving them a short whirr of the processing blade to achieve a mix of coarse and fine.

One of my son's doesn't like latkes but he loves Chola Tikki. Any fried food is appropriate for Channukah since it celebrates the miracle of the oil.

Sorry, Mae, when I say "grated," I mean really fine. When I used the box grater, I used the tiniest holes for both the potato and the onion. I use the blade of the food processor, not a disk. I've never used the blender (WHY didn't I think of that before I had a FP? Maybe I didn't have a blender, either), but it would probably come out about the same.

I've never heard of using cooked mashed potatoes, but I'm sure it would be good. More like a potato knish, I'd think (here we go ...).

Mae, what were the 8 kinds of latkes?

That reminded me that often I make them with apples, especially when someone else is making the potato ones. I got the recipe from a friend who was here at Chanuka one year and who is allergic to potatoes. He's from Australia, so my husband calls them "g'day latkes."

I use the small hole blade in my hand mouli to grate to potatoes. The grated potato then is washed, placed in a clean dish towel and squeezed dry. The recipe I use is similar to Nana Hattie's except I use half flour and half matzo meal.
(Funny aside: visitng friends see the labelled jar on the stove mantel and ask, "What's matzo meal?" "Well, I use it to make latkes." "Oooookaaaay. It's one of your wierd gourmet things." I think I'm the only person I know IRL who uses it :-) )

Gell,
I made:
apple
zucchini
cheese
potato
cabbage
sweet potato
and I can't remember the other two!

May

May, I have a box of sweet potatoes - do you have the recipe?

Gina,
I don't think I used a recipe. I just did them exactly like the potato ones except I probably left out the onions. So, shred them, mix with matzo meal and eggs, s&p to taste, & fry 'em up.

Oh yum, those other kinds of latkes sound so good! I have made and loved sweet potato ones. But this year I'm going traditional again. I found out it is not my friend's Jewish husband who doesn't like latkes, it is her! But no matter, she is willing to sacrafice and I guess hubby is really looking forward to it, so I'm stuck going the traditional route. So here's my menu plan:

First course, vegetable broth with matzoh balls, lowfat spinach/artichoke spread with bruschetta, lots of wine!

Second course, latkes, homeade applesauce, lowfat sour cream, and a salad of balsamic marinated beets, goat cheese and sunflower seeds over romaine lettuce. I'm still debating if I need another vegetable, like maybe roasted asparagus. We'll see how much they want for it at the market. Probably not necessary. I'm also going to serve some cilantro chutney on the side for the latkes, I think my friend might like that, I have it to use up, and it might be good for a little change of taste.

Dessert: some kind of jam cake with my marginal plum jam, which I hope to resurrect. Coffee with hazlenut liqueur.

This has been a fun and informative read for me all y'all! Like cookbook, these type of posts have been my first real intro to Jewish cooking and traditions. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my joking about the fish. I was thinking about a funny post severals year ago with Annie and Carol when I started this post.

Fried chicken, latkes, and doughnuts work for me. I'll make some latkes for sure this weekend. I'd like to try making the matzoh ball soup this year if some of you would share your recipes.

David

OK David I will give you my recipe, but if you ever tell anyone I will kill you!!
Buy some good quality canned chicken broth or vegetable broth. Buy a box of matzoh ball mix.
Heat up the broth in the pot and dispose of the cans by burying them in the backyard. Make up the matzoh balls and burn the box.
Just before the guest arrive, put the matzoh balls in the soup to cook. After everyone is seated, disappear into the kitchen to get the first course. This works best if your house is like mine with a long narrow hallway between the kitchen and dining room. While in the kitchen, muss up your hair a bit and spritz a little water on your forehead so you look verklempt.
Ladle the soup and matzoh balls into individual serving bowls that your wonderful CF pal San sent you. Put them on a big tray and carry into the dining room for serving.
Bask in your glory.
Serve to guest who remark that your homeade matzoh balls are the best they have ever eaten, just like Bubbe's! (From whom you got the recipe ;-)
:)

I have never tried latkes, but they sound delicious, fried and potato...yum How are they served?

What other foods are traditional of the holiday?

My young son is dating a Jewish girl, who is lives far from her family, and I would like to make her some goodies tomorrow.

Any tips, recipes, ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Ann H.

This is such a great thread - thanks for starting it. We're not Jewish but I thoroughly enjoyed it when Joan Nathan (?) had a cooking show on PBS years ago. Wish they'd bring her back. The food is great.

You have me wanting latkes right now!!

Beth

Ann H., traditional Chanuka foods vary with the community. Jews of Eastern European descent eat latkes (but never agree on how to make them). Israelis eat fried filled doughnuts. As you see in the string, and can find on many web sites, everywhere in the world, Jews come up with something different for Chanuka.

The one constant is that it should be something cooked in oil; that's the point. The idea is to commemorate the story about the oil for the menorah.

lpinkmountain, if you use a mix for matzo balls, you will go to hell. JUST KIDDING! But really, I have never understood what the point is of that mix. I mean, matzo balls contain matzo meal, salt, egg, water or broth, and fat (chicken fat best if you are not a vegetarian and your cardiologist isn't looking). So what's in that mix? I think it's just matzo meal, salt, and some bouillon powder (which I don't like anyway); you still have to add the rest -- doesn't really save any time and just costs a lot more and uses more packaging.

Lakeguy, here is how I (a genuine Jewish mother) make chicken soup and matzo balls. It's a very simple recipe, without even any dill or garlic, but it really doesn't need it, because the strongly developed chicken flavor holds its own, so try it this way first. Really, you can make any kind of chicken soup your family likes, but make sure to follow the two essentials about the type of chicken and the length of cooking.

Try to find a kosher chicken -- the bigger, fatter, and older, the better. The taste is just much, much better. It's not that the kosher slaughtering makes a difference. But they grow them bigger, and they don't feed them chemicals (not for kosher purposes, just to broaden their market to foodies), and the soaking and salting of kashering is like brining it. If you can't find a kosher chicken in your town, then go for an organic one, I guess. Lindac taught me the money-saving tip of using a package of wings instead of a whole chicken (kosher chickens are not cheap).

Gellchom's Jewish Chicken Soup (eat! eat!)

1 cut up kosher chicken, or a large package of wings, necks, etc.
2 stalks celery, NO LEAVES, scraped and cut into sticks
2 large carrots, scraped and cut into sticks
one whole onion, peeled
Salt and pepper

Rinse the chicken and put it in your soup pot. Cover with water to about 3/4 inch from top. Bring to a good hard boil, reduce the heat, and skim. Then add the vegetables, 1-2 T salt, and some pepper. Cover and simmer a LONG time -- absolute minimum 1 1/2 hours, but I like to let it go to much longer, even to 6. If it cooks too far down, then just add some water; the taste will still be plenty rich, I promise. Remove chicken and use for something that can have seriously overcooked chicken! Discard onion (and celery, if you want, but I like it in the soup). Remove carrots and set aside. Strain soup and return carrots, celery, and maybe some of the chicken. Chill and remove some but not all of the fat before reheating. Serve with matzo balls, kreplach, noodles, or rice.

Matzo balls (this is just the old recipe off the back of the Manischewitz matzo meal box, before they changed it from schmaltz to oil)

2 T schmaltz (rendered chicken fat; buy frozen in kosher market or make your own) or oil (if you must!)
2 lg eggs, slightly beaten
½ c matzo meal
1 t salt, optional
2 T water or broth (use broth if no schmaltz)

Mix schmaltz and eggs. Mix matzo meal with salt and blend. Add water and mix. Cover and chill at least 15 minutes.

Boil slightly salted water. Reduce heat to low, form balls (with wet hands, and note that they will enlarge as they cook), and add to soup. Cover and cook 30-40 minutes.

Thank you for the Nana's latkes recipe. I followed it and my latkes were very good, excellent texture.

My son's girlfriend, who is Jewish, gave them her seal of approval.

We had a brunch. I served spinach/goat cheese frittata, Aebleskivers filled with raspberry jam & the latkes served with sour cream & apple sauce.

Ann H.

Happy Hanukkah everyone! Here's some pictures of my celebration.
Spinach Artichoke spread and crackers

I'm glad you and your guests liked the latkes, Ann. Are you going to try chicken soup with matzo balls next?

Great photos Lpink! I made my latkes last night, it was just the two of us, Len and I. I bought some sweet potatoes as well because they were on sale, 3 lb/$1 so I couldn't resist. I might make sweet potato latkes later this week.

I happened across this recipe in Kosher by Design - Entertaining, which I recently got at the library. It includes cilantro and cajun spice which sounds really good.