The Best Latke Recipe, and Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

Time For Hanukkah Treats! Decorate with abandon! Stave off mid winter blues with Empty Carbs!
  Of Course, there are those who would object to the kinds of decorations I have come to love: but hey, why shouldn't Hanukkah be pretty? Like this Coconut Cake with a tiny Menorah, and blue M&Ms

Ina Garten Coconut Cake, Hanukkah Version

Hanukkah Cookies

Time for Fun and Family, Friends, and FOOD!

The Best Latkes
Under the influence of GG and Grandpa we learned, decadently, to love eating masses of them with creme fraiche and gravlax and caviar.

Under the influence of GG and Grandpa we learned, decadently, to love eating masses of them with creme fraiche and gravlax and caviar.




6 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled
1 onion
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour or cup-for-cup gluten free "flour"
1 tsp. salt
fresh pepper.
(serves about 6)
Using the shredding blade of a food processor, shred the potatoes. Set colander lined with a dish cloth in the sink to drain. Place the potatoes in the cloth lined colander, and squeeze out all the liquid you can.
Grate or finely chop onion, mix in eggs, salt and pepper.
Continue squeezing out as much liquid as you can, put half the shredded potatoes in with the onions and eggs, and return the other half to the food processor with the steel blade, and pulse a few times.
Mix the chopped potatoes in with the rest, add flour, and mix well.

You cannot really make this mixture too far in advance, as you probably know, the potato mixture will darken. However, if you cover it tightly with plastic (right on the surface of the potatoes), and cover with a dish towel, you can get about 45 minutes grace time, before the mixture turns unappealingly gray.

Heat about 2 1/2 inches of wesson oil in a large frying pan, and heat the oil till smoking. Drop a bit of the mixture in, it should sizzle like crazy. Using a deep-fry thermometer will give you the best idea of the temperature of the oil--- aim for 350 degrees for best results.

Add tablespoons of the mixture into the pan, allowing the oil to come back to temperature. Turn occasionally with a slotted spoon, and cook until they are nut-brown.

Drain on brown paper bags over a rack, and sprinkle liberally with Kosher Salt. Keep latkes warm until the batch is done on baking pans, lined with paper towels in a 225 degree oven.
Serve with Creme Fraiche, Applesauce, and Gravlax (make your own with this recipe).

"Salted Caramel" Rice Krispie Treats

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats (Vegetarian)
One of the blogs that I avidly follow is called Smitten Kitchen, and I remembered seeing a recipe for these there. I have adapted it substituting Vegan Marshmallows, and Brown Rice breakfast cereal, but I invite you to try it. If you have blue sanding sugar and want to decorate with it, shake it on top of the pan while the "treats" are still warm.




1 stick unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag vegan marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal or Puffed Brown Rice Cereal
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square "brownie pan"

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.
As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.
Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with Colored Sugar if desired

Gravlax, making it, slicing it, serving it

Serving Gravlax with Rye and Pumpernickel and Dill Sauce

3 pounds center cut, boned salmon fillet- split
1/4 cup gin, tequila, or aquavit

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

2 T. white peppercorns, cracked

1 large bunch loosely packed washed fresh dill, including about half the stems.

Mustard Sauce (below) and sliced rye and pumpernickel bread for serving.

Rinse salmon. Remove any of the small bones that you can in the fish, using tweezers.

Place both pieces of the salmon, skin down on a double layer of plastic wrap.
Sprinkle with gin.

Mix sugar, salt, pepper. Sprinkle evenly on the salmon.
Top with an even coating of dill.
Carefully put the two halves back together, so that the dill/sugar/salt mixture is sandwiched in the middle.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and then with foil, and if you like, put the whole thing into a plastic bag (the one the fish came in?) and close tightly.
Put the package into the fridge, and and weight with a plate or small cutting board, and a brick, or some other heavy object (cans?). The more it is compacted, the better the texture will be.

Refrigerate three or four days, turning it twice a day if you can, but I am not sure that turning it is really that important.

After curing process, carefully open up the package, drain off the liquid. Salmon will look like this.

Scrape off the dill mixture, and rinse salmon well. With skin side down on cutting board, slice thinly against the "grain", at a 45 degree angle with a very sharp knife (a sushi knife is ideal). Like this:

As you (slowly slowly) slice, using a sawing motion, arrange the slices on a platter, cutting off the skin as you go.
Fish will keep for about 10 days, well wrapped in the refrigerator.

Serve with Mustard Sauce:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup dijon mustard,

3 T. fresh dill

Mix together, put in pretty bowl.

Thanksgivvakah Round-Up. How about a Turkey Shaped Challah?

So exciting to think about all the crazy things that you can do with the confluence of Thanksgiving and Chanukkah! What about making this Turkey Shaped Challah, and using it as a Hanukkiah? (Menorah). Just stick some of those birthday candle holders into the "feathers" and you're good to go! The Challah recipe is here. Channel your inner kindergartener, and just roll the ropes of dough into your desired shape, arrange it on parchment baking paper and bake.

Blog-land is positively exploding with good and not so- ideas.

Buzzfeed's Table setting isn't too tacky-- but I don't know about those pilgrim-buckle kippot.

Check out Bon Appetit, whose "anti-test kitchen came up with the worst Thanksgivukkah Menu ever, for a good chuckle (gobble?). And it's not too late to stock up on some holiday themed Chotchkes over at Modern Tribe.

Look at the great site that Jewish Boston has put together-- lots great ideas and kiddie-fun projects for the holiday!

Joy of Kosher has some ideas that are pretty good.

And I have to say that these pecan-pie rugelah look darn good (if a dairy dessert isn't a non-starter at your house). You could adopt our tradition of Second Dessert though! Do click the link for great recipes there.

And, if what you want is buzz-kill (not buzzfeed) you can sink your politically correct chompers into this true history of Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgivukkah! Hanukkah+Thanksgiving. How about Sweet Potato Latkes with Cranberry Chutney?

Here is the best recipe for latkes, you will just love them.

For Sweet potato Latkes- Perfect for Thanksgivukkah, 
just use 6 small sweet potatoes, and instead of the onion, use 3 shallots, and a quarter cup of fresh parsley.

The World's Best Latkes

6 medium potatoes, scrubbed, peeled

1 onion

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

fresh pepper.

(serves about 6)

Using the shredding blade of a food processor, shred the potatoes. Set colander in the sink to drain.

Grate or finely chop onion, mix in eggs, salt and pepper.

Squeezing out as much liquid as you can, put half the shredded potatoes in with the onions and eggs, and return the other half to the food processor with the steel blade, and pulse a few times.

Mix the chopped potatoes in with the rest, add flour, and mix well.

Heat about 2 1/2 inches of wesson oil in a large frying pan, and heat the oil till smoking. Drop a bit of the mixture in, it should sizzle like crazy.

Add tablespoons of the mixture into the pan, allowing the oil to come back to temperature. Turn occasionally with a slotted spoon, and cook until they are nut-brown.

Drain on brown paper bags over a rack, and sprinkle liberally with Kosher Salt. Keep latkes warm until the batch is done on baking pans, lined with paper towels in a 225 degree oven.
Serve with Creme Fraiche, Applesauce, and Gravlax.

or Cranberry Chutney:

1. 2 large organic navel oranges
2. 2 bags fresh cranberries
3. 1/2 cup water
4. 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
5. 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
7. 3/4 cup brown sugar
8. 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
9. Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Wash the oranges well, cut off about 1/4 inch from both the stem and blossom end, and chop roughly in a food processor.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the cranberries and water with 1/4 cup of Grand Marnier  and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Add the chopped oranges, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries have popped, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, both sugars, the ginger and orange pieces and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then season with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 The chutney can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

More Thanksgiving Recipes Here
and of course the all important STUFFING recipe here
The Best Pecan Pie, and Praline Sweet Potatoes Here
Cranberry Orange Sauce with Agave in case you want to cut down on white sugar

Today is a Great Day to Bake Cookies!

PRACTICALLY PERFECT SUGAR COOKIES (WITH SECRETS)

This is my favorite recipe for rolled, cut, decorated cookies. The dough is delicious (yeah.... a lb of butter!) But it is easy to handle and I find that it holds its shape very well. The original recipe called for 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder, but I omitted it once by mistake, and I liked the cookies even more, because they didn't puff in that way that gives the cookie good texture, but they aren't so darn PRETTY! This recipe makes up to 8 dozen cookies, but make the whole amount and stash the rest in the freezer for impromptu creative urges.
INGREDIENTS:

6 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups butter (4 sticks)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla and/or
*secret ingredient- King Arthur Princess Flavoring

*Cream sugar and butter until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs and extracts. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well.

shhhh...here comes another secret- this one from Helen Lasersohn, hostess of our Book Group Cookie Baking Party. C'mon..we DO live in Westport, Ct.


Put a handful of the freshly made dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Stack up the adorable sheets of dough and put it on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for as long as you need to. When its firm, peel off the top sheet, cut the dough, and move directly onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Gather up the scraps, sandwich in parchment again, roll it out, and put back in fridge as you do the next sheet.

Dough can be made ahead, and wrapped well and stored in the freezer for a month.

Helen comments further: One additional "secret" about working with the rolled out dough is to peel the bottom layer of parchment off the chilled dough, replace the parchment, flip over and peel top layer and then cut.  That way, the cookie dough is less likely to stick to the parchment even super buttery tempearmental dough


*Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the cookies just start to turn a light tan on the edges. Remove parchment to rack or marble to cool for a couple minutes before carefully moving onto racks to cool thoroughly before decorating.

ROYAL ICING recipe HERE with Gingerbread Men recipe

Royal Icing

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 6-7 tablespoons water

Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until icing forms peaks. Tip: Keep icing covered with a wet kitchen towel at all times. Icing can dry out quickly.

Divide into bowls and tint as desired, or put in a piping bag.

Jelly Doughnut Pudding, Sufganiyot Pudding. A Great Recipe From the Cardiologist Cookbook

Happy Holidays!

We had a wonderful Hanukkah Party last night, and this morning we are off to a Christmas Breakfast. A pile of delicious sufganiyot were left from yesterday, and I couldn't bear throwing them away, and then I remembered seeing this sick recipe in the NY Times a while back. So, in the spirit of holiday excess, I bring you

Jelly Doughnut Bread Pudding

3 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
8 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
14 jelly doughnuts, preferably filled with raspberry jam
Butter, for greasing pan.

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Fill a kettle with water and place over high heat to bring to a boil. In a large mixing bowl, combine cream, milk, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs, egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk to blend.
2. Using a serrated knife, gently slice doughnuts from top to bottom in 1/4-inch slices. Butter a 9-by-12-inch baking pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Pour about 1/2 inch of the cream mixture into pan. Arrange a layer of sliced doughnuts in pan, overlapping them slightly. Top with another layer, pressing them down slightly to moisten them. Top with a small amount of cream mixture.
3. Arrange 2 more layers of sliced doughnuts, and pour remaining liquid evenly over top. Press down gently to moisten. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cover pan tightly with foil, and place in a larger pan. Fill larger pan with boiling water until three-quarters up the side ofpan.
4. Bake for 1 hour 50 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until top is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Turn off oven, open door slightly, and leave in oven for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

Today is a Great Day to Make Gingerbread Snowmen

Gingerbread Snowmen

3/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1. Melt the butter on stove or microwave, then stir in brown sugar, molasses salt and spices. I like to do this in a huge 8 cup measuring cup-- and mix it all up right in there. Cool a bit, and mix in the egg.

2. Stir baking soda and baking powder into the flour, and mix with wet ingredients.

3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces, put each into a quart ziplock bag, roll slightly and refrigerate for at least an hour.

4. Preheat oven to 350, line baking sheets with parchment

5. Using one piece of chilled dough at a time, roll out dough. If you roll it thinly the cookies will be crisp, if you roll it 1/4 inch thick, they will be chewy. I like to roll it between sheets of baking parchment. This way you do not have to flour the surface of the dough to avoid sticking.

6. Working quickly as you can, use cookie cutters to cut shapes, and transfer to lined baking sheets. Gather scraps into a ball, and return to ziplock in the fridge to re-chill.

7.  Bake until they're slightly brown around the edges 8 to 12 minutes, or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes, or until they're set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

10. Decorate the cookies with Royal Icing and desired decorations.

Royal Icing

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 6 tablespoons water

Beat all ingredients at low speed for 7 to 10 minutes, or until icing forms peaks. Tip: Keep icing covered with a wet kitchen towel at all times. Icing can dry out quickly.

Stand By Your Plan. Kitsch. Lessons From Roses and Hanukkah Cookies. A Health Warning.

Salted Caramel Krispie Treats

Stand By Your Plan. Kitsch. Lessons From Roses and Hanukkah Cookies. A Health Warning. AND A NEWS FLASH!!

Chanukah Cookies

Inspiration

You will have to admit, that the concept, the  Platonic Ideal, the very paradigm of Chanukkah Cookies has no greater foot-soldier than Elise Meyer. For the better part of my life, (yeah, I know), I have greeted December armed and steeled by an arsenal of blue sugar in my never-ending quest (crusade?) for a small thing, really. A pitiably small thing. A Charming Little Hanukkah Cookie (CLHC). My cookie? Lovely. Of course, tasteful (I politely submit that I have crossed that Rubicon, albeit fortified in that battle by alliance with butter). Sweetly Classic. Defiantly Jewish. Ironically Kitsch, perhaps, I can deal with Kitsch (and quote from Clement Greenberg's seminal essay on the topic.)
I just wanted a signature CLHC. And  I have really been working on it. You know I have.
But you know, not that I am necessarily accepting defeat, I have come to the conclusion that you just can't do that much when you are crippled by cerulean artificial coloring. It is just a crappy ugly color on cookies, and no manner of sprinkle or sparkle, icing or glaze, no piping tip, no cookie press, no secret recipe is going to make a cookie as cute as a gingerbread man.

But for the last two cold, wintry weeks, each time I have gone in or out of my kitchen door, I have been amazed by the little pink rose pictured above. When it bloomed before Thanksgiving, I willed it to live to greet our dear family from afar, and still it blooms, valiantly, improbably, through the fifth night of Hanukah. (Hello, Google, Have you noticed that I have been spelling Hanukka every possible way so... well, you know.)
And that rose is just sticking to the plan. And if it can bloom through Chanukah I can keep making cookies. But. Wait. That's not the only lesson. Want to hear the real lesson? Blue food coloring is TERRIBLE for you. IT IS! It's been banned in Austria and Belgium (they know about cookies), Denmark, France, Germany, and Switzerland. You can read the details, but, you know, I think I am just going to follow the great patissieres of Europe, after all, they invented puff pastry. And Gingerbread Men. What do you think? Blue-matorium? I submit my earnest attempts for consideration.

*****STOP THE PRESSES!!******

NEWS FLASH

BLUE M&Ms can WHAT? Read for yourself!

Click for Recipe

THE Brisket

Its not a recipe so much as a procedure.

First get a second cut brisket. It makes all the difference, the first cut briskets turn out tough and dry. A five pound brisket is enough for about 6 people.

Sprinkle the brisket with flour or matza meal, salt and pepper.

Using the large baking dish you will cook it in (if you will be using pyrex, use a skillet) put a couple Tablespoons of olive oil in the pan, and brown the brisket on both sides for about 10 minutes total.

Remove from heat.

Chop up celery, carrots, red or green peppers, onions, garlic, shallots and lots of fresh parsley. (whichever of these you have or like). Put vegetables under the meat and on top of it. Pour a large can of crushed tomatoes over, and a can-full of red wine (kiddush wine, even).

Cover tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil, and bake in 325 degree oven for about three hours.

Cool the meat, and refrigerate over night. Remove the fat that has solidified on the top (I know, its terrifying...) and remove the meat. Slice the meat against the grain, and reserve. If you like a smoother sauce, strain the vegetables, and puree them in a blender, food processer, or food mill, and add them back into the liquid.

Return the sliced brisket to the sauce. Can do ahead- and it gets better if you do.

Warm the brisket in a low oven before serving.

happy hanukkah to all