Belated Happy Hanukkah

With all that snow over the weekend I almost forgot that a few of us made Hanukkah dinner on Friday. It wasn't anything fancy since, well, we're not Jewish. But we wanted to celebrate the festival of lights with a nice hearty meal before the storm. What's hearty? Matzoh ball soup, brisket and latkes.

I should rewind a bit. Ang. and I had dinner planned for a couple weeks, and just a few days before it we found out J was going to be in town. J being actually Jewish, we invited him, too. He was a bit confused over why a couple of Filipina Catholics were having Hanukkah dinner, but hey he came! And he made the matzoh ball soup. I didn't get a picture of the it, though, because I was too busy scarfing it down. Thanks J! (Mental note, I must learn how to make that stuff cuz it's awesome.)

As for the rest of the food... Ang. made the brisket, and I made the latkes. Ang. pulled the latke recipe for me from Food Network and I kind of can't remember what I did with the print out. But it wasn't hard to make and I can recite it from memory. According to our Jewish guest of honor, they were good!

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

adapted from a recipe from Food Network

2 big russet potatoes, peeled

1/4 C shallots, minced

2 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

oil to fry

Special equipment: cheesecloth

Line a strainer with some cheesecloth. Use a food processor to shred the potatoes. Put them into the strainer over a bowl and give a nice squeeze. Let drain for 15 min. Pour off the juice, but leave the white starchy part. Mix in the rest of the ingredients except the oil until all combined, then add the potatoes.

Heat the oil over med-high heat until hot. Drop latkes by the tablespoon full. Cook until lightly browned, then flip and cook the other side. Lay out on a paper towel lined plate.

Makes around 10.

Eat with applesauce (or sour cream).