Giant Potato Latke

By Arlynne Brown

Ingredients:

2 pounds baking potatoes
1 medium onion, peeled
2 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp plain bread crumbs or Matzoh Meal Oil

Directions:

Grate potatoes and onion by hand or with grating disk of a food processor. Drain and strain through a cheese cloth.
Combine potatoes and onions in a large bowl with eggs, salt, pepper and bread crumbs or matzoh meal.
Put about ⅛ inch oil in large skillet, heat to medium-high. When oil is hot, put all the batter in the pan and smooth the top. Cook, shaking pan occasionally. Continue until bottom is nicely browned, about 15 minutes.
Turn by sliding cake out onto large plate, cover with another plate and invert. Add more oil to pan if necessary. Slide pancake in cooked side up. Cook 15 minutes or longer, until nice browned.

Sweet Potato Latkes 

By Ellen Mendelsohn

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
2 scallions, finely chopped
⅓ cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ tsp black pepper
¾ cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Stir together potatoes, scallions, flour, eggs, salt and pepper.
Heat 1inch of oil in skillet until hot but not smoking.
Working in batches of 4, scoop about ⅛ cup potato mixture per latke into hands, flatten and drop into oil.
Cook until golden, about 1 ½ minutes on each side.
Transfer latkes with spatula to paper towels and drain.
Serve with sour cream and applesauce.

Yields about 18 latkes

Potatoes Levivot 

By Revital Shimoni, wife of former Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni

Ingredients:

2 medium size onions
4-5 medium potatoes
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
Pinch of black peeper 
3 Tbsp. flour 
Vegetable oil for frying 

Directions:

Chop onions to thin pieces.
Peel and grate potatoes on a grater. Squeeze in your hands. Add to bowl with chopped onions.
Add the rest of ingredients: eggs, flour and spices. Mix well.
Heat oil in deep frying pan. (The oil should reach half heights of the latkes.) You can use olive oil, but make sure not to burn it.
Make little flat ball shapes. Squeeze again, and fry 4-5 minutes from each side. Make sure the oil is not too hot; the latkes should be golden brown.
Serve immediately with sour cream, yogurt or white cheese with chopped chives or parsley.

Baking Sufganiyot with Faith Wolf

An important part of the Chanukah tradition is to serve foods fried in oil, which symbolizes a great miracle.

Faith Wolf, whom many may recognize from her Cooking with Faith classes, invites us in to her home as she bakes sufganiyot, a round, fluffy jelly doughnut and traditional Chanukah favorite.

With step-by-step instructions during her cooking demo, Faith also shares stories of growing up in Brooklyn, NY, a half block down the street from her grandparents.

“I would visit with my grandparents almost every day. I spent a fair amount of time in my grandmother’s kitchen which was pepto bismol pink. She would produce enormous quantities of any kind of food you could imagine,” shares Faith.

“And I remember playing dreidel with my Zayde. The older I get, the more the childhood memories evoke warm feelings.”

Today, Faith looks forward to celebrating with her children and grandchildren, passing on her family traditions and creating new ones together.

Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts) Recipe

Ingredients:

2 (1/4 ounce) envelope dry yeast

¼ cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)

1 ½ cups lukewarm milk or 1 ½ cups soy milk if you want it to be pareve

¾ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs (large)

6 Tbs shortening or 6 Tbs pareve margarine

5 cups all-purpose flour

Canola oil for frying

Strawberry jelly (or other fruit jelly)

Marshmallow Fluff or pastry cream or vanilla or chocolate frosting

Confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Sprinkle yeast over warm water and let stand five minutes or until foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk or soy milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening or margarine and two cups flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed in stand mixer.
Beat in remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl (I usually have to add a bit more flour to prevent the flour from sticking to the bowl). Knead for about five minutes by hand until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or a piece of plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour to 75 minutes.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently roll out to ½ – inch thickness. Using a small-medium biscuit cutter, cut dough into circles. Re-roll extra pieces and use until finished cutting circles. Let rise again until doubled in bulk.
Heat 4 cups of oil in a deep fryer or large frying pan to 350 degrees F. Carefully slide the dough circles (doughnuts) into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn the doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Doughnuts are ready when both sides are golden brown.
Fill with a very small amount of jelly or other filling using a pastry bag and small tip, or by cutting a small slit in the side of the doughnut and inserting the jelly or other filling with a tiny spoon. Press together to close tightly. Dredge (cover completely) the doughnut in the confectioners’ sugar.

These are best when served immediately, however, if you need to serve them later or the next day, store them in an airtight container. If using a pastry cream or other filling needing refrigeration, place the doughnuts in either a Ziploc bag or an airtight container in the refrigerator. DO NOT FREEZE