Hanukkah dinner
I'm a convert to Judaism, so grew up without Hanukkah dinners. I was wondering what others make for Hanukkah dinner. I know that it's a holiday about oil, so latkes are a given. My in-laws have a standard dinner but a) don't want to copy them and b) it feels a bit uninspired. I would love some suggestions. They can be traditional or not, as long as they capture the spirit of Hanukkah. I am also open to just good "Holiday" dishes. Thanks!!
amyvc
Nov 27, 2006 01:33AM
Hi Amy...my menu will be traditional, but they are all favorites in my house!!
I will make, chix matzoh ball soup, latkes,brisket, and kasha and bow ties. Good luck, and remember that whatever you make will create memories for your children to hold and cherish...so have fun with everything!!
FrenchDoll.....
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Our meal focuses around the latkes, which we all adore. Everything else is kind of a side dish. So some kind of meat that I don't have to fuss over -- lamb roast or brisket, mostly; a green salad so we can pretend we are not just eating fried latkes; and many many latkes. We're very big on fruit salad for dessert, and it is a good counterbalance to latkes.
There is nothing in the universe better than latkes.
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How do folks best keep their latkes hot while they are accumulating the big hoard before serving? Is there a best temp for the oven? On wire racks over pans or on paper towels in pans - this is an important step where I would like to maybe improve my ability to fight sogginess.
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My in-laws make theirs ahead of time and freeze them. to reheat them, they put them on paper grocery bags on cookie sheets to absorb the oil. Had them last night - they were very good!
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We do a potluck with friends every year, so there's an assortment of stuff, but it's really about the latkes and the brisket. Once we've got that covered, all the rest is commentary,
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Judith, I'm kvelling over your coming up with the perfect quote to give to a convert to Judaism - "All else is commentary"! (you sly thing, you). A gentile came to Rabbi Hillel (who lived in Jerusalem a couple of generations before the Common Era) saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole Torah in the time that he could stand on one foot. Hillel converted the gentile by telling him, "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and study it." Then perhaps the best instructions for making latkes would be, "Those latkes which taste hateful to you, do not serve them to your neighbor."
I just searched my Jewish cookbooks and there really is no set Hanukkah meal per se. In all cases it is just suggested to cook a festive meal with traditional Jewish dishes, as long as you don't serve dairy and meat together at the same meal, that is. Which IS actually an issue that might arise since latkes are really good served with sour cream, so you might want a dairy meal to go with. In my experience, even reform Jews do not mix meat and dairy when they are making a festive yuntif meal.
I did find one cooking hint regarding latkes that I think is worth mentioning from the Jewish cookbooks I looked at - squeeze out as much water from the grated onions (& zuchini if you're making those) and potatoes as you can. Catch the liquid in a bowl and allow the starch to settle in the bottom. Pour off the waste water and mix the starch into the batter - it helps serve as a binder. And eliminating the extraneous liquid makes for a much better final product.
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Thanks for your nice post. I'm working on the latkes. See my post below. LOVE the Jewish form of "commentary." it's why I was meant to be a Jew. I always have a comment!
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Last week's Parashat (Torah portion) was about Jacob struggling with the angel (or Hashem?) and afterward he (and we) become Israel - meaning "He who struggles with God" In other words to respond to your point, We (DO) always have a comment (because we're always free to intellectualize about what we believe - to struggle) - there's an old saying, "...Where there are 2 Jews there are at least 3 opinions." Maybe for 2 Jews there are at least 3 latke recipes too! I'm going to make some latkes tonight to light the first candles myself. Have a wonderful delicious oily holiday everybody!
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Amy: My exposure to Hanukkah comes from a recent marriage. As everyone else has stated, latkes and brisket. For our interfaith dinners, I learned to also make regulah (sp?) and have seen othes add sweet potatoes or zucchini to the latkes for a little "somthing different."
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Don't forget the Jelly Donuts! Also an oil-inspired Chanukah Favorite. 10 extra bonus points with the in laws if you make them yourself!
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Oh, in Hebrew... Jelly Donuts are called Soof-gan-y-ot. Impress everyone with your hebrew speaking skills....
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I don't remembere sufganiot as a Chanukah thing when I was a kid, but now it's considered traditional. I think it's an Israeli thing. Does anybody know?
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Yes, it's a sefardic tradition, rather than an ashkenazi one - but it's a good one to adopt!
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Goose (or duck) was traditional in certain cultures, especially those far from olive-oil areas, as the copious fat was used instead of hard-to-obtain oil. Makes great latkes...
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Like many others, I always make latkes and brisket. I also make an Israeli salad, with finely chopped tomato, cucumber, and onion, with lots of lemon, a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. And I usually serve challah. I sometimes make tzimmes and/or matzoh ball soup, but sometimes I like to save these dishes for rosh hashanah and passover, respectively.
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Thanks all! I'm hearing the brisket call loud and clear! It's funny, because it's what I usually make. Not into trying the Soof-gan-y-ot yet because I'm still working on getting my somewhat non-traditional, epicurious recipe latkes crispy. I have an appt with the father-in-law this year for latke cooking. So I will do the brisket and latkes and possibly a few non-jewish recipes to please my non-jewish family.
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I'm going to a friend's Second Annual Latke-Vodka party this year. Last year, she served brisket and matzoh ball soup, but those items were truly secondary to the latkes. We had zucchini and potato latkes topped with wasabi creme freche and a dollop of caviar if desired, among other kinds. They were DELICIOUS and wonderfully non-traditional. I think another latke offering was carrot and sweet potato. mmmm
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Ever try ricotta latkes? Great for those dairy potlucks. Oh, and if you're going dairy, especially for a potluck (which we do on the Sunday night every year), try a cheesecake. Impressive as all get out on the buffet table and cheese ties in to the story of Judith.
(I know the story but have never really gotten the connection. Cheese making you sleepy? Maybe she should have served him turkey with the wine. All that tryptophan flying around probably would have worked better.)
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We have a party every year with latkes and champagne. Champagne is perfect with latkes. We often serve either gravlax or brisket or assorted middle eastern salads to round it out. Yum!
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Yep..Niki Rothman's tip for latkes is right on..you must squeeze all the water out of the shredded potatoes...good luck!!!
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I married into a Jewish family. Each year my mother in law experiments with "real" latkes (made from scratch) and also makes them from a boxed mix. Everyone says they like the mix the best! So at my home, that's what we make. Lots of them. We get jelly donuts from a store. In between, there's usually brisket or chicken along with a salad that nobody eats. This year we are having smoked fish as a side dish to latkes.
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Most folks eat a meat meal: my family always goes dairy as we prefer sour cream with our Latkes. Typical meals have included grilled salmon laktkes, and salad with donouts for the ending. We also eat olives, stuffed grape leaves and many other fried foods make their apperance at the table. That said, since Chanukah is a post biblical holiday the religious observance is limited and hence there is not ritual meal as there is for Passover, Shavuot, Succot, and of course the weekly holy day - Shabbat.
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My grandmother grew up in Jewish Ghetto in Budapest with old, old Easter European Recopies. I remember her making stuffed chicken.
She would separate skin from the chicken, but in the way, that skin was sill in one piece, then she poured egg and Matzo meal stuffing in to the skin and actually use a needle to sew the skin. She baked that and then we ate the stuffing. It kind of sounds disgusting now, but back then it was the best meal ever.
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There was an article about the Satmar Hasidim in the NY Times last Wednesday. They still cook in the old Hungarian Jewish style. The article included a recipe for chicken stuffed under the skin. It brought back memories for me, even though my grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania because there was a Hungarian restaurant near my grandmother's house in NY and my mom would take me there for the chicken and the knockerl, which she loved growing up.
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I actually made the above mentioned chicken from the Times recipe this week and it was great.
I want to weigh in with my Hanukkah tradition and it is to have a dairy meal since we like sour cream with our latkes and my parents still maintain the Kosher laws. My daughters are vegetarians and so I make a variety of dishes. This year we'll have deviled eggs, tossed salad and grilled vegetables. It hardly matters since it's all about the latkes and the dessert.
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I'm so glad, i'm not alone in the chicken recipe. The recipe is Eastern European. I believe there are several variations of this recipe. Actual,after WWII grandma lived in Russia, where my mom was born.
This year i'm creating a "latkes bar" which includes traditional, Zucchini & crabmeat/potato crabcake latkes w/assortment of flavored sour cream and apple souce. I did it last year and it was a hit.
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