Aunt Ronnie makes french fries from a potato!

All this talk about Hanukkah and potatoes and latkes and frying got me to thinking about a time years and years ago when my niece, then age 6 or so, came for the weekend. When she got home the first thing she reported to her Mom was this wondrous thing:

"Aunt Ronnie makes french fries from a potato!"

That became one of the official “family comments.” You know, the kind of thing we mention from time to time and no one ever forgets because it is so funny and so telling.

She thought french fries came from a box from the freezer. Much the way, when I was a little girl, I thought all fish except for salmon came from a rectangular box from the freezer. 

Well, of course, french fries actually come from a potato. And the home made fries are so so so so much more delicious than the ones from the box. And crispier too.

Just like fresh fish. As opposed to frozen, packaged.

Sure, making french fries from scratch is a whole lot more work and it’s messier and your kitchen smells from oil afterwards (wait — this sounds just like making latkes!)

But try it once and you will soon learn the glories of french fries made from a potato.

And — as far as Hanukkah frying is concerned, french fries are easier to make than latkes. 

To get rid of frying odors make a potpourri: a couple of cinnamon sticks, a few cloves, allspice berries, the peel of an orange. Maybe a hunk of fresh ginger. Stuff like that. Put them in a pot, cover with water and cook on low.

So here’s the recipe and the best way to cook crispy, wonderful french fries not using a box:

French Fries

2 pounds Idaho potatoes (Russets)

vegetable oil (canola, peanut, soy)

Peel the potatoes and cut them into strips about 1/4-inch thick. Place the strips on paper towels to dry the surface. Heat several inches of vegetable oil (such as the ones suggested) in a large, deep pot (or fryer). Heat on medium-high to about 360 degrees (use a candy thermometer; a tiny piece of potato will sizzle when you put it into the hot fat). Working with a small batch at a time, immerse the strips and cook for 5-6 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown. Using a skimmer or fry basket, remove the fries and let cool for a minute or so, then place them back in the hot fat for 2-4 minutes longer, or until golden brown and crispy. Makes 4-6 servings

Note: to cook in advance: cook the fries in batches for 5-6 minutes. After removing the fries after the initial cooking, place them on paper towels. Just before serving, reheat the oil to 360-400 degrees. Working in batches, cook the partially-cooked fries for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Gingersnaps

Does Santa bring Hanukkah gifts?

A few years ago I was driving my granddaughter Lila home from preschool and I heard her tiny little voice say “you know grandma, I want Santa Claus to get me something for Hanukkah. He’s coming to town, don’tcha know?”

Wow, how do you keep yourself from chuckling at a statement like that?

And also, what do you say to a 2-1/2-year old kid from a Jewish family that doesn’t celebrate Christmas?

And also, I’m only the grandma. This is best left to the parents isn’t it? The old Jewish December Dilemma about what to tell your children about why we don’t have a tree or stockings or even Santa Claus.

But Lila’s question was a little different. She already knew that her family celebrates Hanukkah, not Christmas. She just placed Santa into the event. You know, the menorah, the latkes, the driedels and Santa.

I know all these issues get worked out in every family. Parents tell their children about Hanukkah/Christmas in the way that’s comfortable for them and at the age they feel it appropriate for their kids. I was just surprised it came up this way with Lila and at that age, because I suspected her parents hadn’t gotten to that yet.

When I asked Lila who told her that Santa comes on Hanukkah she said it was her nanny, who is Hindu.

Anyway, it’s 3 years later and all those issues are behind us. Lila and all my other grandchildren are thrilled with the 8-day Hanukkah celebration with its candles and chocolate coins and potato pancakes and gifts. And cookies too. We bake cookies at my house. Not to leave by the fireplace for Santa, but for us to all enjoy with a glass of milk.

Gingersnaps

• 1 cup vegetable shortening

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup molasses

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg

• 3 tablespoons sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Combine the shortening and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well combined. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well blended. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg and beat until the dough is well blended, smooth and uniform in color. Take off small pieces of dough and shape into small balls about one-inch in diameter. Roll the balls in the remaining sugar to coat the surface. Place the balls on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving an inch space between each ball. Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until the cookies have spread and are flat and crispy, with lines on the surface. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes about 6 dozen

Tagged: gingersnaps, cookies, Hanukkah

Pratie Griddle Scones. You don't have to be Jewish to love latkes.

Thats what the old ad sort of says (okay, the ad had to do with Levy’s Jewish rye bread, but it’s the same sentiment).

And it’s true about latkes. Everyone loves at least one kind. And although most people think potato when they hear the word, latkes actually come in a variety of flavors and ingredients. The word latke just means pancake or fritter, so you could make them with shredded vegetables like zucchini or with sweet potatoes. Or you could make batter pancakes and mix it with cheese or corn kernels and fry them up to crispy goodness and those are latkes too.

I have an Irish friend who makes a kind of latke. She doesn’t call it that of course and, to tell the truth, she never thought of it as a dish for Hanukkah, but it is a pancake. It includes potato. It’s fried. And best of all it’s delicious. And guess what? It’s not difficult to make and doesn’t make a mess on your cooktop or counter like classic potato latkes do.

This “Irish latke” is called a Pratie Griddle Scone. It’s a delicious alternative to classic latkes during the 8 days of Hanukkah. It’s a good snack anytime. A good side dish at dinner and almost best of all, you can serve it for breakfast or brunch so it might be perfect if you’re having sleepover guests or brunch company at New Year’s time.

The recipe calls for one cup mashed potatoes. You can used leftover mashed potatoes or boil up a potato or two or use the insides of a baked potato.

Pratie Griddle Scones

• 1 cup packed mashed potatoes
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2/3 cup quick oats, approximately
• vegetable oil for frying

Place the mashed potatoes, butter, salt and baking powder in a bowl and mix ingredients to blend them. Place the oats in a food processor and process to pulverize them almost to “flour.” Blend as much of the oats into the potato mixture as is needed to form a soft, pliable dough. Roll the dough into a circle about 1/4-inch thick. Prick the dough in several places with the tines of a fork. Cut the circle into 6 wedges. Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Fry the scones for about 3 minutes per side or until they are golden brown an crispy.

Makes 6 pieces

French Fried Onions

Fry, fry! It’s the Hanukkah rallying cry.

Fry? Really? The cooking method we malign all year? 

Unhealthy. Messy. Smelly. The fumes attach to every strand of hair.

Really?

Yes, really. The Hanukkah kitchen is all about frying. Always has been. 

It’s also only once a year, so let’s give ourselves a break and indulge.

I like fried anything. But fried onions are among my favorites.

The best fried onions I ever tasted were at Hackney’s in Glenview, Illinois. They don’t cut the onions into rings. They just slice them. Thin. The onions come out looking like a loaf, all the strands packed together into a mountain of dark brown crispiness. You just keep picking at this stuff until it’s gone and what you think is enough for 2-3 people isn’t.

I don’t live anywhere near Hackney’s now so I haven’t been there in years. But if I ever get back to the Chicago area you can bet I will head straight for the place and order me some of those onions.

In the meantime, this recipe is pretty good too:

French Fried Onions

2 large Spanish Onions

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Peel the onions and cut them into thin slices. Place the slices in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Toss the onions to coat all of them. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, tossing the onions occasionally. Drain the onions in a colander. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne pepper. Using a few pieces at a time, dredge the onions in the flour mixture, shake off the excess and place them in a single layer on a cake rack or cookie sheet. Repeat with all the slices. Heat about 2-inches vegetable oil in a large, deep pan to 360 degrees (a breadcrumb will sizzle immediately; or use a candy thermometer). Working with a few onion slices at a time, fry for about 3 minutes or until they are browned and crispy. Remove with tongs and place them on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining slices. (Can keep the cooked ones warm in a preheated 200 degree oven.) Supposed to make 4-6 servings.

Latkes are Like the Pied Piper

One year I made 200 potato latkes for my brother and sister-in-law’s annual Hanukkah party. I think the smell of fried food lingered in my hair and nose for the rest of the 8-day holiday. The latkes were absolutely great. Crispy and delicious and the crowd polished them off in less than a half hour.

I don’t know whether i felt thrilled or upset. I mean, everyone loved the latkes and I was happy about that. But 200 latkes was an awful lot of work and then they were gone gone gone so quickly.

The year after that I made challah for their party (and that’s what I will do this year). But Hanukkah and latkes, well, that’s an old story. So the year I began the Hanukkah challah for Eileen and Jeff, I cooked almost 200 potato latkes with the children at the Chabad in Westport, Connecticut.

Each kid had a choice to mix some vegetable or crumbled cheese into the standard potato latke mixture and drop the batter into the pan. After I fried the pancakes to a crisp, each of them collected his or her personal latke, seemed thrilled by their handicraft and gobbled it up.

There were extras of course. Parents came, drawn in as if mesmerized by the Pied Piper, but this time they were following the perfume of latkes rather than the sound of a pipe. 

The choices of mix-ins that I gave the children included olives, corn, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped feta cheese.

But if you want to add a little something to the standard recipe, you can include a whole lot of other things too: chopped scallions, sauteed mushrooms, chopped celery, peas, diced beets, goat cheese, chopped herbs such as rosemary, grated Parmesan cheese. Latkes are like a never ending universe.

So here, once again, is my recipe for Classic Potato Latkes, with some suggestions for ingredients to put into the batter.

Potato Latkes

4 large Russet-type baking potatoes, peeled

1 large yellow onion

3 tablespoons matzo meal, bread crumbs or potato starch

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes and onion using the shredding disk of a food processor. Remove the vegetables to a bowl. Replace the shredding disk with the S-blade and put the vegetables back into the workbowl. Pulse until the potato shreds are much smaller and look “grated.” Using a handful or two at a time, place the mixture into a kitchen towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible, then place the mixture in a bowl. Repeat with the remaining potato-onion mixture. Add the matzo meal and toss the ingredients. Add the eggs, salt, pepper and baking powder and mix to distribute the ingredients thoroughly. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough to make a matzo meal crumb sizzle, add some of the potato mixture to the pan, forming small pancakes, anywhere from 1-1/2-inch size to 3-inch size. Be sure to leave ample space between each latke so that they fry properly — if they are too close they will “steam” slightly and the latkes will be soggy. Be sure the vegetable oil remains hot — if the temperature gets too low the latkes may become soggy. Fry the latkes for 2-3 minutes per side or until crispy and browned. Drain on paper towels. Makes 24 small or 12 large pancakes

Variations: add 1/2 cup corn kernels or frozen peas, chopped olives or crumbled feta cheese, one cup shredded mozzarella or Fontina cheese, one chopped jalapeno pepper or 1/3 cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes, 1 cup sauteed sliced mushrooms or diced cooked beets, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary.

Gillian's Winning Honey Cashew Pie

Congratulations Gillian!

Time to brag.

My daughter Gillian won a pie baking contest yesterday. And it was the first pie she ever made too. And all for a good cause — raising money for P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill, in Brooklyn.

She doesn’t even own a rolling pin, so the dough got flattened using a seltzer bottle wrapped in plastic wrap.

The recipe was a takeoff on one that I posted, but she used cashews instead of hazelnuts, and a 10-inch tart pan rather than pie pan, so it looked more glamorous and the consistency was somewhat firmer. She also baked it for a shorter period of time than a deeper, standard 9-inch pie.

She won two cookbooks. You can see her holding one of the books in the photo; she’s next to judge Gail Simmons (special projects director at Food and Wine and also a judge on Top Chef and the host of Top Chef Desserts).

I never won a cooking contest but I remember entering one once many many years ago. My entry was for Chicken in Champagne Sauce, which my husband and I loved and I had just learned to cook. Everyone thought the dish was a winner, so why not enter it into a cooking contest.

First prize went to Beef Stew. Which I like. But didn’t think, at the time, that plain old beef stew should be a contest winner.

I was wrong about that.

But not wrong about this: Gillian’s Cashew Pie is really delicious. A winner, for real.

Congrats Gill!

Gillian’s Honey Cashew Pie 

2/3 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped cashews

1 cup chopped dried apricots

1 unbaked 10-inch tart crust

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the honey, sugar, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract in a bowl and blend them thoroughly with a whisk. Stir in the flour, salt, cashews and apricots. Pour the mixture into the tart crust. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crusty. Makes one tart serving 8 people

Khoshaf

Everyone I know who had a Jewish grandma has tasted dried fruit compote at least once in life. Compote is a lovely sounding French word that means “mixture” and it usually means a mixture of fruit cooked in sugar syrup.

My Jewish grandma, who made this dish, (of course) called it “kumput,” which made all of us kids giggle at the sound of it. Also, as I recall, none of us liked this dish and we made a lot of jokes about the fact that it often included prunes, which we knew, even then, did —- well, everyone knows what prunes do. (Are prunes still the object of kid jokes?)

I think one has to be older and more sophisticated to eat and appreciate dried fruit compote. Anyway, that’s what happened to me — as I got older I tried it again and liked it.

My cousin Leslie, who is only one year younger than I am, however, says the dish still gives her the “willies.” 

Because I associate dried fruit compote with Jewish grandmas, I was a little surprised when, on a recent visit to Egypt, the dish was prominent on every breakfast buffet at every place we went. 

Yes, I ate it with yogurt, and what a treat it was.

But it isn’t my grandma’s kumput.

It’s called khoshaf, a Muslim specialty that is often served to break the Ramadan fast. But also, from what I found, widely available at other times too.

Khoshaf is different from grandma’s kumput in one very important way. It isn’t stewed, isn’t cooked at all, so the fruit never completely softens. It stays firm and pleasantly chewy after soaking in hot, sweet syrup.

Frankly, it tastes better and the texture is better than grandma’s kumput. In fact my cousin Leslie, who tried it at my house recently, said even she thought it was delicious.

So, here’s the recipe:

Khoshaf

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup apricot nectar

1/4 cup (or more to taste) sugar

1 tablespoon orange flower water, rosewater or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 lemon or orange cut into quarters

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup prunes or dried plums

1 cup dried figs, halved or quaretred, depending on size

1 cup raisins

chopped pistachio nuts

Combine the water, apricot nectar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until slightly syrupy. Remove from the heat and stir in the flavoring. Pour over the fruit and toss ingredients. Let rest for at least one hour, tossing the ingredients occasionally. Sprinkle with nuts and serve. Makes 6-8 servings

The Old Automat Pumpkin Pie

Thanks to a suggestion from littleladieswholunch I ordered The Automat, (published in 2002). It’s a terrific history with wonderful glossy photos and several classic recipes and it brings back great memories of the times I went to that famous cafeteria with my Aunt Roz and Uncle Mac and cousin Leslie. 

It was an old institution by the time I knew it back in the 50’s and 60’s. It had its heyday in the 1920s, when rich people ate at the Waldorf and “21” and everyone else (the 99%?) ate at the Automat. And, from what I read, it certainly was popular during the Depression. The food was relatively cheap and also good. And people hung out at the tables for hours, the way people do today at Starbucks.

The other day I posted about the Automat pumpkin pie and wished I had the recipe. 

That’s when I got that wonderful suggestion to buy the book.

So, I haven’t baked this pie yet, but will, and will let everyone know if it is the same pumpkin pie of my memories. But in the meantime, here’s the recipe for Pumpkin Pie from The Automat, by Lorraine B. Diehl and Marianne Hardart (Clarkson, Potter 2002). It calls for an 11-inch pie crust but I am thinking that the amount of filling will actually fit nicely into a standard 9-inch pie crust (but baked a bit longer).

UPDATE NOTE: I baked this in a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Baked the pie 8 minutes longer. I have used any of the following: half and half cream, evaporated milk and coconut milk. Have left out the butter. All are wonderful. 

Automat Pumpkin Pie

• 2 cups cooked pumpkin (one 15-ounce can)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 14-1/2 ounce can evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 11-inch prepared pastry crust

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl beat together all the ingredients (except the crust) with a rotary beater or hand whisk until the mixture is smooth. Line an 11-inch pie tin with the pastry. Pour in the filling and bake for 40 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes one pie

Sugar and Spice Gingerbread

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice always seem to make a fresh appearance in the kitchen as the weather turns cold. These are the “warm” spices. Not peppery, but the kind of seasoning that heats your tongue.

Maybe a long long time ago everyone realized how good these spices tasted with other seasonal ingredients like pumpkin and squash, or with cold weather drinks like mulled wine or cider.

Or maybe it’s because in medieval times most families only ate these spices near Hanukkah and Christmas because seasonings were expensive and people saved them for holiday celebrations.

But now there are new reasons to use “warm” spices. They may actually be healthy. Here’s one article that sums up the benefits of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. There are several new studies with similar findings.

Among the claimed benefits:

Cinnamon helps prevent inflammation and also helps regulate blood sugar. 

Cloves contain antioxidants.

Ginger boosts the immune system and reduces motion sickness.

Nutmeg can stimulate your brain and reduce fatigue and stress.

But really, healthy or not, spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger make food taste good. And that’s the best reason to use them. So try this yummy Gingerbread, a seasonal favorite, made with several warm, fragrant, tasty and healthy spices.

Sugar and Spice Gingerbread

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

5 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour an 8-inch square baking pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper and cloves and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, cream the butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes or until well blended. Beat in the molasses and egg, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, until all the ingredients have been added and the batter is smooth and uniform. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one cake

New, Chippier Grand Finale Cookies

Occupy The Kitchen!

My family marched around my kitchen yesterday, starting their own Occupy movement!

They were protesting too few chocolate chips in my Grand Finale cookies.

They are demanding more chips, fewer raisins. 

They said I had too much power, that my recipe decision regarding the amount of chocolate chips was undemocratic.

They held up their big signs. They grunted. Stamped their feet. Made me change my recipe.

I changed it. Because they were right!

So here’s the new, chocolate-chippier version.

Democracy works.

New, Chippier Grand Finale Cookies

1 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup orange juice

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups quick cooking oats

2 cups chocolate chips

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup finely chopped almonds

1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar at medium speed for about 2 minutes or until smooth, creamy and well blended. Add the egg, orange juice and vanilla extract and beat them in, blending thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Add the oats, chocolate chips, coconut, almonds and raisins and mix them in. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and place on the cookie sheets, leaving some place between the blobs for the cookies to spread. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Let cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes then remove to a cake rack to cool completely. Makes 36-42 cookies