Potato Latkes recipe submitted by Heidi Raker Goldstein
Who doesn’t love a crispy potato latke, that fragrant, mouth-wateringly delicious fritter that is for many the symbol of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating how one day of oil miraculously lasted eight days for the Macabbean rededication of the Second Temple in 200 B.C.
Growing up, there were many schools of thought on potato pancakes, as my New England family referred to them. We grated potatoes by hand (until processors came along), added eggs and flour, salt and pepper and fried them only in Mazola pure corn oil. They were served with freshly made apple sauce or sour cream. Period. Perfection.
When I moved to New York City after college, potato pancakes took on a new meaning. They were not just a cultural icon, they were a celebration any time of year and mingled sweet potato, zucchini, carrot or simply potato and onion, the latter I learned helped keep the potatoes from oxidizing and turning brown, in addition to adding a jolt of depth and flavor.
Latkes take on a very personal quality and how we marry the ingredient we make them with often says much about our ancestry, approach to cooking and relationship with the holidays. Some folks swear by the Manischewitz potato mix, others don’t get past the scorched freezer variety. But for me, I stay true to my somewhat updated potato pancake recipe, an amalgamation of my mother Marcia Raker and her aunt Frances Fine of West Hartford, CT. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 bag Idaho Potatoes, peeled and run through fine grater (on processor or by hand grating)
6 large fresh eggs, slightly beaten
1 medium Spanish onion, finely grated
1/2 cup AP flour
Mazola corn oil, enough to read a depth of 1″ in your fryer or dutch oven
Heat 1″ of corn oil in fryer or dutch oven to 350 degrees, about 10 minutes at medium high.
Set aside a jelly roll pan with a cookie rack set into it to work as your draining/drying surface.
Upon completion of grating potatoes, pour them into the center of a flour sack towel, saving the potato starch in the bottom of the bowl. Squeeze out all excess liquid from the potatoes through the bunched up towel. Add beaten eggs to the bowl with the starch along with grated onion. Season generously with kosher salt and black pepper. Return potatoes to bowl, mix well and taste for proper seasoning.
When oil is hot (test it by placing small amount of batter in to center; it should come to a rapid sizzle), prepare to begin frying. I like to use two table spoons to scoop, press together and shape each latke so sizes are uniform. Don’t overcrowd the pan and turn only once when edges are nicely browned. Remove from pan to cookie rack, sprinkle with more kosher salt and keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve. Continue until all batter is used, being careful not to remove as much liquid from each latke before placing in the pan. Remove excess bits of stray potato that float in the oil between pan reloading.
Serve with sour cream, apple sauce or your favorite topping. These freeze nicely for a few months in a freezer bag.
Matzo Ball Soup submitted by Victoria Hurley-Schubert
Nothing says “feel better” like matzo ball soup, the Jewish penicillin, especially on a chilly winter day. At home with a cold, I was motivated to brew a batch for myself, since it requires minimal work and I had stock frozen in my freezer.
If you don’t have stock on hand, it’s very easy to make and once it’s on the stove, does the work itself.
For the stock, start with some poultry bones, I usually use chicken leg quarters or a small whole chicken. I also use the turkey carcass after a holiday dinner or the carcass of a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Shove said parts into a pot; I usually use one with a strainer insert to make the end easier. Use three or four good size carrots, the more soup, the more carrots you need. Same goes for celery; but with celery I like to use the leafy tops, those little leaves pack a good flavor punch. I add one large onion, peeled and halved.
Add cold water to cover and leave at least a couple inches from the lip of the pot. Trust me on this, I always make a mess when the pot overflows when it comes to a boil. Using cold water allows the most flavor extraction from all ingredients.
When the pot begins to boil, add a tablespoon Kosher salt, its less salty tasting than table salt. You don’t add salt at the beginning because as it sits in the cold water it can damage some pots. Add a few grinds of pepper as well.
Let simmer on stove at least 90 minutes, the longer the better. Tip the lid for liquid reduction, the longer the liquid evaporates, the stronger the stock flavor will be.
When done simmering, remove the cooked vegetables and bones. If desired, strip meat off bones and put back in pot. If stock is a bit greasy for your liking, refrigerate and the fat will harden at the top and can be easily removed.
When you want soup, cut up some new carrots, celery and onions and toss in pot with stock. Turn on and when it warms, taste for seasoning. Add salt if necessary; if it seems too salty for your liking, no worries, the vegetables will help absorb it and the matzo balls will need some salt to balance their inherent blandness. Let simmer until ready to serve. Add parsley if desired.
To make matzo balls:
Fill large pot with a tight-fitting lid with water and put on stove to boil.
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water or stock (cold)
Blend together with fork to mix. If you have dry chicken base, add a 1/2 teaspoon.
Add 1/2 cup matzo meal and a couple pinches of baking powder to egg-oil-water mix and stir to combine and put in fridge to chill. Omit baking powder for Passover.
When water boils, add copious amounts of kosher salt to help flavor matzo balls. Take matzo mixture out of refrigerator, wet hands with cold water and scoop a teaspoon of the mix into the palm of your hand and roll like a meatball to get a uniform round shape. A small cookie scoop works well for this. The balls will sink when they fall into the boiling water and then bob to the surface.
When all matzo balls are in the water, rinse hands and put lid on pot and set timer for 45 minutes. Then, walk away, forget about the stove. NO PEEKING! Do not lift the lid of the pot until five minutes after the timer beeps.
Fish out matzo balls with a slotted spoon.
Pair matzo balls with soup and some fine egg noodles, if desired, and enjoy!
Happy Hanukkah!
As we gaily (or sometimes frantically) shop our way through the holiday season, it is sometimes difficult to determine what to get for the wine lover in your life. Sure, there is the obvious (wine). But there are only so many wine carriers, rabbit ear openers, decanters and wine stoppers that one person can accumulate. Here’s another idea: a book about wine or wine regions. One of the best that I have read is Natalie MacLean’s new book: Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines.
People say “I love chocolate” all the time. I say (and demonstrate through worshipful consumption) how much I “love” chocolate all the time, practically defining my personality by it. There are cat people, there are electronic gadget people, there are craft people; I am a chocolate person. And so were the many hundreds of others who gathered at the Metropolitan Pavilion last month for the gorgeous, glorious, gastronomically glamorous 14th Annual New York Chocolate Show.
The key to navigating the Chocolate Show, I’ve found, is to seek out the passion. Everything tastes good, everything looks lovely, but when you find the exhibitor (whether the chocolatier him or herself or an enthusiastic brand ambassador) whose honest excitement about and true dedication to their product—their art—are as boldly on display as their edible wares, that’s where you strike gold.
Combine the chic of Neiman Marcus, the comfort of a bistro menu, the whimsy of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and the magic of Willy Wonka and you have Sugar and Plumm, Purveyors of Yumm. The fantasy of kids with a sweet tooth and grown-ups who want well-priced, well-prepared food comes together to create a magical experience for diners. On multiple visits, my companions and I were consistently impressed with freshly baked classic French pastry (only the burger buns are baked off premise by Balthazar Bakery in Englewood), crispy, artistically plated salads, juicy burgers and hand-cut fries served in mini fryer baskets lined with red and white check paper and an exquisite crispy-skin salmon served with a lush lemon hollandaise and sautéed haricot vert. Bergen families searching for good food, well-priced, family friendly and dare we say, fun, may find the answer at this new Bergen Town Center café and retailer. Sugar and Plumm’s owner Lamia Jacobs, a former oil trader who grew up in Paris and mother of four, said fun was a big part of the equation when it came to creating the restaurant’s concept.
“In Paris, we can get a steak, omelet, crepe or salad any time of the day or night at bistros, but I wasn’t able to find that when we moved to the States,” said the Greenwich, CT resident. “I wanted a menu that was equally savory and sweet, offering sustainable and organic whenever possible and all about comfort. Chicken and waffles are one of our most popular items and people love our crepes, sundaes and hand-made chocolates, everything top quality.” Indeed, Mrs. Jacobs seems to have found the right blend of kid-friendly, yet sophisticated ambience to keep adults happy and a menu that emphasizes well-executed sweet and savory items and nostalgic, comfort foods.
Grandparents and grandchildren tucked away in booths are as common a sighting at Sugar and Plumm as are lunching ladies, teen girls, moms and toddlers, families and couples dating. The flexibility of the menu (organized into one side savory, one side sweet) makes the restaurant an easy choice for those looking for hearty breakfast fare (starting at $6) mid-morning or late afternoon, a savory sandwich (starting at $8), topped with a fried egg for $1 more. Pancakes are lightened with ricotta and served with berry compote and Vermont maple syrup ($9) and lemon curd and nutella are $2 additional. Savory buckwheat crepes are filled with everything from ham and swiss ($9) to smoked salmon, crème fraiche, onion, capers, market greens and lemon vinaigrette ($12). Stacked waffles start with smoked bacon, aged cheddar and fried egg ($8) and the popular crispy free-range chicken tenders, served with rich, creamy butter, Vermont maple syrup and house hot sauce ($12). The pulled pork stacked waffle ($12) is equally enticing with succulent maple BBQ pork, tangy pickled onion slaw, bibb lettuce and chipotle mayo. Soups are excellent and include classic chicken noodle ($4/cup), full of large pieces of pulled tender chicken in a rich broth and plenty of noodles and aromatic veggie chunks, and butternut squash ($4) which is topped with crunchy roasted butternut squash seeds and a drizzle of EV olive oil. (I wish the restaurant would omit the sage leaves served atop the chicken noodle soup as the taste of sage, in my view, is too assertive; it would work better on the butternut squash soup if fried briefly in butter to crisp it.)
Entrees, which number six and range from $10 for a squat cast iron pot filled with tangy, gooey Mac & Cheese to flat iron steak ($19), free range chicken breast ($17) served with lemon spinach and onion pan sauce to my favorite, the crispy skin salmon ($21). I want fully developed flavors in food and I love butter. I don’t like it when chefs are stingy with butter or tasty morsels that pack a lot of flavor, like sautéed shallots. So, let me say that I love the sautéed haricot vert, those elegant slender string beans, that accompany the crispy-skin salmon as much as I love the salmon itself. The ratio of butter and silky, caramelized shallots to string beans is perfect, making every bite rich and satisfying.
At the risk of sounding like I don’t get the point of Sugar and Plumm, I confess that I am more excited about the savory side of the menu than the sweet side. That is a personal “issue,” and while I do enjoy sweets, I care more about the before-dessert-fare. However, I would find no fault with anyone who said they visited Sugar and Plumm simply for its decadent molten chocolate cake plated dessert ($8) with oozing rich chocolate cake served with homemade vanilla ice cream. With desserts, Mrs. Jacobs’ influence can also be seen, as she loves sweets but thinks too much sweetness masks the true flavors of other ingredients. She’s spot on and this can be tasted in the restaurant’s ice creams, gelati, sorbets, tarts, compotes and even dessert drinks. Things are well-flavored, but never cloyingly sweet. This is a refreshing departure. The restaurant lovingly embellishes sundaes with all manner of candy, fruits, confections, house made sauces and crunchy nuts along with sophisticated meringue, sometimes served whole, as in the Bee hive ($8) which is piled high and filled with ice cream or crushed as a sweet path to drag your spoon along through a trio of sorbets. Flavors are fresh, fruits discernible in each bite.
This is food that is well thought out and flavorful. Sundaes start at $9 for the Yumm Drop which combines homemade brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and two more scoops of chocolate, covered with homemade fudge sauce, vanilla scented whipped cream and finished with a meringue baton. Peach melba ($9) is served with fresh raspberry coulis and finished with slivered almonds. Our neighbors feasted on Banana Split ($10) and an Over The Yumm ($40) which is a sundae on steroids and enough to feed one good sized family. Suffice it to say that sweet crepes and waffles, starting at $8, and delectable tarts of fruit, chocolate and peanut butter varieties, all $5 and available in mini flights ($7.50) are simply sublime. Hot chocolate ($3.50) is served in an over-sized cup and saucer with bobbing homemade marshmallows, whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Water is filtered onsite, an important and appreciated offering. The restaurant plans a winter and seasonal menu changes.
I recently received an e-mail that really touched me. It said this HOLIDAY SEASON we should support our country’s economy. I instantly thought, how is that possible with everything being mass produced for our consumption in other countries. Our family tried to build and furnish our new home a few years ago with “American Made” and found it to be almost impossible and cost prohibitive. How could I possibly do my holiday shopping and support our country as much as possible in the process? As I continued reading the e-mail the sender had made some great suggestions. They recommended buying restaurant, dinner theatre, concert, museum, salon and spa gift certificates, but the idea that grabbed my attention was go to local arts and craft fairs and help a “starving artist” this year. Aha! There were a few fairs in my area and I decided to check one of them out.
I love Arts and Crafts Fairs and got into the rhythm going up and down the aisles, scoping out the best route to cover all the booths, not wanting to miss a single thing. Jewelry, pottery, glass, textiles it was all there. But then I spotted it, Jersey Girl Wine Jelly. I haven’t had delicious wine jelly for years. An old family treat I had all but forgotten. I had to taste it! Michele Birtch and Stephanie Clineman, a mother and daughter team from Mays Landing and Galloway respectively are the creators of the company. What started out as a family favorite recipe for friends and family has become a full time business. The names of the all the varieties of Jelly I was told, are made up by the women as well. “How Merlot Can You Go?”, “It Should Be A Zin!”, “Chardonnay Moi?”, and “Que Shiraz Shiraz!”.
