"hanukkah" news and stories

8 Tips for Making Latkes

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 11th 2009 @ 12:30PM

by Janna Gur

The eight days of Hanukkah are upon us and in preparation, we've asked Janna Gur, author of "The Book of New Israeli Food: A Culinary Journey," to share her tips for producing the best potato latke. Eat them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner -- Janna's Potato Latke recipe will be the highlight of your holiday.

1. Be Creative Enhance your basic potato-onion mixture with sweet potatoes and carrots for color and flavor. Cheese it up with grated mozzarella, Gruyere or Parmesan; don't forget the herbs: dill, thyme or rosemary combine beautifully with potatoes.

2. Use a Food Processor for Grating the Vegetables It will make life much easier. After grating, make sure to squeeze out all the liquids.

More tips and recipes after the jump.

Filed under: Holidays, Recipes

Frozen Latke Taste Test

COMMENTS 1

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 4:00PM

by Trisha Thompson

What would Hanukkah be without latkes (potato pancakes)? Skinny candles, chocolate gelt, driedel gambling and one long Adam Sandler song. In other words, not enough and not satisfying.

Latkes are satisfying. But just because they're essential to this Jewish holiday (and to homes that don't even celebrate Hannukah), doesn't mean you have to make them, at least not from scratch.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=796027&pid=796026&uts=1260473899

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Best Frozen Latkes

by Trisha Thompson

We tested various supermarket brands of frozen latkes that are most widely available, rating them on crispiness, potato-onion flavor and the all-important grease factor.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Best Frozen Latkes

by Trisha Thompson

We tested various supermarket brands of frozen latkes that are most widely available, rating them on crispiness, potato-onion flavor, and the all-important grease factor.

Rachel Been, AOL

Runner-Up: Dr. Praeger's All Natural Potato Pancakes

Crispiness (1-5): 3, fairly crispy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 4, a good balance of potato and onion
Grease Factor: Low, could use a bit more (if the doctor would let us)
Comments: "Better than expected, given that they're made by a doctor wearing white coat and stethoscope on back. Brand motto: 'Where you recognize all the ingredients.' And we did. Wish these cookie-cutter circles looked a little more like free-form homemade latkes, though."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Runner-Up: Ratner's Traditional Potato Pancakes (Latkes)

Crispiness (1-5): 3, fairly crispy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 4, very mashed potato-y inside, but it could use more onion
Grease Factor: Not too much, not too little
Comments: "More like a flat knish than a latke, but tasty."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Winner: Trader Joe's Traditional Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

Crispiness (1-5): 4, nicely crisped
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 5, satisfyingly oniony/potato-y
Grease Factor: just right
Comments: "The crispy outside, potato-onion clumpy texture inside makes it taste homemade," said one tester. Good ingredients (nothing scary), and at a good price too. If you're lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's, you're all set. If not, go to the runners up.

Keith Morrison, AOL

Honorable Mention: An Alternative Latke Trader Joe's Vegetable Bird's Nests

A carrot-onion latke with an Asian name. Swap out the soy dipping sauce for applesauce and sour cream, and you've got a new spin on latkes. Bake these a few minutes longer than the package says to get them crisp.

Rachel Been, AOL

Next to Worst: Golden Potato Pancakes (Traditional Latkes)

Crispiness (1-5): 2, a notch above gummy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 2, gluey and floury
Grease Factor: Adequate, but given the other flavor and texture issues, not a save
Comments: "Meal (wheat flour) is listed as the second ingredient, and we think that could be the problem."

Keith Morrison, AOL

Worst Overall: Kineret Potato Latkes

Crispiness (1-5): 2, a notch above gummy
Potato-Onion Flavor (1-5): 1, none whatsoever
Grease Factor: fake tasting fat
Comments: "This is terrible," said several testers. "Chemical-tasting." "Leaves a film on my tongue." Even extra sour cream and applesauce didn't make it more palatable. Perhaps the manufacturer went overboard on the "disodium dihydrogen pyrophosphate (to promote color rentention)" listed in the ingredients. Keep away.

Keith Morrison, AOL

Filed under: Taste Test, Holidays

The 5 Worst Dishes to Bring to a Party

COMMENTS 23

by James Cury, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 2:00PM

Consider nixing the hummus. Photo: pgoyette, Flickr.

It's party season, and that means if you have any social life whatsoever, someone will be asking you to bring something to a get-together. Certain foods are obvious no-nos unless you're aiming for cheeky: anything made with aspic, blood sausage or Spam, for example. In general, you want to avoid needlessly messy, borderline unhealthy and unintentionally labor-intensive dishes, as well as ones that simply don't travel well.

The following rules apply no matter what kind of party (potluck, New Year's Eve, birthday, tailgating) or crowd (young, old, football freaks, opera fans). If you can't cook at all, bring good cheese and crackers. That's the universal crowd-pleaser.

Hummus
It seems like such a no-brainer -- who doesn't like dip at parties? But this one has a fatal flaw: garlic. All it takes is one big scoop to render your breath intolerable. Great for family get-togethers, not for swinging singles mixers. How about salsa instead?

Filed under: Holidays

The Mixed Meals of YumSugar

COMMENTS 0

by Jose Ralat Maldonado, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 1:00PM

Euphoria Cocktail. Photo: YumSugar.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Michael Symon is back -- with latkes!

What do you get when you serve food with a side of politics? The Obamas, of course.

As the holidays come ever closer to crashing head-on, take a break with a Sunday meal of Whole-Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole.

You'll need a Euphoria cocktail after a holiday-shopping marathon.

Aunt Mary, please don't give us paper-weight fruit cake this year; instead, consider Parmesan Black-Pepper Biscotti.

"Top Chef Las Vegas" finalist Kevin Gillespie is among those joining the food fight for a slot on the 2011 Bocuse d'Or U.S. team.

You're running out of time to prepare a Hanukkah menu.

Filed under: YumSugar

Fried Food, Forbidden Fruit and 9021Pho - The Los Angeles Times in 60 Seconds

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Dec 10th 2009 @ 12:00PM

Taco sampler from Loteria restaurant. Photo: OctopusHat, Flickr.

Radio personality, cookbook author and self-proclaimed "culinary multitasker" Evan Kleinman carries serious clout in the LA food scene -- she recommended Loteria restaurant, it got packed; she initiated a "Pie a Day" project, Los Angelenos got cooking; she opened the LA chapter of Slow Food and they joined.
Due to the Festival of Lights' origins, during which one day's worth of oil miraculously lasted eight, fried foods are a perennial staple during Hanukkah. To celebrate, the Times offers a collection of their seven best latke recipes.
Used in a traditional fruit punch during the holiday season, tejocote was for years the most smuggled fruit into the U.S. border from Mexico. Farmer Jaime Serrato specializes in produce used in Latino cooking but illegal to import, so started growing the "crab-apple-like" fruit stateside five years ago and now has some 35 acres of it.
In "35 Holiday Gifts to Buy, Give, Inspire, Make -- and Receive," the Times suggests everything from edible delicacies to kitchen gifts for cooks and more.
Comically monikered eatery 9021Pho offers a "simple yet excellent" pho menu, which one diner calls "Vietnamese penicillin" -- and the writer praises for its "pristine freshness."
Recipes: Peruvian Ceviche at Ciudad, Persimmon Pudding and Wild Rice Stuffing