A LONG STANDING HANUKKAH TRADITION

In the Green household, we not only celebrated Christmas and the Catholic holidays, but we also celebrated Hanukkah and the rest of the Jewish holidays, giving equal time to both religions and melding the best of both worlds together to create one harmonious household.

Any reason to celebrate or to have a house full of company was good enough for my husband; he loved to entertain and have guests over, and since Christmas and Hanukkah were at the same time of the year, we both gave equal time to the traditions which we were accustomed to.  Irwin often spoke of the many holidays he spent at his grandparents’ house in Brooklyn while he was growing up; he treasured those memories and spoke of them often. It gave him great pleasure to share his home with the people he cared about and to carry on some of those traditions.

When creating menus for Christmas day I always made sure to include a few of Irwin’s favorite Jewish dishes for Hanukkah.  We always managed to bring the best of the both worlds together which filled our home with love.

Potato Latkes

INGREDIENTS

12 large potatoes, grated

3 medium onions, grated

4 eggs, beaten lightly

5 tbs. flour

3 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

Oil for deep frying

DIRECTIONS

The secret to great latkes is to remove as much liquid from the potatoes and onions as possible.

Put the grated potatoes in a clean tea towel and squeeze the liquid out of the mixture. Do the same for the grated onions.

 Combine all the ingredients and mix together well by hand. In a heavy skillet, put a 3/4" deep layer of oil, heat until sizzling.

 Form individual pancakes by hand and carefully slide into the pan using a slotted spatula. Fill the pan, but leave room between the pancakes.

When the latkes are nicely browned on one side, turn carefully and cook until browned on the other side and crisp on the edges. Remove with a spatula and place on paper towels. Let the excess grease drain onto the paper towel. Serve immediately for the best taste. You can keep the latkes hot in a warm oven. Serve with sour cream or applesauce, or sprinkle with granulated sugar.