Hanukkah Feast!

Hanukkah oh Hanukkah come light the menorah
let's have a party we'll all. . . .


. . . eat fried food and chocolate till we don't feel so good anymore. But it's such a good not feeling so good anymore feeling!

let's see. . we had Schnitzel with caper lemon salsa, my Mom's latkes (see below), and home made Hanukkah gelt (also see below). Was fantabulous, and now I just want to eat MORE.

my Mom's awesome potatoe latkes

3 big potatoes, peeled & grated into a colander
1 onion, grated into colander w/potatoes
1/2 tbsp salt
heaping 1/4 cup matzah meal
1 egg
Canola or corn oil

grate the potatoes & onion into a colander in the sink, and as you go squeeze out as much moisture as possible. you can also press a papertowel into the potatoes & onions to absorb more moisture. Mix the other ingredients in, right in the colander, and blend well. I used my hands to mix it all up.

heat 1/4" of oil in a heavy frying pan, over medium high heat on the stove. 2 or 3 tablespoons at a time, carefully drop the potato batter into the oil. My little trick was to mound the batter right on a greased spatula, then let it slide into the oil right from the spatula. the latke is ready to flip when the outer edge is browned, and most of the "pink" tinge has cooked out of the potatoes. This takes about 5 minutes. carefully flip the latke, and cook the other side. let drain on paper towels, and keep cooked latkes warm in the oven. If you latkes aren't getting dark enough, your oil isn't hot enough, or you're not letting them fry long enough.

We always had latkes with applesauce and sour cream when I was a kid. I'm not a fan of applesauce these days, and sour cream isn't so good for you. But you know what? Latkes and low fat greek yogurt is just awesome!

ready for more decadence? how 'bout some home made Hanukkah gelt? I'm trying to remember where I found this recipe, because it's just genius.

Hanukkah Gelt
12 dried apricots
1/2 cup chocolate chips (you choice - dark, semi sweet, white, etc.)

melt the chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. zap it for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it's well melted. This took about 2 minutes in my microwave.

for each apricot, find the seam where the pit was removed. gently pull at the seam, and the apricot will tear right into two halves.

dip each half into the melted chocolate, and lay on wax paper. refridgerate for an hour before serving.

these are like inside out gelt - chocolate on the outside, and the "gold" on the inside.