Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival Of Lights, begins at sundown today.
In addition to lighting the ceremonial candelabra, the menorah, there are favorite holiday foods.
Our personal favorite is the potato latke, or pancake, made from grated potatoes and onion, bound with eggs and fried.
You don’t have to be Jewish to love a latke (pronounced LOT-ka—the word is Yiddish, derived from the Belarusian latka).
Enjoy this latke recipe with white potatoes or sweet potatoes (our favorite).
They’re often served with a brisket of beef, but will complement just about anything.
Happy Hanukkah!
Potato latkes with applesauce. Photo
courtesy Zabar’s.
QUESTION: Do you spell the holiday Chanukah or Hanukkah?
A look at Google today showed that in the past month, 450,000 people searched for “Hanukkah”; only 110,000 searched for “Chanukah.” And 22,000 people searched for “latke,” with another 80,000 or so searching for “latke” plus another word—“latke recipe,” “Potato Latke,” etc.
Starbucks sells Christmas Blend in both ground and Via Ready Brew (instant coffee packets)
K-cup users can enjoy Santa’s Buzz from Coffee People or Tully’s Evergreen, which is organic and Fair Trade Certified (the name refers to the sustainability—there’s no evergreen flavor)
And of course, you can make your own holiday blend by adding a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, rum extract or other favorite seasonal flavor to your ground coffee prior to brewing.
What’s a crostata, you ask? It’s Italian for a pie or tart with a rustic-style crust. Invented by some clever baker before the advent of the pie pan, the filling is placed in the center of a circle of dough. The edges of the dough are folded up and over the filling to hold it in.
It’s not as fancy as a pinched pie crust that creates a high “ruffle” around the pie; but today, this casual technique looks charming.
This week’s cooking video shows you how to make a Raspberry Chocolate Almond Crostata. It’s perfect for holiday entertaining: Try it instead of your regular favorite pie.
Want to know the difference between a crostata and a croustade? Check out our Pie and Pastry Glossary.
Registration is now open for the Oregon Truffle Festival, January 28-30, 2011—a fantasy for fans of the fabulous fungus. Activities include:
Truffle and wine dinners
Cooking classes and seminars
Winery luncheons
Truffle hunt
Farm tours
A fresh truffle marketplace to bring home a truffle “souvenir” or two
The sixth anniversary Grand Truffle Dinner will feature Oregon’s native winter white and black truffles in a sumptuous five-course meal paired by some of Oregon‘s top chefs—and of course, paired with acclaimed Oregon wines.
Hunt your own truffles! Photo courtesy
Oregon Truffle Festival.
An inexpensive luxury: truffle butter on
bread. Photo by Melody Lan | THE NIBBLE.
We’ve just written about a pricey truffle food gift. Here’s how you can enjoy the delicious flavor of truffles for just $10.00: truffle butter.
You can enjoy the flavor and aroma of black and white truffles every day of the year with 3-ounce tubs of truffle butter for $7.99 or 8 ounces for a few dollars more.
D’Artagnans truffle butter, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week, is our favorite little indulgence. For the price of a cocktail, you can have a three-ounce tub of precious, sweet butter, chock-full of black or white truffle pieces. It’s almost as satisfying as a fresh truffle dish that costs more than $100.00 at fine restaurants.
Spread truffle butter on French rolls or slices of baguette as a snack, with meals or as an hors d’oeuvre with wine.
Make truffled scrambled eggs. Add an ounce of buttermilk for each egg and scramble in truffle butter. Garnish with finely snipped parsley and serve with a slice of toasted baguette “crouton” spread with more truffle butter.
Toss truffle butter with angel hair pasta.
Butter a baked potato.
Add a spoonful to sauces.You’ll be in truffle heaven for less than $10.
