With Hanukkah beginning at sundown tonight, Judy Bart Kancigor, author of Cooking Jewish, shares some of her favorite holiday memories and recipes for a Hanukkah feast including latkes, dipping sauce, and a delicious cherry chicken.
Hanukkah comes early this year. You know what they say about the Jewish holidays – they’re always early or late. They’re never on time!
When my boys were young, I used to hate it when Hanukkah came early. By the time Christmas rolled around, all their toys were already broken. Oh, the joys of the Hebrew lunar calendar. Only once, to my memory, did Hanukkah fall after Christmas. That year I saved all my Hanukkah shopping for the day after Christmas sales. (Talk about a leap of faith!)
As we light the candles, I can’t help but remember the Hanukkahs of my youth. My mother’s family was very close, and we cousins (13 of us) were raised together practically as siblings. Remember the movie Avalon? That was our childhood (without the fire, of course!) There were so many of us Papa Harry even put a board in the children’s table.
The highlight, of course, was our Hanukkah party. The pile of latkes! The mountain of presents! The noise! The excitement! The squabbles! Then when we cousins started producing the great-grandchildren, Aunt Sally’s basement bulged with our bounty. (No one ever thought of drawing names for a gift exchange back then!)
When we moved to California from New York, our boys were six and four. Away from our roots, our friends became our extended family, and our neighbors only too eager to share our traditions. On the first night of Hanukkah I would make my signature latkes, those crispy, irresistible potato pancakes, and set them on doily-lined Hanukkah paper plates for my boys to distribute up and down the block.
I have noticed through the years, however, that a snobbery has developed among latke aficionados, who view with disdain from their lofty perch those who use a blender to process the potatoes. Their mantra? Shredded is better. “Oh, no,” they tsk-tsk when they see my recipe, just a touch of feigned sympathy in their eyes. “I use the food processor. I like texture.”
Texture? You want texture? I’ll give you texture. Use my SPLAT! method and you’ll get all the texture you want with these babies. My family hovers over the pan to fight over the thinnest ones that are so crunchy and full of holes you can practically see through them, so turn down your decibel meter.
Now for the real secret of my very crispy latkes. Heat the oil until very hot, but not smoking. (I use canola.) Scoop some batter with a large spoon, hold the spoon about eight inches above the pan and spill all at once. SPLAT! Remove your hand quickly so you don’t burn yourself. (It’s all in the wrist.) The pancake will splatter, forming holes, the better to hold the sour cream or applesauce. Keeping the temperature of the oil constant is key, so don’t crowd the pan. Allow the temperature to go down and you risk soggy latkes.
If you want to prepare the batter up to a day ahead, here’s a trick taught to me years ago by my friend, Elaine Asa. Prepare the batter without adding the flour, and pour the mixture into a tight-fitting glass jar. (Do not use plastic ware.) Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles, cover the batter well with a thick layer of flour, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to cook, remove the flour layer with the black ring that has formed beneath it. Then add the flour, stir and fry.
For a change of pace, serve the latkes with a dipping sauce made from Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Chicken, her decades-old signature dish, eagerly anticipated by all (although she just called it “Holiday Chicken.” I always was a sucker for alliteration.) Sweet yet zippy, pretty plump cherries dotting the dish, Aunt Hilda’s Holiday Chicken ushered in countless New Years, heralded scores of birthdays and graced many a holiday table.
Not serving chicken this year? I’ve included a recipe below for the dipping sauce minus the bird. Happy Hanukkah to all!!
CRISPY, CRUNCHY POTATO LATKES WITH AUNT HILDA’S CHERRY CHILI DIPPING SAUCE
From Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman) by Judy Bart Kancigor
2 pounds baking potatoes
2 large eggs
1/2 medium-size onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium-size firm apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or matzah meal
Peanut or canola oil, for frying
Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce, for serving
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. To keep them white and release some of the starch, submerge them in a bowl of water while you’re preparing the remaining ingredients.
2. Place the eggs in a blender. Add the onion, apple, salt, white pepper and baking powder. Drain the potatoes and squeeze them dry in paper towels. Add enough of the potatoes to fill the blender (all 2 pounds may not fit). Turn on the blender, and pushing down on the sides with a rubber spatula (careful you don’t blend the spatula — there is no rubber in this recipe), blend until the potatoes just move around. Add the remaining potatoes as you’re blending, but do not over-process or make it too smooth. The texture should resemble applesauce. (This takes about 6 seconds in my Osterizer.)
3. Transfer the batter to a large bowl and add the flour. The batter should be flowing, but not too thin.
4. Now for the real secret of my very crisp latkes: Pour enough oil into a large skillet to coat the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is quite hot but not smoking. Use a serving spoon to scoop up the batter (about 2 tablespoons per scoop), hold the spoon about 8 inches above the pan, and spill it all at once. Splat! Remove your hand quickly so you don’t burn yourself. (Like tennis, it’s all in the wrist.) The batter will splatter, forming holes … the better to hold the dipping sauce. Repeat with as many as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Cook until browned, about 1 minute. Then flip them over and cook the other side for 1 minute.
5. Drain the latkes well on paper towels, and keep them warm while you cook the remainder, adding more oil as needed.
6. Serve immediately, with Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce.
Note: If you want to make the batter ahead, to cook later or the next day, prepare it through Step 2 (do not add the flour), and pour the mixture into a tight-fitting glass jar (do not use plastic ware). Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles, cover the batter well with a thick layer of flour, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to use it, remove and discard the flour with the black layer that has formed beneath it. Transfer the batter to a large bowl, stir in the flour, and proceed with Step 4 using fresh flour.
Makes about 3 dozen latkes.
Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce (without the chicken!)
1 can (16 1/2 ounces) pitted black cherries, undrained
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 bottles (12 ounces each) chili sauce, such as Heinz
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
Slice the cherries and combine them with their liquid, the raisins, sherry, chili sauce, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Reduce this mixture over medium-high heat until it’s as thick as you like it, about 20 minutes.
AUNT HILDA’S CHERRY CHILI CHICKEN
From Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman) by Judy Bart Kancigor
3/4 cup raisins
1 can (16 1/2 ounces) pitted black cherries, undrained
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 chickens (3 to 4 pounds), each cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry
Garlic powder to taste
Paprika to taste
Kosher (coarse) salt and black pepper to taste
2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 bottles (12 ounces each) chili sauce, such as Heinz
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1. Put the raisins in a small bowl and pour the juice from the canned cherries over them. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Scatter the onion slices over the bottom of a large baking pan or roasting pan. Set the pan aside.
3. Season the chicken with garlic powder, paprika, and salt and pepper.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it is quite hot but not smoking. Add the chicken, in batches, and cook until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon oil if needed. As the chicken pieces brown, arrange them, skin side up, on top of the onions in the baking pan.
5. Remove the skillet from the heat discard all the oil. Add 1/2 cup of the sherry to the skillet and scrape up all the brown bits. Stir in the chili sauce, brown sugar, 1/4 cup water, and the plumped raisins with the cherry juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then pour it over the chicken. Roast, uncovered, basting occasionally, for 25 minutes.
6. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup sherry around the chicken, distribute the cherries throughout the pan, and baste. Roast, basting occasionally, until cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the liquid into a medium-size saucepan, reserving the solids. Bring the strained sauce to a boil over medium-high heat and boil until reduced by about one third, or until thick, about 8 to 10 minutes (longer if you like a thicker sauce).
8. Spoon the onions, cherries, and raisins over the chicken, and pass the sauce.
Serves 8
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