A Hanukkah Must Eat

Who would have ever imagined we would be outside on the deck frying potato latkes in mid-December? It was probably a good thing since they ordinarily leave behind that stale fried smell that lingers in your house for days.

My plan for making latkes this season got scuttled when my husband went out of town and my good friend and I couldn't get together as planned. But then a neighbor took pity on me and invited me to share a typical Hanukkah dinner with her family last night.

In joining someone else, I realized it was not my choice as to what kind of potatoes we used or how we grated them. I just showed up with my electric skillet to help fry.

It was an unseasonably warm Sunday, so she had the brilliant idea of frying latkes on the deck. The house already had enough smell of slowly cooked brisket that it didn't need the additional fried potato smell.

By the time I arrived, she had made the batter, which looked like mushed potato glop. She admitted to having forgotten to squeeze out the grated potatoes before adding the eggs, so it was somewhat watery. That was OK. I just asked for a slotted spoon to allow the liquid to drain off. Then I started to fry the latkes in the hot oil, noticing just how much "aroma" was wafting into the open sky.

We called it quits after frying about 3 dozen or so. Everyone declared them the best ever as we ate them with sour cream and apple sauce. It is hard to go too far wrong with fried potatoes.

But they weren't my style of latkes. Instead of being big and heavy, I like latkes that are thin and crispy, sort of like fried birds' nests. I use some combination of the following ingredients:

Grated Yukon gold potatoes
Grated onions
A few scallions with the green part cut into small pieces
Eggs
Matzo meal
A little baking powder
Salt
Pepper

The idea is to take a small amount of the grated potatoes and onions and fully process it, but leave the rest in its grated form. The potato-onion mixture should be put in cheese cloth and squeezed to remove the liquid before adding the other ingredients. You then drop large spoonfuls of batter into (canola) oil at 375 degrees in an electric skillet. When they are brown and crispy, they should be drained on paper towels and then eaten while they are still hot.

I was grateful to share this annual treat with people I have known forever and with whom I have shared many meals and significant life events. But I did miss my kind of latkes...