Chanukah is coming. The first candle is lit on sundown of December 6th. We have 8 days to celebrate with lighting menorahs, parties, and special foods. To help celebrate the miracle of lights we like, no…be honest…we love, to fry foods in oil. Potato latkes abound at our tables along with their cousin pancakes; parsnip, sweet potato, green (with zucchini), french onion (with caramelized onion), colorful veggie (with carrots, red bell peppers and zucchini), and even coconut. We also have Torzelli (deep fried curly endive), Tostones (fried plantains) and beer battered pumpkin rings. And for desserts we have Sufganiyot (jelly donuts), Bimuelos (honey drizzled fritters) and more.
We also celebrate with food made from cheese and dairy products to remember the apocryphal Book of Judith, the widow who single handedly killed the Assyrian leader Holofernes, whose army surrounded her village Bethula during the time of the Maccabean revolt. Her tools were cheeses to make him thirsty, wine to make him drunk and a powerful blow. Think cheese latkes or grilled cheese latkes and Mozzarella in Carrozza to help celebrate.
All of this information and recipes are available from the Recipes for Hanukkah by MJL Staff.
