As potatoes are shredded and oil is measured, family bonds season the Hanukkah kitchen.
Even with a traditional holiday such as Hanukkah, it’s fun to get creative in the kitchen.  If you ask 10 Jewish women how to make a latke, every one will have a different answer. Some like shredded potatoes and shredded onions. Some go for a more mashed potato consistency, made by first boiling the potatoes, then putting them through a food processor. Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, fried foods such as latkes and doughnuts take top billing.

Traditional Potato Latkes
16 servings

Ingredients >
3 cups grated russet potatoes
1 large sweet onion
2 large eggs beaten slightly
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Method >
1. Grate the potatoes and set aside.
2. Grate the onion into a separate bowl and squeeze out excess water.
3. Mix the onion and the potatoes; add the salt, pepper, eggs and flour. Mix well.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoons into oil heated on high.
5. Cook until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
6. Serve warm with sour cream or applesauce.

Lower-Carb Latkes
16 servings

Ingredients >
1 cup grated russet potatoes
2 cups grated green zucchini (or mix zucchini with yellow squash)
1 leek, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour (or low-carb product)
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Method >
1. Grate zucchini, squash and leek into same bowl.
2. Drain excess water and pat dry with paper towel.
3. Mix in remaining ingredients.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto heated, lightly oiled, nonstick griddle or pan.
5. Cook until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
6. Serve warm with sour cream or applesauce.

Doughnuts
36 servings

Ingredients >
6 tablespoons sugar
5 teaspoons dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 F)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon salt

Method >
1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water; let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Stir 4 cups flour, oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt into yeast mixture to form soft dough.
3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Gradually add remaining flour to prevent dough from sticking.(Don’t add too much flour because dough will get dense.)
4. Place dough in large bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm draft-free area about 40 minutes until doubled in size. Punch down dough; cover and let rise again for another 40 minutes, until doubled in size.
5. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, to 1/4 inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or drinking glass dipped in flour, cut dough into 2-inch rounds.
6. If desired, place a teaspoon of jelly onto a cut circle and top with another circle of dough. Press edges together to seal. Leave on floured board covered with a damp towel until ready to fry.
7. For plain doughnuts, roll a piece of dough into a 6-8 inch length. Twist to form a circle and seal ends together. Leave on floured board covered with a damp towel until ready to fry.
8. In a heavy skillet or deep wok, heat 2 inches of oil to about 350 F-360 F. Place doughnuts gently in oil and fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove with slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper towel.
9. Sprinkle with powder sugar or glaze and serve immediately.
Glaze: Half box confectioners’ sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water or lemon juice (for a lemon glaze).

Food is an important part of the African-American celebration that honors heritage and tradition. As the sounds of Christmas carols begin to fade, the sounds of another celebration fill the air. On December 26, Kwanzaa, the African-American celebration of family and community, begins. The seven-day observance embraces the principles of encouragement, giving, caring and perseverance.

Stew Beef
6-8 servings

Ingredients >
5 pounds beef short ribs, cubed
1/2 cup beef bouillon powder
1/2 cup Kitchen Bouquet
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
1/4 cup seasoned salt

Method >
1. Rinse beef, put into medium-size stock pot. Add water (enough to cover stew), beef bouillon, granulated garlic, Kitchen Bouquet and seasoned salt. Bring the pot to a boil.
2. Allow pot to boil until beef is tender, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Cream Corn Casserole
8 servings

Ingredients >
6 (12-ounce) cans cream-style corn
8 ounces sour cream
1 stick melted salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Method >
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Coat 13-by-9-inch pan with nonstick coating.
2. Combine all ingredients in medium size mixing bowl. Whip ingredients well, after all are blended pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until mixture is firm.

For those of you who have never made homemade cookies before, you may want to start out with the refrigerated cookies from the grocery store. There are even pre-cut sugar cookies and gingerbread people that are simple to decorate with colored sugar and sprinkles available on the cake mix aisle. Once you try them and build your confidence, you then can graduate to the homemade version. Try it and you will see those smiles and the appreciation of your family that will spur you on to make more. This can become your family tradition that will be treasured for a lifetime.

Cookie supplies and tips >
2-3 cookie sheets
Parchment paper to put on cookie sheets to make cookie removal quick and easy. They may be reused for several batches of cookies.
Wire racks for cooling hot cookies
Decorating sugars, sprinkles or tubes of icing
Check recipes for ingredients needed and make a list before going to the store. Missing ingredients or supplies can cause great stress for the head cookie-maker so prepare ahead of time.

Here is one of my favorite cookie recipes. It is found on the package of Nestle Chocolate Morsels. Look on the back of other flavored chips for other great cookie recipes and start experimenting!

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients >
21/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Method >
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. In mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chips. Roll into 1-inch diameter balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet for two minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Ingredients >
300g raisins or luxury dried mixed fruit
200g dried figs, roughly chopped
200g ready to eat dried apricots, roughly chopped
142ml unsweetened orange juice
250g butter at room temperature
150g Fruisana fruit sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Grated rind of 1 lemon
25g ground almonds
200g plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Boiling water
 
Method >
1) In a large bowl, mix the dried fruit with orange juice. Cover and leave to soak overnight. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C. Grease a 30cm/8inch round cake tin. Line the greased tin with a double thickness of grease proof paper, to include the base of the tin.

2) In a large bowl, beat the butter and Fruisana together for about 5 minutes using a wooden spoon or a hand held mixer. The mixture should be light, fluffy and pale. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition. If you add eggs too quickly, the mixture may curdle. This may not look very good but won’t affect the finished cake. If this happens, stir in one tablespoon of the plain flour. Stir in the lemon rind and nuts. 

3) Sift together the flour and spices. Add half the soaked fruit and half the spiced flour to the creamed mixture, mixing well. Add the remaining fruit and spiced flour and mix aga8in. Transfer to the prepared tin.

4) Dip a metal tablespoon in boiling water then rub the back of the spoon over the surface of the cake to smooth it.

5) Bake for 2.5-3 hours until the cake is dark golden and firm to touch. Test to see if the cake is ready by inserting a fine skewer into the centre; if it comes out clean the cake is cooked. Ovens do vary so if the cake is not cooked, return it to the oven for another ten minutes and test again.

6) Remove cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack, ready for the Christmas decoration of your choice.