Cooking With Friends: It's Latke Making Time

Cooking With Friends: It's Latke Making Time: "It’s Latke Making Time The oil was already sizzling when Suzy and I got together to make and freeze latkes for Hanukah. Since it’s quite..."

It's Latke Making Time

It’s Latke Making Time

The oil was already sizzling when Suzy and I got together to make and freeze latkes for Hanukah. Since it’s quite a mess to deal with the day of a party and not particularly enjoyable to do alone, we team up every year in order to fill our freezers with these crispy holiday treats. All we have to do is then heat and serve them at a later date.

After making latkes together for a number of years, we’ve become quite a proficient team. We’ve also shared some tried and true tips with one another. Because of Suzy, I now soak my shredded potatoes in water to remove starch. And I’ve traded in my fingers for her two spoon method of placing a small mound of potatoes into the skillet. I even learned that my food processor can fit a lot more potatoes if I lift up the back instead of only using the small tube. Who knew???

We took off our sweaters and rolled up our sleeves as we prepared to do battle with ten pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes and two 16 inch skillets of with boiling oil. We shredded, soaked and mixed the potatoes and onions. While one of us salted, the other flipped; when one of us drained, the other took a run down to the freezer.

It’s a messy fun time and as a result of the inevitable splattering, our clothes tend to carry the smell for the remainder of the day. As people take a whiff, they must wonder whether we just finished the deep fryer shift at McDonald’s. But no, it was just a little prep work for a holiday that lasts eight long nights. In fact, my kids love latkes so much they ask for them every night! That’s why a few days later, I repeated the latke making session with Jackie. That’s double the latkes now so I think I’m sitting pretty for Hanukah. I may even have some leftover for a fancy hors d'ouevres for Christmas Eve (yes we celebrate that too!) only they’ll become crisp potato pancakes with a dollop of caviar.

Only a few hours of work (if you can call it that) and I’m ready for the festival of lights!

Potato Latkes
Makes 40

5 pounds of Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 onions, shredded
1/8 cup flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Kosher salt
Canola or olive oil (or a combination)

Heat a large skillet with ¼ inch of oil.

Using a food processor (or a hand grater) shred the potatoes and onions. Soak the potatoes in water and then run water over them through a strainer, removing as much starch as possible. Transfer the potatoes and onions to a large bowl and mix together with the flour and egg.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet (or two) with about 1/8 of an inch of canola or olive oil. When the oil is hot, spoon the potatoes into the oil (about a tablespoon) in the shape of little mounds. Let them fry on each side until golden for about 5 minutes per side. Continue making the latkes in batches until all of the mixture is used. Sprinkle with salt.

Drain the latkes on paper towels for a few minutes (no longer) and freeze uncovered until hardened. You can use aluminum foil to create layers (another tip I learned from Suzy!). Once frozen, transfer the latkes to a freezer bag or container, making sure to seal out any excess air.

To reheat, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake on a cookie sheet until hot – about 14-18 minutes.

Cranberry Crazy

The other day, while filling my bag with bulk red lentils, I held the dispenser handle down a tad too long and mistakenly ended up with six pounds. I tried to offer some to the woman next to me, attempting to entice her with a delicious sounding recipe. It didn’t work. Since there was no way I could reach the top to put them back I decided to share them with a friend and make a big batch of soup. I thought of Suzy since we recently enjoyed some terrific lentil soup at a nearby lunch spot.
So, I invited her to cook with me.

But we couldn’t just make soup could we?

Although Suzy tends to keep things simple in the kitchen when we cook together, I challenge her a bit and push her to her limit. I think I’m really trying to show her that she can handle a lot more than she thinks. (I hope I do!)

We had a bag of cranberries that had to get used, so we got a bit cranberry crazy and decided to make Cranberry Biscotti and Scones. While our soup simmered, the cookies and scones baked and we sat together and enjoyed a nice lunch, compliments of Suzy. I know it sounds a bit Hallmark, but it really was sweet.
If you’re looking for a delicious tangy holiday treat, here’s the biscotti recipe. I am sure a drizzle or dip in white chocolate wouldn’t hurt!

Cranberry Biscotti
Makes two dozen

These cranberry biscotti are a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee and make a great hostess or teacher gift.

2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, plus another one for egg wash
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, mix together flour, baking soda, butter, vanilla, eggs, sugar and salt until the mixture resembles wet sand. This will take several minutes. Transfer mixture to a parchment paper lined surface, sprinkle the cranberries evenly and mix until dough begins to form. Separate into two pieces and mold into a log 8 inches long and 2 inches wide, pressing down until the dough is about an inch thick. Brush the top and sides of the log with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with a course sugar.

Bake in the center rack of the oven for approximately 30 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes. When cooled, slice into pieces ¼ inch thick on a diagonal. Place the cookies flat side down and bake for about 10 minutes. Flip once and bake the other side for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Store the biscotti in an airtight container for several weeks.

Fish Flop

Jenn, this blog is for you, as a follow up to our conversation about how hard it is to find new foods to please our picky eaters.

In an effort to broaden and vary the protein my family eats for dinner, the other night I decided to try flounder. Although my sons (age 13 and 5) like catfish and salmon, my daughter hates fish. So I decided to go for the mildest and least offensive of all fish -- the flounder-- and offer it two ways- Pan seared with butter and herbs and beer battered fish -n- chips style. Well, I'm ashamed to report, the meal was a disaster. My little guy couldn’t stand the smell or get over the idea that his fish looked like a chicken finger yet had a very different taste. (I was surprised since he loved the battered zucchini blossoms from summer and they also resembled a chicken tender.)

My older son was tragically disappointed to learn that his fish–n-chips in fact, had no chips with them. A bit of false advertising, he protested. And my daughter, the best eater in the family, actually shoved the plate away in disgust as if I had just served her a plate of worms. Yes, I had a failure in the kitchen this week, and I am reminded of daily by the lingering stink of fried fish.

To make matters even worse, I had another blooper last night involving a heavy hand in the five spice seasoning. My kids usually fight over every last chicken drumstick but last night, barely even ate one. The side dish, sautéed Asian noodles were barely touched as well. Maybe I used a bit too much oyster sauce???

Yikes. I am so happy that it’s a new week. And if there’s one common denominator to my kitchen failures it’s that I cooked all of these dishes alone. (You know I had to bring cooking with friends into this somehow.) But it’s true. Maybe a friend would have told me NOT to try flounder on my kids or maybe she would have noticed that I used too much oyster sauce and five spice seasoning. But alas, I was without a friend and thus, crashed and burned.

We all have mess ups in the kitchen. Sometime meals just don’t work. Our kids are often the most difficult please, but they seem to bear the brunt of our culinary failures. Many of us, afraid of failing, fall into a rut that we can’t get out of and continuously serve them the foods we know they will eat – chicken fingers, noodles with butter, pizza. But variety is the spice of life and we need to rebound, get back on our feet and try again. And you can bet that next time it'll be with a friend!

Cooking With Friends: Bake Sale Finale

Cooking With Friends: Bake Sale Finale: "The Election Day Bake Sale is over! And what a crazy few weeks it has been cooking and getting ready for it. It's an important fund raiser..."

Bake Sale Finale

The Election Day Bake Sale is over! And what a crazy few weeks it has been cooking and getting ready for it. It's an important fund raiser for my kids' elementary school and I've been doing it for years, but it takes mucho effort. I must admit that I am completely and totally exhausted. Of course it didn’t help that the sale followed a crazy Halloween weekend. What did help though, is the time spent with friends cooking and freezing weeks in advance – pumpkin and apple bread, baked ziti, turkey chili, corn muffins and soups – you name it!

Liz, Christina and I spent many hours big batch-cooking together. If it hadn’t been for them, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed the preparation. We were quite an efficient team, splitting up duties and getting assembly lines going. We actually enjoyed the so called “work.” And as a bonus, after each cooking session, we made and enjoyed a lunch together. Christina even grilled a gourmet pizza for us and served it along with a scrumptious salad.

As with most things in life, it’s more enjoyable being with someone else while you do it. For me, to get the most out of giving, charity work should be done with others. Cooking together is an ideal way to give back to the community – it’s social, fun and delicious. As we drift into the holiday season, think about teaming up with your friends to bake or cook for neighbors, teachers or your local food pantry. Trust me. It’s a fulfilling way to give.

Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook

Food writers and bloggers like me spend hours and hours of their lives not just writing about, but photographing, cooking and creating food with and for various people in our lives. It’s both our passion and inspired readers (that’s you!) that keep us plugging away.

I am thrilled to announce The Foodista Best of Food Blogs Cookbook (which I am proudly in on pages 78 and 79 with my Farm Fresh Vegetable Stew blog, photo and recipe) that is dedicated to and celebrates the best food bloggers in the world. Of course I am honored to be in the book and counted in this select group, but I am also incredibly thankful that Foodista (http://www.foodista.com/ the online cooking encyclopedia everyone can edit) and the publisher, Andrews McMeel, have recognized the influence and talent of so many passionate writers.

With your help, we can make this book a bestseller. If you purchase a copy today November 3rd, between 10:00 and 11:00am Pacific Standard Time and then forward your purchase confirmation email to book@foodista.com, you will be entered into a drawing to win a fabulous prize, including a $200 gift card to Amazon.com, $100 to MadWine.com, Zojirushi Rice Cooker + Roger Ebert’s The Pot and How to Use It and a number of great cookbooks published by Andrews McMeel.

It’s really a fabulous book (if I do say so myself) and would make the perfect holiday gift for the food lovers and blog readers in your life. Please share this blog with anyone you think would be interested.