Shalom everybody!
Don’t let your gentile calendars fool you…
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah!
Night number one... It gets more impressive as the week moves along.
Are you guys ready for a latke party?
First, get you some potatoes and an onion.
Peel the potatoes, and shred everything in a food processor (or with a hand grater if you’re a square). Squeeze out as much water as you can, and throw the shredded potatoes and onion (violently) into a bowl.
Mix in two beaten eggs, some salt, and a little pepper. Throw it in the fridge for ten minutes or so... What the hay.
In the meantime, make some matzo ball soup. Just follow the directions on the box. If the matzo balls ain't floating (like in this pic), you doin' somephin' wrong.
Use a spoon to scoop a little bit of your latke mix. Press your latke flat against the pan with the back of your spoon. Cook it for a few minutes on each side.
As each batch of latkes gets finished up, toss them onto a folded up paper towel. To make sure that your latkes don’t get too cold while you’re making the batches, you can throw them onto a cookie sheet, and keep ’em in the oven at 250 degrees.
While you’re working on your latkes, break open a bottle of wine.
This one should do the trick…
Relax 2010 Riesling
I found the Relax 2010 Riesling at Target while I was getting some stocking-stuffers for Kara (I celebrate Christmas too. Jeff 2 – You 1. I win). For only 8 bucks, this wine (made by Scmitt Sohne) is a Qualitatswein from the Mosel region of Germany. It is done in a slightly dry style, and has an alcohol content of 9.5%.
Color: Extremely pale yellow. Almost colorless.
Nose: Green apple and apricot.
Taste: Good green fruit up front. Pears and green apples, fa sho. Great acidity. A nice, subtle sweetness.
Score: I have no problem relaxing with this wine. I’d probably like it better on a hot summer day, but I’m into it right now. 86 points.
Now…
Back to the food…
Latkes with sour cream and apple sauce, matzo ball soup with some fresh cracked pepper, and Kara's spinach, goat cheese, and beet salad. Yum-a-dum-dum!
I picked the Riesling because had a feeling that it would go with a variety of sweet and savory foods…
As it turns out, I was right (this time)!
The acidity of the wine cut through the creaminess of the sour cream and the buttery goodness of the matzo balls. The Riesling also did a great job of livening up the saltiness of the latkes, and balanced well with the salad. The sweetness of the wine spiked up the flavor of the apple sauce as well.
Man, I love latkes!
As an homage to my sister, I tossed both apple sauce and sour cream on this bad boy... Just the way she likes it. Deeeeee Lish!
After I finished eating my salad, three bowls of matzo ball soup, and sixteen latkes… I was done.
Done!
I could not move.
I could not speak.
I was in a Latkoma for a good thirty minutes.
Good thing there wasn’t much on TV…
A Hanukkah feast and Keeping Up with The Kardashians...
So I took a nap.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Tags: Hanukkah, Jeff, Latke, Matzo Ball Soup, Relax 2010 Riesling, Stay Rad
Stay Rad 
December 20, 2011 at 11:11 pm |
Dude, try this out next time:
goo.gl/f4lsl
amazing Latkes. Had them at a “Modern Jewish Food’ night we went to that Eric Greenspan cooked. We dubbed it “Jood”. SO GOOD!!
December 20, 2011 at 11:53 pm |
That sounds fantastic, G.
When are you coming back up this way.
We can have a latke throwdown.
That…
And I still need to give you back your flask from my wedding.
December 21, 2011 at 7:04 am |
those latkes look super crispy and amazing. relax riesling is a fun wine! nice choice. must have worked well with the apple sauce and cutting through some of the grease
December 21, 2011 at 8:16 am |
Definitely did work.
Thanks Jonny.