#HanukkahHacks

It’s that time of year again—The Festival of Lights is ALMOST upon us. Given Hanukkah kicks off on Christmas proper (?!) this year, taking a slightly revised, multi-cultural approach to the holiday on night 1. Then reverting to Latkes and Brisket thereafter…

Here are a few #Hanukkah(Food)Hacks from our family to yours this Chrismukkah season:

(1) Hanukkah Kickoff: Always Light the Candles

No matter how busy we are, we take time each night to light candles on our own menorah. My very dear friend Jackie Kaplan recommends turning the lights off to bask in the light. Given the unique timing this year, we’ll kickoff Hanukkah season with a “Candlelight Dinner,” which feels particularly apropos this year as the start of Hanukkah and Christmas coincide. Recipe: close family and friends, Latkes and Brisket or otherwise. Ours will be at Lake Shore CC (unsurprisingly)….

(2) DIY Latkes

It’s ok to puree the latke batter.

I prefer potato pancakes from shredded potatoes. But I fear our fingers will also get shredded. So we make our batter of potatoes, white onion, flour, and eggs in the Cuisinart, pan fried them in vegetable oil, then baked them prior to serving on Hanukkah night one. The results are surprisingly tasty latkes.

(3) Brisket

My mother’s brisket still invariably outperforms mine. But this NYT brisket recipe is probably the easiest I have found. Most importantly, brisket only gets better after 1-2 days, so leftovers are ideal:

Bonus: DIY donuts!

Since the story of Hanukkah involves the miracle of oil that burned for 8 nights, oil-laden foods like donuts and latkes are inextricably linked to this decadent holiday. Most years, we try our hand at making them ourselves. The key: letting the yeast-filled donut-shaped dough rise for 45 minutes before frying them. The results are often surprisingly fluffy treats (albeit deep fried).