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Monday, January 4, 2010
After cheese balls, latkes and paella, let the holiday recovery begin
The holidays are meant for overindulging, and I did my fair share this year.
No need to rehash every delicious meal, cocktail or food tradition, but here are a few of the highlights to remind me, and hopefully you, too, of the wonderful time spent with friends and family over the past few weeks.
Santa brought me perfectly ripe, heirloom backyard tomatoes! OK, maybe not Santa, but my nice neighbor who has the magic touch of growing fall tomatoes. He picks them while they are still green just before the first frost, lets them ripen near a window and then, just a few days before Christmas, gives a little piece of summer to friends.
Not too long after Christmas, I found out that I’m 1/64th Jewish, which explains my previously hard-to-explain desire earlier in the month to host a Hanukkah party complete with a menorah (thanks, Jodi and Adam!) and latkes with applesauce.
I’d never made latkes before, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult (or smelly) as I thought it would be. Next year, I’ll just have to think ahead and make the applesauce, too.
At both the Hanukkah/winter solstice/birthday/Christmas party and Christmas Eve dinner, my mom brought cheese balls, which are one of my family’s traditional Christmas foods. Made with several kinds of cheeses, onions, parsley and nuts, the cheese ball is standard holiday fare at Christmas parties in Missouri, but I found that many friends in Austin hadn’t had one before. What do you think? Are cheese balls more of a Midwestern party food?
My mom and Julian tried to make a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve, but it turned into gingerbread cookies that, despite looking anything but edible, Santa seemed to enjoy when he made a stop at our house. (Julian also insisted on serving him chocolate milk with cherries, which he also drank.)
And Thanksgiving, er Christmas Eve, dinner, with dressing, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, marshmallow-topped candied yams and green bean casserole. Almost made me forget what holiday we were on, but when nearly every branch of the family tree is represented at a single, bustling dinner, does it really matter?
We rang in the new year with friends who made three different paellas (Cajun, veggie and traditional) and set up a very cool make-your-own-barbecued-oysters bar. With a firepit out back, the oysters kept guests entertained while the hosts worked in the kitchen. A fabulous entertaining idea to remember for next year.
(And you might notice the meh quality of the paella and oyster photos. I am now officially among the ranks of the iPhoners, and I upload all my wandering snapshots to La Vie Addie, a tumblr blog.)
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! I’m looking forward to a turkey- and cookie swap-free 10 months, and then hopefully I’ll be recharged enough to do it all over again…
UPDATE: I used this recipe for latkes from Epicurious, but Rob Moshein, the blogger behind Austin Wine Guy, shared this recipe for his Grandma Rose’s famous latkes. Hanukkah isn’t for another year, but you can make potato fritters any time.
Grandma Rose’s Latkes
2 lbs Russet potatoes
1 large yellow onion, outer skin peeled off.
2 eggs
1/2 cup Wondra flour
1 tsp. salt
Black pepper to taste
Line a cookie sheet with brown paper from a grocery bag and place in an oven set on low, which will keep latkes warm after frying until ready to serve. Heat 1/4 inch of fat or oil in large cast iron skillet to 350 degrees (Grandma Rose’s test was when the wood end of a kitchen match bubbles when placed into the oil. A dry chopstick will do the same thing.)
(Note on the fat: Grandma Rose used schmaltz or rendered chicken fat. We use Crisco. I will put a little goose fat into the Crisco if I have some left over, which adds a great flavor.)
Grate the onion into a bowl using a large box grater. Add the eggs and beat until well mixed. Add salt and pepper and slowly beat in the flour until smooth.
Shred the potatoes using the large shred side of the grater. (NOTE: we have tried the Cusinart here, don’t bother with it. The texture is all wrong, so this part has to be done by hand.) When you have the last 20 percent or so of each potato, grate that part on the grater side, for a lumpy puree with the shreds; this adds a nice soft inside to the pancakes. Add the potatoes to the egg/onion mixture and stir well. Work quickly here on out or the potato will turn brown.
Spoon the mixture into the fat and flatten out with a spatula to about 1/4 inch or so, you can make them as little or large as you like. We like ours about 4-6 inches across, or 4 latkes per large skillet. Don’t crowd the pan. Let them cook at least 2 minutes before flipping. Cook evenly on both sides until dark golden brown and the outsides are crispy. Place in the warm oven on the paper. Repeat until all the potato mixture has been used.
Serve ASAP with Apple Sauce! Perfect side dish for anything in the winter time.
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