Hanukkah with a twist: Melissa Clark puts her spin on traditional holiday fare

Hanukkah recounts the brave Jewish Maccabees' ancient victory over the Assyrian Greek armies who tried to forcibly convert the Jews. The eight-day Jewish holiday, also known as the Festival of Lights, celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem and as the story goes the miraculous menorah that remained lit for eight days despite only having enough holy oil for one day. Lighting the Hanukkah menorah and eating foods fried in oil are traditional to symbolize the miracle. In my house, this means it's time to start frying latkes those Eastern European crispy potato pancakes served with a dollop of sour cream or applesauce.

Although I can be a holiday traditionalist, I like to shake things up by experimenting with different layers of flavor depending on the season and the contents of my pantry and fridge. Like putting together a puzzle, I try to match what arrives in our weekly delivered farm produce basket or from the farmers market with everyday meals for our family table and entertaining.

Melissa Clark has the same idea for holidays and beyond in her latest cookbook, "Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make" (Hyperion, $29.99) which shares a year's worth of her quick and unfussy kitchen creations. As in her New York Times "A Good Appetite" column, Clark is the warm, chatty best friend cooking elbow-to-elbow in the kitchen with us offering gentle cooking advice and that new twist on a food that subtly surprises and delights the palate.

Organized by month and season, Clark draws us into the rhythm of the Brooklyn life that she shares with her husband and 3-year-old daughter Dahlia and their weekly visits to the neighborhood farmers market. And like many of us, Clark says her day starts with " 'What are we going to have for dinner?' Just because I'm a food professional doesn't mean that I don't have that question every day."

Admitting that she is an instinctual cook, Clark offers advice for approaching seasonally based cooking and overcoming the intimidation that some encounter when confronted by unfamiliar farmers' market fare.

"Start out by buying foods that you know. The farmers market has apples. The supermarket has apples. You're comfortable with apples, but you've probably never had the exact varieties that they have at the farmers market. You're already stretching yourself without it seeming like a stretch," Clark says.

"Step two: Go on to buy the stuff you haven't seen before. But cook it in a way where you know how to do it. Everybody knows how to roast vegetables. You cut them up, you toss them with olive oil, and you throw them in the oven."

Next, she says, is to learn a new way to prepare a new food. Her advice? "Always ask the farmer," Clark says. "Or eavesdrop. I love eavesdropping at the farmers market because people are always talking about what they are going to do with this and what they are going to do with that."

For Hanukkah, Clark and her family have an annual latke party where they will fry up latkes for 40. This year the invitation reads, "Come clean, leave greasy." "It's a latke party; everything gets covered in grease," Clarks says with a laugh.

Clark offers a holiday menu from her cookbook of Crisp Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas, Lemons and Carrots with Parsley Gremolata accompanied by Parsnip Latkes and rounded out by outrageously indulgent Mallobars, Clark's homemade version of Mallomars, a venerated Northeastern chocolate, marshmallow and cookie creation available only in winter months.

Crisp Roasted Chicken with Chickpeas, Lemons and Carrots with Parsley Gremolata

Like a classic roasted chicken, only better. More textures. More flavors. More yum. Hint: When seasoning the outside of the chicken, I found it easier to mix together the softened butter, garam masala, salt and pepper. More of the spices seemed to stick to the bird. Any extra seasoned butter I dolloped on the carrots and chickpeas.

For the chicken:

2 lemons

2 (15-oz.) cans chickpeas, drained, or 3 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. garam masala

3 tsp. kosher salt