My Grandfather’s Latke Recipe **Chanukah Giveaway**
You know my grandparents really knew how to cook. It seems to me that everyone born in “the Old Country” (in this case, Transylvania) was born with built-in cooking intuition. Somehow, they could create the most scrumptious meals using no fancy equipment, nor even measuring spoons. I recall that they hosted every holiday humbly, turning out the expected delicacies with what seemed like the simplest, most relaxed effort. No exotic flavor profiles, nor food combos or wine pairings; no attempts at reinventing the wheel, because when the food is that good – no, make that superb – there’s no need to find a “twist” on the recipe.
On Chanukah, we were treated to their potato pancakes, “latkes” that were classic and simple. My grandfather, a professional chef, wore a manly white waist apron that suited him perfectly. His latkes were made of eggs, onions, potatoes, oil, salt, pepper, and a little matzo meal to make them crunchy. “Corn meal, that’s also good, if you don’t have any matzo meal,” he would say reassuringly, though you knew that he secretly wondered what kind of kitchen would not have a handful of matzo meal somewhere. The potatoes were hand-grated so fine –almost to a pudding-like consistency – then lightly fried in a pan that looked as though it, too, had just come over from the Old Country. Applesauce and sour cream traditionally accompany latkes, but who needed them? Crispy on the edges, with a fluffy, buttery smooth center, Grandpa’s version of this Chanukah delicacy could stand alone.
The first Chanukah after my wedding, I called my grandfather for his latke recipe. He gave it to me with “measurements” like “a sprinkle of salt, a few spoons of matzo meal, some oil…” All the while, I wished I had watched him in action when he was in his prime. I could have taken notes, measured out the amounts he used, studied his grating technique.
But I was on my own. Tasked with recreating Grandpa’s latkes, I tried and failed, tried and failed – until I finally produced something that is reminiscent of his glorious, crunchy potato perfection. The recipe went into my first published cookbook, Quick & Kosher: Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing. I have reprinted these Classic Potato Latkes here and created a how-to video that you can watch below so you can see how easy it is to make.
My husband and kids say these latkes are the best in the world. They are very good, but they’re not my Grandfather’s. Maybe it’s my food processor and that fancy-shmancy skillet.
Chanukah Giveaway!!
Because it’s almost Chanukah I want to give you a chance to win a gorgeous gift basket (pictured below) of Chanukah-themed decorated cookies and brownie bites from M&M Designs - Designer Creations for Life’s Sweetest Occasions. Whether you’re looking for a special gift or planning a celebration…their uniquely decorated edibles taste as amazing as they look. These products are under OU supervision. This gift basket that they are giving away has a retail value of $85 and you have a chance to win it! Please leave me a comment below sharing your favorite Chanukah memory. Entrants must be over 18 and legal US residents. Contest ends Monday Dec 19 2011 at 9 pm EST. One winner will be picked by online randomizer from qualifying entries.
CONTEST NOW CLOSED BUT PLEASE KEEP LEAVING YOUR FAVORITE CHANUKAH MEMORIES!!
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About jamie geller
Jamie Geller is a bestselling author of the wildly successful QUICK & KOSHER cookbook...
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What a lovely post! That is also exactly how my grandmother gives me her receipes, a little of this then a handful of that … the results have been mixed on my end
Oh and ym favorite Hannukah memory is actually an annual party my husbadn and I host for our friends. We have them all over for Latke-Palooza and we make a bunch of varieites of latkes (shredded, mushy, zuchini, ginger, different types of potatoes, etc…) and we make sufganiyot for dessert and have everyone vote for their favorite latke at the end of the meal. Its our very own tradition and I look forward to it every year.
My favorite Chanukah memory is being home with my whole family, lighting the menorah. I always looked forward to my brothers coming home for Shabbos Chanuka from yeshiva. We would dance and sing the songs all together.
My favorite Channukah memory is of my kids all bundled up in a million layers to go to the world’s largest Channukah menorah parade. The kids had been talking about it for weeks. Our car menorah was all set. My husband got everyone buckled in and went to turn on the car. He couldn’t get it to start. The kids were crying and upset as we all had to go back in. I got the hot oil going and made homemade donuts, latkes, and some other favorites. We got out the dreidels and played a huge game together as a family. The kids stopped crying and started to have a blast. We put on Channukah music and ended the night in a big dance party. What looked like what was going to be a disaster of a night turned into one of my all time favorites.
Growning up, my family had no money and too many children. My mother would make up a huge batch of latkes, and while we snacked on the tasty treats we would play dreidle. After our lengthy game, we would all crowd around the Hanukkiah, and recite the blessings. Then my mom would send all of us to find our gifts which were hidden around the house in brown paper lunch bags. I don’t remember what the gifts were, but it was such a fun evening to spend together! Now that we are all adults, we still celebrate with latkes and long games of dreidle.
A couple of years ago I came across a book called Nine Spoons by Marci Stillerman. In the story, Oma tells her grandchildren the true story of how her Aunt fashioned a menorah from coveted spoons while they were in a concentration camp. I bought the book and my husband made a menorah from spoons. On the last night of Chanukah we gathered my children and grandchildren around the spoon menorah. My husband lit the oil in the lamps while I read the story. It was very moving and was a sweet way to explain about the holocaust to my grandchildren. It has become a tradition and we still use the Hanukiah my husband made. I recently came across a beautiful Hanukiah for sale in a specialty store. There were some women trying to understand the significance of the spoons. I overheard them and relayed the story. Both women teared up and immediately asked for the information about the book so they could purchase it to read to their grandchildren.
By the way, I failed to mention that the Hanukkiah in the specialty store the women were so puzzled about was made from spoons but it was professionally done.
I loved my grandmother’s latke’s but she died when I was 12, so I was too young to even think about recipes.
sorry, that was 10 typo..
My fondest Chanukah memories are of visiting my grandmother who would crank out batch after batch of the most amazing latkes. Hand-grated potatoes, of course.
I love every Chanukah because I love family coming together, lighting the menorah, latkes, decorations, etc. But my favorite memory is when I told my friend that I love him. It’s definitely memorable!
what a beautiful story. In my family, latkes were my father’s domain. Every year, on designated nights, he would kick my mom out of the kitchen, pull out the box grater, throw on an apron, & go to work. I was lucky enough to be designated his “helper” (I am sure I was no help at all) but we would stand there together, me, grating the potatoes, my dad mixing the ‘goo’ and frying it, talking about nothing important. It was some of the best times of my childhood. The finished product was crispy on the outside, creamy in the middle, and tasted like perfection. Your post reminded me a lot of that, I think I will call my dad, just to tell him I love him! Thanks!
That is really really sweet, and one of the things I love about this holiday season, it always reminds me how much I love my family!
Oh Guys – I am getting all teary from your memories. This time of year I am so emotional. Oy Vey. Thanks for sharing with me and everyone.
It’s the onions!
My favorite Chanukah memory is when I got my favorite doll, a Cabbage Patch kid who I still have today!
This is actually our first Chanukah but were excited about creating our own traditions and making memories
My favorite Chanukah memory was the first one I spent with my husband after we were married. I married an athiest redneck. This is my favorite time of year, so I get in the spirit early (right after Rosh Hashanah). My husband had bought a book at the book store, “The Everything Judiasm Book.” The first night of Chanukah I made latkes. From that point forward, my husband made sure to make every holiday on his list and designate that we would have latkes. Even bragging about them.
That was some seven years ago, and he hasn’t stopped yet. He is like a kid in a candy store when the holidays some around now. He bought me a new grater at a black Friday sale because he knows we are close to his favorite time of year.
I’m so glad your keeping the feasts drew your husband in…..
We closed on our first home on the first night of Hanukkah. We were able to light the candles with our children in the new place. It was a great way to start a new chapter in our lives.
My favorite Chanukah memory is getting to spend time w/ my Great-Grandparents when they would come in for Chanukah
My favorite memory – I had met a guy 3 days before the first night of Channukah. When he asked me out, the first phone call was right after I lit Channukah candles. I remember sitting on my floor in Washington Heights, watching the candles burn and wondering if I’d receive a gift. We had our first date on the 2rd night of Channukah. The late date, which included a walk in the freezing weather/snow, left him with a cold. He was forgiving. 6 months later we got engaged and married. We just had our first baby and I can’t wait to teach him all about the Simcha of this holiday.
So romantic….
This year is our second Chanukah. I’m excited to have the opportunity to forge new traditions with my daughter, she gets so excited! Last year my favorite memory was the community dinner at the local shul. Lots of great stories, laughter, and the food!
Definitely my Granny’s latkes. Of course, they were so good, we didn’t just have them on Chanukah. We had them on Thanksgiving, Passover, etc etc etc. Basically whenever we could talk her into hand grating (she insisted they were better that way) 10 pounds of potatoes.
We have a picture of my children lighting Chanukah candles. Their faces and the candles are reflected in the window. This to me says Chanukah.
My favorite Chanukah memory is of my now teenage boys (twins) as preschoolers as they sang and danced around the menorah and waited impatiently for their latkes. The light in their eyes was even brighter than the menorah!
My favorite memory is of our family going to my grandparents every year. Since a lot of the people in their building were Jewish, you could smell the frying latkes as soon as you walked into their building. She would serve homemade latkes, applesauce, brisket, cookies. Then after that , the presents. We would always come home smelling deep fried!
a fave memory — my ex-husband is an Israeli, and there’s no tradition of giving presents in Israel. We had come to live, work and save money in the US before moving back, and for his first Chanukah in the States, I decided to not only give him 8 presents, but to come down the stairs to the kitchen with all 8, so he could choose. His eyes opened so wide when he saw me coming, it gave me such a sense of pleasure. (Must say, the following one, I felt rather clever — we’d be going back soon and need to buy an apartment…so I bought him a tool box the first night and different tools to fill it up the other 7).
Such a cute story. Very clever to get the needed tools as gifts…..
it as a reply and not a comment. trying again: a fave memory — my ex-husband is an Israeli, and there’s no tradition of giving presents in Israel. We had come to live, work and save money in the US before moving back, and for his first Chanukah in the States, I decided to not only give him 8 presents, but to come down the stairs to the kitchen with all 8, so he could choose. His eyes opened so wide when he saw me coming, it gave me such a sense of pleasure. (Must say, the following one, I felt rather clever — we’d be going back soon and need to buy an apartment…so I bought him a tool box the first night and different tools to fill it up the other 7).
I remember when I was 10-years old and the Bubbies would come to our Jewish Community Center to teach us to cook traditional recipes. My best friend’s Bubbie and mine taught our class how to make latkes – they smelled and tasted so good! We learned the old fashioned way – “You take a pinch of this, a handful of that, grate the potatoes and put them in cold water to keep them white, always render your own shmaltz – it will be better!” These women knew how to cook. I still use the same recipe I learned back then
Lighting Chanukah candles with my son and husband for the first time with a family heirloom Menorah that my husband’s Zaydee had brought with him from Lithuania. My beloved mother-in-law had left this to us.
When I was growing up in Tunisia, potato latkes were not part of our chanukah tradition. Instead,we had beignets once a year. Delicious, and hard to reproduce the taste in this country because of the difference in flour. Beignets would either be sweet or savory. Yum.
My grandmother added a little bit of baking soda
My favorite Chanuka memory is singing maz tzur and lighting candles with my three year old
I remember (or maybe its because it’s on video) my grandparents coming from Israel to join us for channuka. My grandfather was a chazzan and I remember my whole family gathering around the window box with the lit menorahs singing and then my grandmother handing out sucking candies that she always had hiding in her pockets.
Wow! what touching memories….My most fond memories of Chanukah is when we were kids, my family and cousins would all pile into my grandparents house. My generous grandparents would dole out hundreds upon hundreds to all the grandchildren. There were piles of presents labeled clearly with everyone’s name on it and we each had to wait our turn to receive their present. We came home after the party feeling like a million dollars:)
My favorite memory is eating my grandmas latkas right out of the pan while they were still hott and how they were extraaa large and not the small little latkas!!!
My favorite Chanukah memories are the Chanukah parties my parents used to have at our house. They invited all their friends and family, and had lots of food. We always looked forward to these parties because not only were we allowed to stay up late, but we got to eat and listen to all the adult conversations going on! LOL
My favorite memory is eating my grandmother’s latkes ( brown, greasy & crispy)with her homemade apple sauce. I can still taste them.
My favorite memory is of my late uncle teaching me to eat latkes sprinkled with sugar. Still my favorite!
My favorite Chanukah memory is of my son playing comic host for the dreidl games at a children’s party.
My favourite memory is as a kid, we’d drive across the city to my aunt’s and there was so much to do. there were games to play, people to talk to, candies to eat, and then when the food was ready, we’d light the candles all together, sit down to eat, and after dinner, we’d gather in the living room for gifts. Dessert was always available on the side for anyone who needed.
My favourite memory is as a kid, we’d drive across the city to my aunt’s and there was so much to do. there were games to play, people to talk to, candies to eat, and then when the food was ready, we’d light the candles all together, sit down to eat, and after dinner, we’d gather in the living room for gifts. Dessert was always available on the side for anyone who needed.
One Chanukah, as my father prepared to light the menorah,I noticed two yellow “lights” outside the window. I hurried out to the front porch and there, on the sill, was a black cat with glowing eyes. He looked at me but did not run. I got him some food but he would not eat. He watched through the window until we finished singing Maoz Tzur, then he went away. He came back for the 8 nights of Chanukah, and never took any food. After Chanukah, we never saw him again. True story.
What a beautiful tribute to your Grandfather! My favorite Chanukah memory was watching my (then) 3 oldest boys light their menorahs, some in shorts and tshirts (we live in Miami) the youngest (age 2) in PJs. It was such a cute sight I took a picture and still have that picture displayed on my piano alongside their graduation and wedding pictures! It’s still my favorite picture of all time.
my favorite memory is light the candles and singing the songs in school with everyone singing together
My favorite memory is singing maoz tzur with the whole family while father played the piano.
My favorite memory is making Hanukkah cookies, partly because making the cookies with my children was fun, but more because no one in the family could ever find my grandmother’s recipe, so we would always have to call back and forth to get it. The recipe I have now includes a chronology of who read it to whom over the phone, and many of those on the list are no longer with us.
I am on the road to conversion and have always had a Jewish connection. My Christian parents sent me to a Jewish nursery school – it was the closest to us my mother reasoned.
I still have faint memories of celebrating my first Chanukah – when I was 4.
I now look forward to creating new memories with my husband and daughter
Hmmm…I thought of 2 memories – visiting my Jerusalem native Bubby and eating her sufganiot. And making latkas with my sister from one of those instant boxes. (which I don’t think we would’ve used had we known how easy and so much better real latkas are)
My favorite Chanukah memory is watching my mother (of blessed memory; may she rest in well-deserved shalom) grate potatoes for latkes using a metal grater. Afterwards, I loved the smell of frying latkes. The best part, of course, was eating the fresh, yummy latkes with sour cream and applesauce!
My favorite memory is seeing the pure look of joy on my son’s face when he was allowed to light his menorah, on his own for the first time! His face shone brighter than the candles!,
this is really nice. latkes are amazing and having a family recipe is always nice. my favorite memory is when my cousins came over for channukah and we all lit menorahs and had latkes and homemade applesauce together
Making latkes for my children’s classrooms. They were usually the only Jewish kids in the class and those that might have been knew nothing. I would take my electric skillet, some potatoes that still needed to be grated and every child got to either grate, mix or pour. We would bring our Chanukah story books and read to the class as well. My kids still remember how proud they were and they are all in their 30′s now.
My parents used to host a huge Chanuka party for all the cousins until the family got too big, KAH!
Chanukah was a special time when my father, may he rest in peace, would pick me up to light the menorah with him. I like to pick up a grandchild now.
Being in Israel at a Chanukah fair in the German Colony in Jerusalem and watching an Israeli “Beatles” band announce in Hebrew that they were going to sing “She Love You” and then singing it in perfect English.
Reading an article about the best 15 doughnuts in Jerusalem and then trying what is supposedly the best donuts only to discover that Israelis do not know how to make a decent jelly donut.
Love your story, but the recipe will not come up.
Just making latkes & having oil all over the kitchen
My favorite Chanukah memories are from when I was young and we’d gather with our cousins and light the menorah, play dreidels, eat doughnuts and get gifts!
Without latkas chanukah wouldn’t be Chanukah.I thought my bubbys recipie was the best but I was wrong, yours is the best.
When we had a chanuka arty My best memory was when my Grandfather alov hashalom, gave us chocolate coins. I just remember the love and joy he had for us.
We didn’t celebrate Chanuka when I was a child, but I get such joy from lighting the menora with my children now.
When I was five, my parents were very traditional but not observant and when Chanuka was coming and I was in public school I planned all day to sing “I wish you a merry Xmas” . Well I did and ended up in Yeshiva the next day! Glad I have a devilish side to me!!!
Thanks for sharing, I love this story.
love it too! My hubby’s brother has an equally funny but way less PC story that took him from public school to hebrew day school with one comment in one day!
Making donuts on Chanukah with my grandmother who has since passed away.
I have made latkes for so many classrooms, sang homemade latke songs and wrote my own kids book (non professionally of course) of The Little Latke Man (see the Gingerbread man for the idea)
With my kids being more religious than most of those in their class, we love inviting them for a true Chanukah party, dreidel games, homemade latkes (my grandmother’s recipe) and the best sufganiot ever!
walking around yerushalayim smelling fresh hot donuts (and eating a few) and seeing all the windows flickering with menorahs.
My most favorite Channukah memory will be the first Channukah I spend with my grandaughter, Aubrey! She lives so far away, but they’ll be moving here soon!
looking for carrot and beet latke
carol gross
Love ur story.
I tried making ur latkes…. they are heaven!!!!!!
im totally making them for my family Chanukah party!
yay thank you SO much!
I made a chanukah shabbos meal last year, I worked so hard to get everything just right. I found chanukah poppers which was a really fun addition to my meal. I made a chanukah menorah out of a branch I sprayed silver and made a menu fit for Chanukah. All my hard work paid off, the meal was beautiful – I really felt Chanukah in the air. I think sometimes people dont focus on chanukah so much since it’s not a yom tov we go to shul etc but it really is such a beautiful (and fun) yom tov that is a wonderful time for friends and family.
I agree — I am so excited for tmrw night/the first night!
I loved seeing all the menorahs in outside weather proof boxes sitting on the porches of yerushalayim…and the menorah lighting at the Kotel
you gave me the chills! can you take a pict and post on our FB page?
I remember the smetna(sour cream) pancakes my grandmother would make. It brought warmth and light to all that were over. nothing like a memory of home….not to mention the feeling of the gift wrap up to our knees
My favorite memory was being able to pick out the color scheme for the candles in the menorah each night…for some reason I loved that resonsibility!!
My favorite Chanukkah recipe is eating sufganiyot at Hebrew school.
Chanukah in our school was always fun! My favorite was the year when everyone in the class had to bring tons of candy and we played dreidel with candy!
My favorite Chanukah memory is as a child playing dreidel with dozens of yummy chocolate coins, and always eating tons of chocolate even without winning!
I was in Israel for Channukah and lit the first night in the Hotel dining room. Somehow they lost my menorah and until they bought me one to replace it, they told me to light this gigantic menorah in the hotel lobby. It was quite an experience.
lol! nxt stop the white house menorah
JK Holy Land hotel menorah is much cooler!