Happy Hanukkah

Chag Hanukkah Sameach!

Happy Hanukkah to all my fellow Heebs!  May the next 7 nights be filled with joy, laughter, dreidels, latkes (if you so desire) and happiness!

Last night my fiance and I went to my parents house to celebrate.  It was so great.  My mom had bought a cake so I was a little uneasy about that, as well as the challah (bread) but it all turned out okay.  I made baked latkes (recipe at the bottom of the post, with my modifications in italics) which are much "safer" than fried ones!  We lit the candles in the menorah, said the blessings, ate dinner and then opened gifts.

By the time we had finished clearing the dishes, my sister (age 16) was practically beside herself with impatience.  I already knew what she was getting for Hanukkah and I had been teasing her, saying things like, "I know what you're geeeettinnngggg!  You're gonna freak ooouuutttt...." in a sing-song voice.  So she was pacing the floor.

Finally the moment arrived... I placed a huge wrapped box in her lap.  The look on her face when she opened her XBOX was priceless.  People, this is what Hanukkah and Christmas should be about!  My sister has had her fair share of struggles, so to see her beaming with excitement and hugging the box to her chest made it feel like all the stress and bad feelings we've all experience right along with her just melted away.  I almost didn't even want to open my present at all because I didn't want anything more in that moment than to just bask in the glow of a happy, semi-functional family for a few minutes more.

However, I am ever so glad I did open my present.  My parents are amazing... I can't even express it.  I almost fainted when I opened the wrapping paper to find a Macbook Air!  I could not believe my eyes.  Yes, my laptop is basically from the Mesozoic Era and it's like 2 feet square and three inches high (haha) but I never dreamed I'd get a Macbook Air!!! I do not care if that is the only present I get for the next five years!  I am so, so happy.

My dad got 2 books (he's a bookworm,) my fiance, Corky, got part of a roof-rack for his car to hold snowboards and such.  For my mom, I had ordered a silver necklace in the infinity symbol (like "forever" not the car symbol lol) with 4 birthstones on it.  My dad wanted the birthstones to be just the ones in our family, so Corky's is not on it.  Peridot, Ruby, Peridot, Turquoise.  My dad, me, my sister, my mom.  She loved it.

So now, I am typing on my ancient laptop for the last time (I hope.)  Let's hope the Macbook isn't smarter than me! (Well, it is, but.. you know what I mean.)

Baked Latke Recipe

You will need:

-1 lb russet or yukon gold potatoes
-1 small onion (or use onion powder to taste)
-1 large egg (egg white works too)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-3 Tbsp all purpose flour

-Baking sheets
-Parchment paper (optional)
-PAM cooking spray or shortening (PAM is safer, but shortening works better)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425F

Wash and grate the potatoes (I also peeled them) and onion (if you're using it.)  Put in colander and press with a paper towel to remove moisture.  Stir and repeat 3 times.  Transfer to large bowl.

(If you're using onion powder instead of onion, put it in after you've soaked the moisture up from the potatoes.  Use as much or as little as you want,  but remember, a little goes a long way when in comes to onion powder!)

Stir egg into potato/onion mixture.

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir into potato mixture.

Drop mixture in 2-3 Tbsp measures onto pan (I put parchment paper and then sprayed THAT with PAM, otherwise they stick horribly), forming 3 inch pancakes that are about 1/4 inch thick.  A little thicker is okay.  Remember, these latkes don't spread so feel free to make them close together!

Bake 15-20 minutes, turn pancakes and bake an additional 10 minutes or until deep gold on both sides.

Can be served immediately or at room tempterature.

(They're really good with unsweetened applesauce and/or sour cream.)