Two Tasty Hanukkah Recipes

Hanukkah for 2012 begins at sunset on Saturday and ends at sundown on Monday.

According to to myjewishlearning.com, when Hanukkah starts directly after Shabbat, as it does this year, first the havdalah ceremony is performed, and the havdalah candle is lit. Following this, the Hanukkah candles are lit.

Hanukkah is known as the Festival of Lights. As winter approaches and the nights grow longer, the lights of the Hanukkah menorah remind people that even in darkness, there is light. Myjewishlearning tells us that it commemorates the rededication of the Temple following its "debasement" and the restrictions on Jewish practice by Antiochus, the Syrian Greek king, and his overthrow by the Maccabees.

Each night, a candle is lit on the menorah over eight days.

Here are a pair of tasty Hanukkah recipes, courtesy of Vernon resident Edit Chernack, fresh off catering a wedding over the weekend:

Potato Latkes
 
3 med/lge potatoes - washed, peeled and grated
1 egg for every 3 potatoes
approximately 1/4 cup of flour per every 3 potatoes
1 TBS onion powder per every 3 potatoes
1 TBS garlic powder per every 3 potatoes
 
Grate potatoes, drain off excess juices, add egg(s), flour, onion and garlic powders. Mix well. Place enough oil in a large frying pan to have approximately a half-inch of oil, or enough to cover the bottom half of the potatoes.  Take a heaping soup spoon full of potato mixture and place in hot oil and flatten to make a pancake, approximately a quarter- to a half-inch thick.  Cook on medium heat and watch carefully as they go from being done to burnt very quickly.  At medium heat, cook approx  4 - 5 minutes. on each side.  Remove from pan when a medium to dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels then remove to plate.  Best to use tongs to turn the latkas, so oil doesn't splatter.
 
Choice of toppings:
 
Apple sauce mixed with sugar & cinnamon
Sour cream
salt
salt & sugar
salt & apple sauce

•

Brisket

1 Brisket any size
 
1 packet onion soup mix
1 can jelled cranberry sauce
Orange juice
 
Line deep baking pan with foil
Place brisket in pan
dice up cranberry sauce and place on top of brisket
sprinkle onion soup mix on top of brisket
pour in enough O.J. to cover brisket about half way
cover with foil and bake at 350 until you can stick a fork in it and the fork slides out easily. approx. 1 hr. per pound
let cool and cut on the bias
 
reheat to serve
 
Other options:
 
• Barbecue sauce
 
• Onion soup mix      • A medium can tomato paste mixed with enough water to cover brisket half way in pan
 
• Add carrots and potatoes to pan for cooking, if want to stay more American-style.