Pam R

I squeeze. flour I never use russets.. reds please. I do this sometimes.. depends on the mood. I also need to point out that my latke recipe varies depending on the quantities. If I'm using 20 lbs. of potatoes I squeeze out as much liquid as possible and add more flour than if I'm using a couple of pounds. As the 'batter' sits, it releases more and more liquid. Large batch latkes also tend to be less lacy. Because I like sour cream with latkes, I use fry in vegetable oil - canola specifically. Many people use schmaltz - and that's gonna make a tasty pancake, but limits my topping choices. I used to fry the pancakes in a frying pan on the stove - I now use a large electric frying pan. Nonstick. When I was growing up, my Baba (grandmother) used to make us blue (purple) potato pancakes. No, she didn't know about blue potatoes. Her potatoes would oxidize as she hand-grated enough to feed the whole family. My tip of the day: grate the onions first and toss the grated potatoes in the onion juices as you go. Some people add vinegar - but I don't like the flavour it adds.

Latke means pancake. Not limited to potato. Kiliki: If you pm me your email, I can send you the recipes.

If you've read some of my other posts, you may know that I tend to go through holiday prep. earlier than most. I've been submerged in Latkes for the last month or so .. I just finished a column with 8 recipes (one for each night of Chanukah)... All eight: Traditional Potato and Onion: Zucchini and Leek: I'll be making many many latkes over the next month - orders are coming in already, and I try to have some in the showcase at least once a week. I'm of the 'it doesn't have to be potato to be a latke' thinking. One of my favorites is a wild rice and mushroom latke - but I use zucchini, sweet potato, apple, cauliflower, cottage cheese, green onion, cooking onion, corn, feta, spinach and leeks in some of mine. I like my potato pancakes hot out of the frying pan with sour cream. Apple sauce only when being eaten with a meat meal. I'm so in on this cookoff.

grape jelly and mustard. I think it's equal parts - but it's been so long since I've had them I can't be certain. my aunt's mother always made them when I was a kid.

Then you won't want any of the Turkey and Wild Rice soup we're selling today . It shouldn't be surprising that I'd use it up in soup.

I like to puree the peppers, garlic and basil before adding the cheeses - but you could do it all at one time. I think you get a smoother puree doing those items first... but there's no reason why it wouldn't work if it was a little chunkier. I'm never been able to find sherry wine vinegar that's kosher so I haven't tried it - but I think it would work well. Why not? Now in RecipeGullet

the marshmallows we sell in the store are made with fish gel - I don't notice a fish taste - so I'm hoping this works. I'll let you know (the brand is Aqua Gel from England)

Roasted Red Pepper and Chevre Dip I created this recipe for one of my weekly cooking columns. It's great for dipping veggies, spreading on crackers or with pita. 2 medium red bell pepper, cut in half, cored and seeded 2 cloves garlic 1/4 c basil leaves (6-8 large leaves) 4 oz chevre cheese 4 oz light cream cheese 1 T balsamic vinegar 1/4 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp salt Place the peppers skin side down on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and roast for 15 minutes at 400º F. Flip the peppers roast another 20-25 minutes, until the skins on the peppers have started to blacken and the peppers have softened. Place peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic. When cool, peel the skins. Puree the peeled peppers, garlic and basil, scraping down the sides a couple of times. Add the chevre, cream cheese, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and puree until smooth. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days. Keywords: Kosher, Food Processor, Easy, Cheese, Dip ( RG1506 )

I returned home yesterday to find that winter arrived in Winnipeg while I was out of town. I'm pulling out a frozen bag of roasted red peppers and making a soup with them tomorrow. Sauteing some onions (maybe a little garlic) the red peppers, potatoes, s&p and some stock. Simple, easy and tasty.

OK. The agar didn't work for me. I just got home from a kosher food show with several samples of kosher gelatin (fish-base). I will try again. I assume (and hope) that the fish gel is a straight substitution for other gelatin.

one of my new favorites: roasted red peppers pureed with fresh garlic, basil, chevre and cream cheese, salt and pepper - splash of balsamic optional.

oh oh! or burekes (I love burekas). Same idea with puff pastry rather than phyllo. They aren't limited to startch in starch. You can fill them with mushrooms or spinach and feta, cottage cheese, broccoli or vegetable mix and cheddar, meat, etc. Actually... knishes are rather like a bureka - but best made with a stretch-strudel dough. I don't think so - but I think they should have a good quantity of toppings. In one of my previous food-service experiences we sold them on their own (though we always had soup too).

Oy, Rebecca! I passed Metuchen twice a day every day last week on my way into the city from Highland Park! We could have met for lunch on the train . (I didn't realize you were in that area.) I unfortunately can't really tell you where to eat... though I did have a pretty good falafel at Jerusalem Pizza.. mostly I just looked at the restaurants from the train Be well.

What a pleasant surprise on my return home - a new blog from Lucy. I'm concerned about catching up on all of my work now.... must keep checking eGullet.... I grabbed a bagel from H&H Bagels last week and noticed that the bag (and website) claims that they ship worldwide....

you already have lots of good ideas here. I'm always in favour of knishes - lots of assorted flavours possible. I also like to do focaccia rounds - bake them with different toppings.

Absolutely - but it'll have to wait a couple of weeks. I didn't have my camera at work today, and I'm leaving in the morning for a 10-day trip. When I get back I'll take some pictures and post them.

counter: coffee maker, electric kettle, toaster oven, food processor (which sits behind the tv, which I use for background noise every time I cook.. so does it count?)(phone and answering machine - though not used in food production, they are electronics, and they are on the kitchen counter). microwave is built in over the stove. I don't own a stand mixer (at least not at home). In the drawers: immersion blender, mini food processor, hand mixer. Cupboards: rice cooker, slow cooker, one of those George Forman Grills that gets used about twice a year for grilled cheese sandwiches. Now... my work counters are a different story..

I really like these ideas. Need to start sourcing... You'd be suprised at how many items you already use that are kosher. Every product that comes into my store is kosher, so any gift I put together would be kosher. I'm wondering if you mean more of a 'Jewish' starter kit than a kosher one... 1&2. most items can be done in advance. cakes and cookies freeze well. chocolates and nuts should keep well in an air-tight container. 3. The thread Katie Nell links to is great. I like those old-fashioned cookie tins, which I can often find in the dollar store. Small tins for chocolates and such, large tins for cookies. The paper pans are great - you bake right in the giftwrapping. If you have a packaging company in your area (specializing in items for retail stores) they usually have showrooms where you can buy individual items - like funky cardboard containers - or small packages of cellophane bags and wrapping. - unlike the restaurant supply stores which usually make you buy by the case.

Update: Less than a week after I placed my order with Qualita Paper, my boards arrived. Very happy with the products and service. On Monday the Canadian rep from Novacart stopped by with some samples (including all those cool paper cake/tart pans).\ Thanks for the help everybody. The first 4" desserts were in our showcase today.

I line the bottoms of my springform pans with aluminium foil. I almost always use a press in- graham or cookie crumb base. When fully chilled, they lift right off the foil. You can also freeze them and then lift them off.

A picky person may tell me I'm steaming and not roasting my turkeys, but I do them at 400-425. Into a pan on a bed of vegetables AND a cup of water. Cover tightly with foil and roast. Results in a very moist turkey. The last 15 minutes or so the foil is removed and the skin browns up. (a 10 lb. turkey takes about 2 1/4 hours)

What Melissa said. Or: Last week I made 8 varieties of latkes - several dozen of each. I've since thawed and reheated all of them.. the only one that really wasn't happy after being frozen were the curried sweet potato/apple latkes. Just don't reheat them in the microwave .

sometimes... you cut yourself very badly.. and think it will leave a permanent mark - but miraculously it doesn't. I once cut the tip of my finger off. a couple of mm - we could see bone. every week in science class we looked at it under the microscope and charted it's progress. it grew back. wouldn't even know it happened if I didn't know it happened. And yes, I've used the robot-coup since.

hmm.. it may be the American version of the often used 'shitload' (or 'shload')- a term widely used in Canada. I'll be in NY later this week, so the timing of your blog couldn't be better. Thanks for sharing with us.

Chris's recipe sounds good to me - I often cook butternut soup with some apples or pears. In fact, I'd just add some to Chris's soup and it'll add a nice tart/sweet note.