Easy Potato Latkes
Ingredients
o 2 small onions
o 6 medium potatoes
o 3 eggs
o salt and pepper to taste
o 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup oil for frying
Directions
Peel and grate potatoes and onions together. Squeeze liquid out of mixture. Stir in eggs, salt and pepper.
Pour enough oil into a skillet so that it reaches a depth of 1⁄4”; heat over medium-high heat. Drop spoonful of mixture into hot oil. Fry until golden on one side; flip, and fry until golden on the other side.
Makes 10 servings.
Sweet Kuegel
Ingredients
Kuegel:
o 1 lb. cooked wide noodles
o 1 1/2 cups melted butter
o 1 1/2 pints sour cream
o 1 1/2 cups sugar
o 5 eggs, beaten
o 1 tsp. vanilla
o 1 medium-size can crushed pineapple, drained (optional)
Topping:
o 1 1/2 cups crushed corn flakes (optional)
o Cinnamon and sugar to taste (for topping, if desired)
Mix all kuegel ingredients well, except for pineapple and noodles. Gently fold in pineapple and noodles. Pour into a greased 3-quart, rectangle casserole dish. Mix together corn flake crumbs, cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle evenly to cover the kuegel. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cheese Blintzes
Ingredients
Filling:
o 3/4 lb. farmer cheese
o 1 egg yolk, beaten
o 1/4 tsp. melted butter
o 1/2 tsp. sugar
Batter:
o 2 eggs
o 1/2 cup flour
o 1/2 tsp. salt
o 1/2 cup milk
Combine all filling ingredients. In another bowl, beat all batter ingredients together slowly until almost smooth. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Lightly butter a hot 6” or 7” skillet. Tip the pan from side to side quickly so the batter spreads to cover the bottom; pour excess back into the mixing bowl. Cook on one side only for about 2 minutes or until batter loosens around sides of pan. Turn out, fried side up. Repeat until all batter is used. Place rounded tablespoons of cheese mixture in center of each pancake (on the browned side), fold over from both sides, then into envelope shape. Just before serving, fry on both sides until a golden brown. Serve hot with sour cream, applesauce or sugar and cinnamon.
Makes about 12 blintzes.
Apple Cider Sufganiyot (Hanukkah Doughnuts) with Salted Caramel
From Chow.com
Ingredients
Doughnuts:
o 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
o 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
o 1/2 tsp. fine salt
o 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
o Vegetable oil, for coating the bowl
o 1 (1/4-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
o 1/4 cup plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar
o 3/4 cup apple cider
o 2 large egg yolks
o 1 Tbsp. apple butter
o 1 tsp. vanilla extract
o 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and at room temperature
Caramel Filling:
o 1 cup granulated sugar
o 1/4 cup water
o 1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. fine salt
o 1/3 cup heavy cream
o 1 tsp. vanilla extract
To Finish:
o 2 qt. vegetable oil
o 1/2 cup granulated sugar
Special Equipment:
o 2 1/2” round cutter
o Candy/fat thermometer
o 12” to 18” pastry bag fitted with a 1/4” round tip
Directions
Doughnuts:
Place 2 1/2 cups of flour, the cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and combine; set aside. Coat a second large bowl with vegetable oil; set aside.
Place the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a medium bowl. Heat 1/2 cup of the apple cider until warm, between 105°F and 115°F. Add to the yeast and sugar and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foaming, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 cup apple cider, egg yolks, apple butter and vanilla to the yeast mixture and whisk to combine. Add this mixture to the reserved flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and begins to form a ball.
Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface. Scatter the butter pieces over the dough and knead until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add up to 1/4 cup of additional flour as needed if the dough is sticky. Form the dough into a ball, place it in the oiled bowl and turn to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the filling.
Caramel Filling:
Combine the sugar, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to boil, swirling the pan occasionally (but not stirring), until the mixture turns a deep amber color, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, carefully pour in the cream and vanilla (the mixture will bubble up and steam), and stir until evenly combined. Transfer to a medium heat-proof bowl and let the caramel cool at room temperature, uncovered, for about 30 minutes before using.
To Finish:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Punch down the dough, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and roll it out until it's about 1/4” thick. Using a 2 1/2” round cutter, stamp out as many dough rounds as possible and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 1/4” apart. Gather the dough scraps into a ball and roll out and cut again. Discard any remaining dough scraps.
Cover the dough rounds loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place until puffy and about 1/2” thick, about 30 minutes.
Place the oil in a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium heat until the temperature reaches 365°F on a candy/fat thermometer. Meanwhile, fit a wire rack over a second baking sheet; set aside. Place the sugar in a large bowl; set aside. Transfer the caramel to a piping bag fitted with a 1/4” round tip; set aside.
When the oil is ready, add 4 of the dough rounds and fry until golden brown, flipping halfway through, about 2 minutes total. (If air bubbles appear in the doughnuts, pierce them with the tip of a paring knife.) Remove the doughnuts with a slotted spoon and place on wire rack. Add 4 more dough rounds to the oil. While these dough rounds are frying, use tongs to transfer the first 4 hot doughnuts to the bowl of sugar. Toss to coat in the sugar, then return to the wire rack. Repeat frying and sugarcoating the remaining dough rounds.
When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the center. Place the tip of the piping bag into the pocket and pipe about 1 heaping teaspoon of caramel inside. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: The dough can made be in a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment if you prefer. Place the yeast and sugar in the stand mixer bowl and proceed with the recipe, mixing at medium speed until the dough comes together and forms a ball that is smooth, shiny and elastic, about 5 minutes.
When deep-frying the doughnuts, make sure the oil stays at a constant temperature, adjusting your stove's heat as necessary.
Makes 34 to 36 doughnuts.