Try These Hanukkah Recipes During the Festival of Lights

This year, Hanukkah begins on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 8 and ends on the evening of Sunday, Dec. 16.

The Oak Park area has a marvelous holiday tradition, and this year it will be celebrated Thursday, Dec. 13, the sixth night of the Festival of Lights.

Mamaloschn, Oak Park Temple's Yiddish singing group, will be at the Buzz Cafe, 904 S. Lombard Ave., for a bit of singing and freylach (Yiddish for joy).

Of course, there'll be latkes. Seating will be from 6 to 7:15 pm for families with children; 7:30 to 8:45 pm for teens and adults. The cost is $7.50. Register here.

Observing the Festival of Lights goes hand-in-hand with making special Hanukkah foods. Before you light the menorah, make sure you have all the ingredients for some great brisket, latke, and sufganiyot. Although there are many recipes, below are a few to try during the eight nights.

Hate cooking? Many of the fixings for brisket, tzimmes (an Eastern European dish made of sweet potatoes, carrots and prunes) latkes and other traditional treats are readily available during Hanukkah (and all other Jewish holidays for that matter) at Whole Foods Market, 7245 Lake St. River Forest.

Potato pancakes are also available in the frozen food section at Jewel and Dominick's Finer Foods.

Other Hanukkah foods also can be had at the Onion Roll, 6935 North Ave., Oak Park. Call the restaurant, 708-383-2548 to find out what's on the menu.

For those who have a flair for cooking, try these recipes and a few others.

Potato Latkes

Ingredients

• 3 medium/large 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

Instructions

• 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 latkes, so oil doesn't splatter. 

Once they are ready to eat, try them with some apple sauce mixed with sugar & cinnamon or sour cream.

Brisket from Epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 1 (6-pound) first-cut beef brisket, trimmed so that a thin layer of fat remains
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons corn oil
• 8 medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• Kosher salt
• 2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
• 1 carrot, peeled and trimmed

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Lightly dust the brisket with flour, then sprinkle with pepper to taste.
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large ovenproof enameled cast-iron pot or other heavy pot with a lid just large enough to hold the brisket snugly.
• Add the brisket to the pot and brown on both sides until crusty brown areas appear on the surface here and there, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
• Transfer the brisket to a platter, turn up the heat a bit, then add the onions to the pot and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the onions have softened and developed a rich brown color but aren't yet caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and place the brisket and any accumulated juices on top of the onions.
• Spread the tomato paste over the brisket as if you were icing a cake. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper to taste, then add the garlic and carrot to the pot.
• Cover the pot, transfer to the oven, and cook the brisket for 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the brisket to a cutting board and, using a very sharp knife, slice the meat across the grain into approximately 1/8-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pot, overlapping them at an angle so that you can see a bit of the top edge of each slice. The end result should resemble the original unsliced brisket leaning slightly backward.
• Check the seasonings and, if absolutely necessary, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of water to the pot.
• Cover the pot and return to the oven. Lower the heat to 325°F and cook the brisket until it is fork-tender, about 2 hours. Check once or twice during cooking to make sure that the liquid is not bubbling away. If it is, add a few more teaspoons of water—but not more. Also, each time you check, spoon some of the liquid on top of the roast so that it drips down between the slices.
• It is ready to serve with its juices, but, in fact, it's even better the second day.

Sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) from Epicurious.com

Ingredients

• 1 scant tablespoon (1 package) dry yeast
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk or warm water*
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter or pareve margarine, softened*
• Apricot or strawberry preserves
• Sugar
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying
• *Use butter and milk if serving at a milk meal, and water and pareve margarine for a meat meal

Instructions (great way to get the children involved in a wonderful tradition).

Child: Mix together the yeast, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the milk. Let sit to make sure it bubbles.

Child: Sift the flour and mix it with the remaining sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg yolks, and the yeast mixture.

Adult with Child: Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Add the butter or margarine. Knead some more, until the butter is well absorbed. Cover with a towel and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Adult: Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

Child: Cut out the dough into 24 rounds with a juice glass, or any object about 2 inches in diameter. Take 1/2 teaspoon of preserves and place in center of 12 rounds. Top with the other 12. Press down at edges, sealing with egg whites. Crimping with the thumb and second finger is best. Let rise for about 30 minutes.

Adult: Heat 2 inches of oil to about 375°. Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 5 at a time. Turn to brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Child: Roll the doughnuts in sugar.

If you want to try making sweet potato tzimmes, here's the recipe that the White House uses.

TELL US: What are your favorite things to eat during Hanukkah? Do you have any special or traditional Hanukkah recipes in your family?