Tag: hanukkah

Greek Yogurt Donut Poppers

On Hanukkah, it’s customary to eat fried foods like jelly donuts to remember the miracle of the oil that lasted for 8 days in the Holy Temple and to commemorate the Maccabees victory over the Greeks. In keeping with this Jewish tradition, I developed a quick and easy yeast-free donut recipe that incorporates Greek yogurt! I know that making yeasted donuts can be time consuming, so these poppers use baking powder as the leavening agent, and they come together in minutes!  Made with just Domino™ granulated sugar, Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder, the poppers are pleasantly sweet and vanilla scented with a crispy exterior and fluffy, cakey interior. You can roll them in granulated sugar, or dust with powdered sugar and serve with raspberry jam, if desired.

To view the reel on Instagram click here.

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Okonomiyaki Latkes

I think I like making Okonomiyaki just so I can say the name. It’s so fun, amiright!! It wasn’t necessarily in the plans but I had some cabbage in the fridge (when do I not?) and I was craving something savory and pancakey so I threw it all together and it was everything I was craving and more!

Traditional Japanese Okonomiyaki is basically a kitchen-sink savory pancake with loads of veggies and proteins thrown in, binded together with a batter, fried to crispy perfection, and topped with Japanese mayo, sweet sauce and lots of other fun things like pickled ginger, nori, bonito flakes and more. There are no rules here, have fun with it and make it your own!

To view the reel on Instagram click here.

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Chanukah Treats that Aren’t Donuts!

We’re halfway through Chanukah and the donut fatigue has set in! But don’t you worry – I gotchyu!!

First on the list, is definitely my pizza dough zeppole. It’s so easy, you don’t even need a recipe! I rolled out some pizza dough (Trader Joes!), then cut it into roughly square shapes, then deep fried until golden. I dusted half in powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam, and rolled the other half in cinnamon sugar and served with caramel. You’re welcome!

These cheese pancakes can also be called latkes, so you get your latke and “jelly donut” in one fix! Recipe here!

Fritters are always a winner, and this all-purpose batter can be used for anything from apples to persimmon (pictured), or Oreos to candy bars!

All-Purpose Deep-Fried-Anything Batter:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet to the dry and stir until smooth. Dip (almost) anything in the batter, shake off excess, and deep fry!

Yes! You are looking at JELLY DONUT NACHOS and they are a REVELATION!! So. So. Good. Fry up some wonton wrappers and dust in powdered sugar. Drizzle with jam. You’re welcome!

These jelly donut linzer cookies are SO. SO. GOOD. Get the recipe here!

These beer battered pumpkin rings are so fun! Get the recipe here!

HAPPY FRYING!

What’s your favorite non-donut Chanukah treat? Share it with me! Post a Comment

Spanakopita Bourekas

It’s mashup time! I think my favorite part of being a food blogger is being able to play around with recipes and coming up with my own twists on things. I love mashing things up. What’s a mashup? Well, it’s when I take a traditional food and I fuse it with another cuisine or concept to create a hybrid sort of recipe. It would probably be easier if I showed you.

Take these pecan pie lace cookies that I made for Thanksgivukkah back in 2013 (gosh, was that really three whole years ago?!). Since Thanksgiving and Chanukah came out on the same night (which only happens in a gazillion years btw), I decided to fuse a Thanksgiving concept: pecan pie, with a traditional Jewish pastry: lace cookies, or, florentines. Florentines are traditionally made with almonds, but I used pecans, and to up the Chanukah ante, I drizzled the cookies with Chanukah symbols and filled them with raspberry jam. That, my friends, is a mashup.

Of course I’ve got plenty of other Chanukah mashups on the blog, like these poutine latkes, a twist on the classic Canadian dish of gravy and cheese smothered french fries (yes, I went there). Then there was my falafel latkes, or falatkes, a fusion of the Israeli staple and the classic potato latke, which I took to another level with the sabich. And finally, the droolworthy donut milkshake and potato latke funnel cakes that have been blowing up feeds everywhere. Told you I loved mashups :)

So Chanukah is upon us, and I really wanted to mashup a Greek staple with a typical Jewish food. Traditional spanakopita is a spinach feta pie made with a filo (or phyllo) crust. Filo is notoriously difficult to work with, since it is paper thin and tears easily, so I decided to turn the pie into the perfect hand-held appetizer: bourekas. With lots of Chanukah parties on our calendar, this makes a great finger food for the table!

Bourekas are a family favorite and not just because they are uber delicious, with all the flaky layers of buttery dough. It’s because they are so. freakin. easy. Truth be told, I was originally going to make spanakopita rugelach, but I’ve been feeling out of sorts this week and the idea of working on a savory cheese dough was just off the table. So I thought about what I could use to make these super easy and semi-homemade, and I went to that beloved ingredient that makes party planning so much easier – the puff pastry. Oh how I love thee.

I always keep puff pastry in the freezer because it makes the most impressive danish pastry in no time, it’s a must-have for my kids favorite deli roll, it makes an easy topping for pot pie, and the quickest impressive fruit tart. I also love it for cream horns, pinwheels, bite-size bundles, and even hamantaschen!

I’m all about finger food at my Chanukah party, so I hope this post gave you some “food for thought” for your Chanukah menu planning! For more great Chanukah recipes, check out the index!

Happy Chanukah! Happy Chrismukkah! Happy Donut Day! And yes, Happy Birthday and Anniversary to me!! (I was born and got married on the 5th night!)

Related Recipes:

spinach papardelle with feta and fried poached egg
harissa whipped feta with zaatar eggplant chips
summer tomato feta salad
roasted eggplant parmesan with feta
spinach and spaghetti squash shakshuka

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Potato Latke Funnel Cakes

Yay!!!!! Chanukah, the festival of donuts, potato latkes and all things fried is upon us, and I couldn’t be happier!! I was lucky enough to be born on the festival of fattening foods…uh…I mean….lights, so all the more reason to allow myself to really s.p.l.u.r.g.e.

I even got married on my birthday so between my anniversary, my birthday, and the holiday, it’s an eight day food fest with no restrictions. I’m not a big fryer during the year so when Chanukah comes around, I break out the gallon-sized canola oil and get to it.

I love all the donut making and latke topping, but I especially love to make other fun fried food that I don’t get around to enjoying otherwise. Like fried oreos, fried ice cream and funnel cakes! I also go savory with fried lasagna stripszucchini chips and even beer battered salami! When I said I go all out, I meant it! (just ask my scale after the eight days are up!)

I’ve had some really fun latke ideas over the past few years, including my poutine latkes that landed me on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and my viral falafel latkes which turned into the ultimate sabich. I had to up the ante this year, and and what better way than fusing two of my favorite Chanukah indulgences – latkes and funnel cakes!

If you’ve never had a funnel cake, I’m sorry. It’s basically a thick pancake dough that’s piped into hot oil for a crispy sweet fried dough that gets covered in powdered sugar. It’s. so. good. I decided to go savory with the same concept by incorporating mashed potatoes and ranch seasoning into the dough. It was a really good idea. Just try it and you’ll see!

The potato dough takes a little getting used to, so I suggest practicing with a few mini cakes at first. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be banging out potato latke funnel cakes like no-ones business! Just try not to eat the whole batch before your company arrives. They’re especially good straight out of the fryer!

This recipe was actually my first time working with ranch seasoning and I am hooked! Where has this addictive stuff been my entire life? Potatoes and ranch make such a perfect pairing, I can’t believe I’ve been eating chips without it until now.

If you can’t get your hands on one of these packets, just season up your potatoes to taste with the spices of your choice. My Greek yogurt ranch dip can give you some ideas!

I’m working on some other fun Chanukah recipes including a donut that you can drink (you’ll see!) and a super addictive twist on pb&j. Chanukah here we come!

What are your favorite deep fried foods to make for the holiday? I’d love to hear! Share them with me in the comments below.

In the meantime, get your stretchy skirts ready and stack up on that canola oil. You’re gonna need it!

Oh, and do yourself a favor and set your scale back 5 lbs, will you?


This post was sponsored by Lipton Kosher. All opinions are my own. 

Related Recipes:

sabich latkes
falafel latkes
poutine latkes
confetti latkes
butternut squash latkes

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