"As we light the Hanukkah candles beginning Sunday evening, Dec. 14, I can't help but remember the celebrations of my youth. My mother's family was very close, and we cousins (13 of us) were raised together practically as siblings. On holidays, we squeezed into my grandparents' tiny apartment. There were so many of us that my grandpa, Papa Harry, even put a board in the children's table."
"I've noticed through the years, however, that a snobbery has developed among latke aficionados, who view with disdain from their lofty perch those who use a blender to process the potatoes. Their mantra? Shredded is better. "Oh, no," they tsk-tsk when they see my recipe, just a touch of feigned sympathy in their eyes. "I use the food processor. I like texture.""
"Texture? You want texture? I'll give you texture. Use my "Splat!" method, and you'll get all the texture you want - all crispy outsides with practically no insides. My family hovers over the pan to fight over the thinnest ones that are so crunchy and full of holes you can practically see through them. (See Step 3 in the recipe for the secret of my very crispy latkes.)"
Hanukkah celebrations featured large family gatherings in a small apartment, later moved to a basement as the family expanded to include great-grandchildren. A grandmother's latke frying pan became the source of a cherished recipe that produces impossibly crunchy, addictive latkes. Some latke aficionados express snobbery toward blender-processed potatoes and insist shredded is superior, but the blender 'Splat!' method yields extreme crispiness and delicate, holey texture prized by the family. The thinnest latkes command the most attention at the table. A practical tip allows preparing the batter up to a day ahead by combining ingredients minus the flour and storing the mixture in a tightly sealed glass jar.
Read at The Mercury News
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