Optimize Your Latke Frying

We make hundreds of latkes for our Hanukkah parties. My husband's alter-ego is "The Optimizer" so he is always measuring and tweaking to find the best way to do everything. Read on to learn from our mistakes:

1. Use lots of oil. The oil should not be "coating the pan." Those potato lumps should be swimming in the oil. We prefer a vegetable oil, not olive oil's stronger taste.
2. The temperature of the oil is critical. Either use an electric grill that allows you to set the temperature of the oil or, if using the burners (like we do) use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil. The oil needs to be between 350 and 375 F. When frying lots of latkes you are constantly adding oil. You should wait for the right temperature or your latkes will be too greasy (if oil is not hot enough) or burn (too hot).
3. The most time consuming and boring part of making lots of latkes is grating the potatoes and onions. Yes, use a food processor... but better: buy pre-shredded potatoes and diced onions. Both are available (separately) in frozen foods. We tried this last year and this version was almost as good as freshly grated... and 300% less work!
4. Fry ahead of time and then freeze. We've spent many Hanukkah parties stuck in the kitchen. Now we know better. Fry ahead of time. Put the latkes on cookie sheets. Cover. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put the latkes in zip lock bags, thus making room for more latkes. The night of the party, heat on the cookie tray at 350 F for 20 minutes or so.
5. I'm sure many would protest, but which latke recipe doesn't really matter as long as you use potatoes, onions, and eggs. Matzah meal vs. flour? Not important in our experience.
6. Gourmet toppings are nice but you can't beat apple sauce and sour cream.

Happy Frying!

Mainstream Stores Best & Worst for Hanukkah

Of course I want you to shop at ModernTribe.com. But if you can't, don't want to, or just don't have the time to wait for shipping, here is the skinny on some of the mainstream department stores' Hanukkah offerings. Have a beautiful, modern Hanukkah!

Disclaimer: Some department stores vary their stock depending on the community -- so if there are many Jews in the community, they will stock more Hanukkah stuff. Therefore, these findings may or many not be true for your "brick and mortar" location.

I have covered Target in previous posts.

Uh oh, may steal ModernTribe's business: Crate & Barrel. They have two very nice looking nickel plated menorahs. I haven't seen them up close but, darn, they look nice and I'd love to be able to offer them to you myself.

Some nice, but traditional, things: Saks Fifth Avenue. These Eleni's New York Happy Hanukkah Cookies look beautiful! Has anyone tried them?

The mainstream of modern: Nambe at Macys and Bloomingdales. I plan to offer the Nambe line in the future. If you want Nambe Judaica now, they have it. I don't like the Nambe menorah however; it looks great with candles but loses its design appeal without them.

"No products found for Chanukah. Did you mean chunky?" JC Penney, Dillards, and KMart come up blank in the Hanukkah department.

Not my taste but a selection of goods: Walmart, Kohls, and Bed Bath and Beyond

Jewish Product Bloopers Part III: Search for Hanukkah or Chanukah at these websites and get:

Kenny G "Miracles - The Holiday Album." the only Chanukah item online at Sears contains one "Chanukah Song" among 10 other Christmas songs. But, I do believe Kenny is Jewish.

A Nativity Votive!? Watch those keywords Bloomingdales!

Woof & Poof Jolly Old Saint Nick at Nordstrom along with rows and rows of other Christmas decorations. I still consider snowmen, angels, and fairies Christmas decor. Do you?

Warning: Target misses with their gelt.

I've tasted a lot of gelt. When we were trying to pick a gelt to sell with No Limit Texas Dreidel we got samples from Israel, Belgium, and around the USA. Target's is decidedly, and by no slim margin, the worst I've ever tasted. It's waxy, greasy, and tasteless. Maybe they confused the Hanukkah candles with the Hanukkah gelt? It pains me because Target has it's own brand of gourmet-ish chocolate called Choxie. I want to see this massive merchandising machine create gourmet Choxie gelt. Let's work on that one for Hanukkah 2008.

Here's the Hanukkah display for Target and then that's it for criticizing my favorite store for it's Hanukkah missteps. (I do it 'cause I luv ya, Target!)

The Ugly Menorah with Modern Company

We did a photo shoot the other day and my husband took a few. We took my "ugly menorah" (a traditional brass menorah with the Maccabee motif that I've had all my life) and surrounded it with modern menorahs. I love the way this picture turned out. You see the Woodland Linking Menorah (unlinked) and a little bit of the Cube Menorah.

Cute Hanukkah Stuff at Target!... (for dogs)

Jewish Product Bloopers Part Two:
Target has cute Hanukkah stuff for dogs but not people.

On October 31, Halloween day, Target had moved the Halloween stuff to the end caps and stocked the aisles with Christmas decorations. Of course I immediately went to search for the Chanukah end cap to see how my favorite store is representing my favorite holiday.

On the way to "Stationery" (which is where Hanukkah stuff is displayed), I passed pet supplies. "Whoa! is that a Hanukkah dog sweater? And a cute silver collar with a star of David?" Absolutely. Isaac Mizrahi has included Hanukkah stuff for dogs in his winter line of doggy accoutrement. I immediately picked out a sweater and collar for my doggy then headed toward Stationery.

How's the Hanukkah stuff for people? Disappointing as usual. The end cap included: cheap, "Made in China" branch menorahs: one in "gold tone" one in "silver tone." I took one of the menorahs out of the box so I could see the quality. To say it was cheaply made is being nice: I could see the screws that attached the stems. I'm not going to go on... because it will sound nasty and I am a nice person. I just have zero tolerance for schlock!

I will let a picture say 1000 words. I plan to take a snapshot of the display to illustrate this post. Check back soon. In the mean time enjoy pics of cute Zavy in her Mizrahi attire.

Jewish Product Bloopers Part One

Some of the coolest Jewish stuff is made by "mainstream" or secular designers. And we are so thankful for them including Hanukkah stuff in their designs. (Thank you!)

However, since many of these designers not Jewish, they sometimes make mistakes.

I was tickled to open December's copy of Blueprint Magazine and find that the only Hanukkah items the magazine profiled were Bloopers. The magazine displays two beautiful Hanukkah cards both with abstract menorahs. They are beautiful, blue (of course), but count the candles:
Note: -- I sell these cards -- because they are beautiful, handmade letterpress cards. I want to support high design of Judaica and these design houses who are creating them. So, I forgive the mistake of the missing Shamas. Do you?

Cool Judaica will Fix Everything!

If you are in San Fran on Thursday, November 8th at 7:30 PM, there is a thought provoking program hosted by Progressive Jewish Alliance. Young, Jewish, and (Dis)Connected is about how, why and, more specifically, why don't younger Jews feel connected to Israel and to Jewish life in America.

You know my answer for younger Jews' disenchantment with American Jewish Life: schlocky Judaica and boring dreidel games!

We are fixing the schlocky/boring problem at ModernTribe.com. But I bet Professor Ari Kelman, Joey Kurzman from Jewcy.com, Sarah Church from PJA, Heidi Winig from American Jewish World Services, and Jeremy Lizt of New Israel Fund have some other ideas on the subject.

It's free but RSVP: bayarea@pjalliance.org or 510-527-8640