Thanksgiving at Lauren and Zac's

Thursday 28 November

Lauren and Zac kindly invited us to share a vegetarian Thanksgiving with them and their friend Lauren, plus Daniel and Jun.  So instead of having to drive out of town, we just walked two blocks bearing our comestible contributions.

We were warmly welcomed with cocktails - Zac and Lauren are experts in their concoction, and we had an array of Old Fashioneds, Seelbachs, and Brooklyns throughout the day.  They also whipped up a tasty hot feta and tomato appetizer and various other spreads with pita bread, while we added our curried sweet potato latkes.

We had also brought a batch of standard latkes made from Noonie Sosinsky's secret recipe - only to be revealed here - and topped with strained yogurt, golden caviar, and/or smoked salmon - it was a smoked fish occasion. 

Grandma Noonie’s SECRET (at least until now) Outstanding Potato Latke Recipe

3 lb potatoes (Russet/ Idaho potatoes are recommended)

1 medium onion

2 large eggs

½ cup Matzoh meal (plain bread crumbs also work)

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground white pepper (black also works, but white really makes the finished product look better)

Canola (recommended), corn or vegetable oil for frying 

Technique (Probably the most important part of the process.)

1)  Making the Latke batter:

a) Peel the potatoes and chop into 1 inch cubes.

b) While peeling the rest of the potatoes, put each chopped potato into a bowl with cold water and two tablespoons of white vinegar in order to prevent the potatoes from discoloring.

c) When finished peeling and chopping all of the potatoes, peel the onion and cut it into quarters.

d) Use a food processor cutting blade on PULSE to cut up the potatoes and onion.  Continue until there are no longer large chunks of potato.  A regular size food processor should do a batch this size in one bowl.  (You could also use the shredding blade for a different consistency, and if you do not have a food processor, shredding the potatoes and onions would be your best option.)

e) *** Most important: Move the processed potato/onion mixture to a colander to thoroughly drain.  (Too much moisture is the true enemy of outstanding Latkes.)  We press the mixture in a ricer to squeeze it dry.

f) Transfer the drained potato/onion mixture to a large bowl and add eggs, matzoh meal, baking powder, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

g) *** Also Important: In order to prevent discoloration and to further reduce moisture content of Latke batter, place a paper towel on top of the batter between batches of Latkes frying.

2) Frying the Latkes:

a) In a large frying pan, add no more than a quarter to half an inch of oil, and heat until it gets to 375 - 400 degrees. (Add more oil as needed between batches.)

b) Use a tablespoon to make a “test” Latke.  Cook first side until the edges of the Latke are golden brown.  Flip Latke and continue cooking until the second side is golden brown.

c) Drain “test” Latke on brown paper (shopping bags cut up) (paper towels also work, just not as well) and test for salt and pepper.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.

d) Continue frying Latkes, drain on brown paper, and transfer to a serving dish.  If you want to serve all of the Latkes at once, place serving dish in a warm oven (225 degrees) until all of the batter is used.

3) Serving the Latkes:

Traditional toppings for Latkes are Apple Sauce and Sour Cream, but the Sosinkys also add Caviar (doesn’t have to be the really expensive stuff) to the toppings, which really make them special and truly outstanding.

ENJOY.

These perfect latkes were kept back for the main meal, as was Jun's beautiful crusty bread.  

The buffet purred rather than groaned with all the varied dishes.  There was a sweet Afghan sugar pumpkin dish called Kaddo Bourani, skin-on red mashed potatoes mixed with double sharp cheddar and dill (plus milk and butter), acorn squash stuffed with a dressing of challah, figs, apricots, parsley, and wild mushrooms and then roasted, lemon-garlic green beans, and roasted brussels sprouts (but with bourbon and without hazelnuts).  

Cups of savory apple-squash-cheddar soup stood at each place, and there was dill sauce to drizzle and bourbon chai cranberry sauce (okay, there was bourbon in almost everything) on the side.

Of course there were many wines, but the most interesting was an Acorn Cabernet Franc 2007 from Alegría Vineyards in the Russian River Valley, which Lauren and Zac bought on a winery trip.

Desserts were suitable to the holiday and season: Lauren's childhood Indian pudding, served with Graeter's cinnamon ice cream; a perfect double-crust apple pie made by the other Lauren; and Zac's pecan truffles made with gingersnaps rather than graham crackers. 

We ended the meal with another round of cocktails, but our hosts had timed and measured out the leisurely meal so perfectly that we walked home feeling happy rather than stuffed, and woke up the next day without even a hangover.  So we give thanks to you, Zac and Lauren!