A Complete Chanukah Party -- Latkes mit Punchkes --and It's All in Yiddish

Yes, the Forverts Yiddish Chefs are back, just in time for a complete Chanukah party -- Potato Latkes, Pumpkin Donuts, Black Cherry Punch, and Hot Coffee Latte.

We've been sharing these cooking-shmoozing sessions with you as they are posted, and we always learn a few new Yiddish words from Rukhl Schaechter and Eve Jochnowitz as they putter and patter about the kitchen.

Original Bottle

What did we learn this time? Donuts are called sufganiyot in Hebrew, but did you know they're called punchkes in Yiddish? And a food processor? It's a mish-machine. Buttermilk? Maslinkeh. Nutmeg? Mushkat. Pumpkin? Dinye.

And that cherry liqueur that they use for the cold drink? Now it's called Heering Cherry Liqueur, but we remember it back in the day (way way back) as Cherry Heering, pronounced by our appetizing-loving relatives as Cherry Herring (yes, like the fish,). Who knows, maybe in Denmark where Peter Heering created the drink, it's really pronounced herring. But we'll take it with a twist of Yiddish and enjoy it either way with our dinye punchkes. 

All four recipes are shown below the video so you can put them to use as you get ready for your own Chanukah celebrations. Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Potato Latkes

4 potatoes, unpeeled

1 large carrot, peeled

1 large onion, peeled

3 eggs

1/2 cup matzah meal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Oil for frying

Sour cream or apple sauce (optional)

Shred the potatoes and carrots with the shredding disc of a food processor or grater, and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Mince the onion with the chopping blade and add it to the potato mixture.

Add the eggs, matzah meal, salt and black pepper to the potato mixture until well-combined.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, and drop tablespoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil. When the bottom turns golden brown, flip it over until the other side is golden brown, too. Let drain on paper towels.

Serve with sour cream or apple sauce.

Pumpkin Donuts

4-1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup (1 half box) brown sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/4 teaspoon (12 scrapings) nutmeg

grated zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin

Additional flour for counter

Oil for frying

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and brown sugar with an electric mixer for five minutes. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, melted butter, nutmeg and lemon zest. Mix it well and add the flour mixture and the pumpkin.

Sprinkle flour on the counter and roll out the dough evenly, until it is 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut out the donuts, and the lid of a salt shaker to make the holes.

Fill up one-third of a deep frying pan with oil until it reaches about 375 degrees. Add the donuts and holes, 5 0r 6 at a time, so that they have enough room to fry evenly. Once they are golden brown on both sides, lay them onto a tray lined with paper towels.

Black Cherry Punch

1 part Cherry Heering liqueur

4 parts Bartenura Moscato

Sliced pitted black cherries

Orange slices and curlicues of lemon peel

Mash the cherries in two tall glasses using a muddler. Add the Cherry Heering liqueuer and the Bartenura Moscato until well-blended.

Place a stirrer in both glasses. Garnish the edge of each glass with a quartered slice of orange, and wrap a curlicue of lemon peel around each stirrer.

Hot Coffee Latte

One part Coffee Heering

Two parts steamed milk

Pour the milk into a pot with enough room to double its volume. Heat the milk until it is very warm but not scalding.

Froth the milk with a frother for about one minute but make sure the bubbles remain soft, not too stiff.

Fill one-third of each glass with the Coffee Heering. While blocking the foam with a tablespoon, fill two-thirds of each glass with the milk, then top each drink with a tablespoon of the foam.