Eight days of eats

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The eight-day Festival of Lights begins sundown Tuesday. Some of my Christian friends ask me if I’m getting ready for the holiday. What’s to get ready?

I pull out my childhood menorah, buy extra candles — just in case — and look forward to a week’s worth of good food and wine. We invite friends and family in for potato latkes served with sour cream and caviar, blintz souffl�, Champagne and dessert during the Hanukkah weekend.

I am happy to report the publication of "Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family" by Judy Bart Kancigor. I just received a copy — which is 656 pages long — and it’s a winner.

Kancigor is a cooking teacher in Southern California. About four years ago, she decided to gather her huge family’s recipes (her mother is one of seven children), test them with the help of dozens and dozens of friends and relatives, and compile them along with stories about growing up in a large Jewish home.

As I looked through the photographs, I realized the kinship Jewish families share in America. Pictures of my family and my husband Edward’s huge family could easily be substituted for the ones in Kancigor’s book. Jewish family life is strongly linked to celebrations such as birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs, weddings and holidays. Someone always records the events for posterity.

If you’re going to a Hanukkah party, buy a copy of the book for the host or hostess. And remember, you don’t have to be Jewish to savor the food.

Here are recipes from "Cooking Jewish:"

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure orange extract
• 12 frozen cheese blintzes
• Ground cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Pour the melted butter into a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and spread it out to coat the bottom and sides.
• Combine the eggs, sugar, sour cream, orange juice and the vanilla and orange extracts in a blender and process until smooth. Stir in the excess melted butter from the baking pan.
• Arrange the blintzes in the prepared pan and sprinkle liberally with the cinnamon. Pour the egg mixture over the blintzes. Bake until puffy and browned, about 45 minutes.
• Serves 12.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 6 medium tart apples, peeled, thinly sliced and chopped
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Cinnamon/sugar mixture, made by combining 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon with 1 cup sugar

Directions:

• Beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until light and lemon-colored, about two minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-high and blend in the sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Beat in the orange juice. Beat in the flour until blended. Stir in the apples.
• Pour oil to a depth of about a half-inch in a large skillet. Heat over medium-high until very hot, but not smoking. Drop two tablespoons of the batter at a time into the oil. Fry until golden, about two minutes on the first side and one minute on the other. Do not crowd the skillet or the pancakes will be soggy.
• Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the pancakes and serve immediately.
• Makes 24 pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1-1/2 sticks of butter, melted
• 2 cups of small-curd cottage cheese
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan, grated
• 1-1/2 cups of buttermilk baking mix such as Bisquick

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and beat well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Raise the temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Serves 18.

Note from Phyllis: Kancigor writes this dish is quite rich, so small servings will do.