Winter Sunshine Latkas

This recipe was in the Los Angeles Times. I made it twice this week, once for my son's birthday, which was also the first day of Hanukkah, and for my community garden holiday potluck, which was the third day of Hanukkah.

1 cup grated baking potato, drained and firmly packed.
3 cups mixed root vegetables, peeled and grated (I used sweet potato and rutabaga the first time. The second time it was sweet potato and carrotts. They both turned out great.)
3 eggs beaten
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup chopped fres parsley or cilantro (Leaves only)
Olive oil for frying
Yogurt or sour cream for garnish

1. In a large bowl, mix together the grated, well drained potato and root vegetables. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix well.
2. Pour 1/4" of olive oil into a large skillet and heat over medium heat until hot. To form each latka, use a 1/4 cup measure or ice cream scoop.
3. Form and fry a few latkas at a time (being careful not to crowd the pan), cooking tem until edges are crispy and brown, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Remove the latkas to a pack or paper towel lined plate, keeping them warm until all the latkas are fried. They are delicious served warm with yogurt or sour cream.

 

Cornbread Dressing with Roasted Fall Vegetables

This recipe is from Bon Appétit from November 2007

1 10 ounce bag pearl onions (if you can get multi-colored ones it is really beautiful)
2.5 cups carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch diagonal slices (about 3/4lb)
2.5 cups peeled and sliced parsnips (about 3/4lb)
2 cups 1/2 cubes peeled rutabagas (about 3/4lb)
2/3 cup olive oil divided
1 pound crimini (baby bella mushrooms) stemmed, caps halved (I don't like mushrooms so we didn't use any.)
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried crushed rosemary
1.5 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
6 cups 1/2 inch cubes Cornbread
3 large eggs, beated to blend (I forgot to beat them, just cracked them over the mixture and stirred... it was fine.)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1.5 cups chicken stock

Position one rack in the top third and one rack in the bottom third of the oven; Preheat to 425ºF. Cook onions is a small saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes. (This will take the tearing burn out of them.) Drain.
Cool slightly, trim and peel. Place onions, carrots, parsnips and rutabagas in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 1/3 cup oil over and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. 

Place mushrooms and garlic on another rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with remaining 1/3 cup oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Roast mushrooms and garlic on top rack until tender, stirring once for about 30 minutes. (Since I was not using mushrooms I didn't use as much oil and only roasted them for about 15 minutes). Roast root vegetables on the lower rack until tender and brown around the edges, stirring every 15 minutes for about 1 hour. (I gave them an extra 15 minutes). Add mushrooms, if using to root vegetables in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mash garlic with a fork until it's pureed. Add pureed garlic and herbs to vegetables and toss to coat. (I accidently mixed the herbs with the pureed garlic, which made it hard to toss with the vegetables, but I think it turned out OK.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

**You can do up to this point and make the cornbread a day ahead, which is a good idea because it is time consuming. Just let it cool, cover and stick in the fridge. Bring mixture to room temperature before continuing.

Place cornbread cubes on large rimmed baking sheet. Let bread cubes stand at room temperature to dry slightly for about an hour. 

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter 13x9x2 inch oval baking dish. Add cornbread cubes to vegetables; toss to distribute evenly. Add eggs, toss to coat. Drizzle with melted butter, toss to coat. Add chicken stock and stir to combine. (Mixture will be very moist) Transfer to prepared dish.

Bake uncovered until lightly browned and crisp around the edges, about 45 minutes. (We put this in the oven as soon as we took the turkey out. The timing worked out perfectly.)