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11/20/2019 11:00 PMMy most vivid memories of Hanukkah as a child include a menorah, presents (of course), and most of all my grandmother's latkes. I've never tasted anything that came close to them. Thinking it would be a special thing of hers to have, I asked her for the recipe. It was a simple recipe made up of five ingredients, and the only work involved in putting them together was combining and frying. And yet, to my great disappointment, they were nothing like I remembered. Actually, they were even worse. And it was then that I remembered my uncle saying something about trying to make her famous matzo ball soup recipe once and realizing half-way through that a vital step in the instructions was missing: freezing the matzo ball dough before cooking them. Ever since he has been hellbent that my grandmother purposely leaves out one key ingredient or step with all of the recipes that she passes down to ensure that no one will be able to make them better than she did. My aunt, the least cynical member of the family, always assures us that the oversights are the result of her having the recipes memorized that she's not used to writing them down for other people. Knowing my grandmother, I can see it going either way.
When I told my aunt of my latke disaster, she responded with a "well you drained the moisture out, didn't you?" as if there's a part of matrilineality that makes you genetically predisposed to just knowing these things.
So I gave it another try, making sure to squeeze all the excess moisture out of the potatoes after I grated them. And what do you know, it was the step I had been missing all along. Although, I will say it still wasn't quite the same as hers, and I think she would have liked that.
Potato Latkes
3 large potatoes (peeled and grated)
2 eggs
Small onion (grated)
2 tablespoon flour
Salt
*Editor's note: After peeling potatoes, squeeze out excess moisture with a cloth or paper towel. Combine ingredients. If too runny, add more flour. Drop in hot oil for a minute or two until brown. Turn over. Place on paper toweling to absorb grease.