Little Susie Homebreaker

The League of Amazing Latkes

I dream about potato pancakes. There aren't enough Hanukkah parties to sate my appetite; I always want more.

I used to cry like a spoiled brat because even though I have the perfect recipe— and I do mean "the best latke you've ever tasted"— my routine took a couple hours of numbing handwork to prepare, and ruined any possibility of a quick fix.

I don't like squeezing water out of potato gratings in cheesecloth scraps until my arms fall off. I don't care to spend all day grating a mountain of potatoes plus part of my knuckles. Yet nothing but my own recipe satisfies me.

It turns out that immediate gratification IS possible with the right equipment. It took me twenty years to realize this, but no one should suffer as long as I did. The tools are everything in this recipe. There are no substitutions!

Susie's Perfect Latkes On Demand

2 1/2 - 3 cups grated potatoes, grated in a Cuisinart

1 onion— the size of a tennis ball, grated in a Cuisinart

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons fine matzo meal crumbs from the box— no other crumb will do!

2 T. sea salt

Lots of black pepper

2 T. butter

2 T. canola or safflower oil

Sour Cream

Applesauce

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees— you won't be baking, but you need a warm place to store your piles of fresh-cooked latkes. You'd like to think you could cram them all in your mouth at once, but be realistic— you need a spot to keep them hot.

Willow's Perfect Scones

I got up this morning and decided to bake something, something that would give me zest for life.

I found myself reaching for Willow's Perfect Scone recipe.

I get excited by the classic English scone— the tender one that teases you where the butter crumbles in the flake, the one that's just a little sweet— to get your attention— and makes you groan for lemon curd. Yeah, those scones. Not the hockey pucks.

Before I met Willow, I had no idea scones were so easy to make. People have been fooled by scone mixes and Starbucks-society to think they're not a simple home-cooked treat. Not true! The key is buttermilk. For lack of buttermilk, many cooks cave in and make waffles instead. 

The great thing about buttermilk is once you buy that bright yellow quart, you can leave it in the fridge for a lonnnnng time. It's not like regular milk, it's already sour. Just pick up a bottle next time you're at the grocery store without planning anything in particular. Or get the powder, if you're cautious.

Now you're ready to unleash the buttermilk fiend at any time: fried chicken that makes grown men sob, blowing your afore-mentioned waffles' minds, dressing up salads or anything spicy, and of course, making the unforgettable scone.