Damn You Pinterest - Multiculturalism Fail

One of the reasons we wanted to move up here was to expose our kids to more diversity. Since Hanukkah started on Saturday, I figured we'd have a brisket on Sunday with a bunch of traditionally fried foods finished off with some sufganiyot (Israeli jelly donuts). We'd be bad Jews because we like our latkas with sour cream and there was milk in the sufganiyot. I felt better about trying to incorporate diversity into our kids's lives when Justin, obviously a product of the Utah school system, mentioned that we weren't fasting, at which point I had to remind him that not only was that not Hanukkah, that wasn't even Judaism. There was also a little bit of a fail when I tried to get brisket at the grocery store and 3 out of 4 grocery stores around here were having ham and seafood sales for Christmas. Oops. So I had to settle for chuck roast over rump roast (which isn't kosher). Plus it was on sale.

The real fail started when I tried to actually cook. The latkas wouldn't stick together, under cooked, and then when I put them into the oven to crisp back up, they burned a little. I mismeasured the mushroom batter, overcompensated by trying to double batter them, which meant they were very crunchy on the outside but  the mushrooms didn't cook inside. And then the sufganiyot. Sigh. I don't know if it was a bad recipe, or if my yeast was dead, or my kitchen was too cold, or they were too thick, but it was a big fat FAIL. At least the pot roast turned out okay.

Recipe here.

The Pin: World's fastest latkas made with hash browns

The Verdict: I've made this before, so I have NO idea why they didn't turn out. I tried to squeezed out all the water, but maybe my hash browns weren't thawed all the way and that's why they under cooked? I've found that the recipe calls for waaaay too much salt (a tablespoon) which I've cut down to a teaspoon and a half. But it is pretty quick and when they turned out before, were very tasty.

Recipe here.

The Pin: Panko fried mushrooms

The Verdict: We tried a hamburger joint near our house that had fried mushrooms on their menu that were DIVINE. They seemed really easy, so I figured we'd give them a try in the deep fryer. However, I misread the size of mushroom container I got, doubled the batter recipe, and used half panko and half bread crumbs because I didn't have enough panko. When I realized my mistake, I double battered the mushrooms to try not to waste any, but it then made the coating too thick and the mushrooms didn't cook. They were still good though, but next time I'll follow the recipe exactly.

Recipe here.

The Pin: Sufganiyot, Israeli jelly donuts

The Verdict: These did not turn out well. I looked up another recipe afterwards which used way more flour in ratio to the liquids. My yeast is also probably past it's prime, because when I made the dough, it refused to come together and still acted like a batter. After an hour of rising, nothing. I kneaded in more flour and rolled it out.  I guess I rolled them out too thick because when Justin fried them, they turned out RAW in the middle. Ugh. So the next day, I tried the Pillsbury biscuit donuts, which worked out fine, but they taste exactly like fried Pillsbury biscuits, not donuts.

Recipe here.

The Pin: Spice Rub for chicken, pork or beef.

The Verdict: This is the same spice rub I used last year for Hanukkah. It's got a lot of flavour but it's super easy. I like to cook pot roast with this method. The beef stock makes for a nice juice that can been thickened into a gravy or used as is.

So that was Hanuakkah, as pathetic as it was. I think that we might have a Danish Christmas Eve which will involve risalamande. They also traditionally serve cabbage with goose, duck or pork roast, but I don't really like goose or duck, so pulled pork sandwiches and coleslaw might have to suffice.