Happy Hanukkah!

A few days ago I went to a friend's beautiful party to celebrate the start of Hanukkah! I'm afraid I shamefully gorged myself on the sufganiyot (the traditional jelly-filled donuts--the oil used to fry them reminds us of the miracle of the lamp oil in the Temple), and here is the recipe in case you want to throw a Hanukkah party yourself!

• 25 grams (1 ounce) yeast
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 3 cups flour
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) margarine, melted
• dash of salt
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups water (room temperature)
• jelly (strawberry is recommended)
• oil for frying (canola is recommended)
• powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. To make the dough: Combine the first four ingredients in a bowl. Mix well, cover, and wait until it rises. In another bowl, mix 3 cups of flour with the melted margarine, salt, sugar and egg yolks. Combine the yeast mixture with the flour mixture. Slowly add water while stirring. When batter is smooth, cover the bowl with a towel and let it sit and rise.
2. To make the doughnuts: After the batter has risen, pour it onto a floured surface and roll it out. Use a glass with a small opening to cut out circles of the dough. Place a drop of jelly in the middle of each circle, and then cover with another circle of dough. Make sure that 2 circles attach well to form a closed ball with jelly in the middle. Cover the doughnuts with a towel and let rise.
3. To fry the doughnuts: Heat oil in a deep pot until very hot. Drop the doughnuts into the oil and fry on both sides until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

TIP: These sufganiot are only good fresh. After you make the dough, only fry a few at a time. Store the rest of the dough in the refrigerator.

Holiday Party Goodies

So this weekend is the Fourth of July! It feels like summer is Officially On. And to help us get the party started, here are a couple very easy recipes I love for summer cookouts (I'm not much of a cook at all, so if I say it's easy, believe me it's EASY!)

Watermelon Martini:
1 part vodka (or citrus vodka, for an extra tang) to 1 1/2 parts pureed watermelon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass




And for the grill, Veggie Kabobs (I think I got this from the America's Test Kitchen show on PBS, but can't remember for sure! It's got a nice Greek flavor to it)

Marinade
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, mashed

Veggies
4 medium-sized red onions, quartered
2 medium-sized green zucchini, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium-sized yellow summer squash, 1 inch pieces
12 button mushrooms, stemmed
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 package extra-firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 lb crumbled feta cheese

1) Mix marinade, stirring to blend ingredients
2) Place prepped veggies and tofu in 2-gallon ziplock baggie, pour in marinade and turn over to coat everything; marinate in fridge 1-4 hours
3) When ready to cook, remove veggies from marinade and thread onto skewers, leaving a little space between. Grill about 15-20 minutes, until the veggies are golden and tender
4) Serve warm with crumbled feta (and the watermelon martini!)

Add some music (maybe the Marie Antoinette soundtrack? Or the Beatles, or Bob Marley?), some sparklers, and you have a summer party!