It’s that time of year again—time to break out the tinsel and the holiday sweaters and, of course, the cookies! Yesterday was the Workman holiday party, and we really pulled out the stops. In addition to gifts under the tree, a rockin’ holiday band, and a record-breaking dance number (more details soon…!), the party also saw the return of a favorite holiday tradition: the annual Workman cookie swap.

A very small sampling of the many desserts at the party

What is a cookie swap, you ask? It’s just that: a swapping of cookies. Partygoers whipped up a batch of their favorite cookies—often, you probably won’t be surprised to learn, out of a Workman cookbook—and then laid them out for display. Then everyone who brought in baked goods could put together a sampler of all the other cookies they wanted to take home. And even those of us who didn’t make anything were allowed to try a few—you know, in the generous holiday spirit and all.

This year the edible offerings were as great as ever, with cookies running the gamut from peanut butter thumbprints to chocolate whoopie pies. Among the many highlights were treats from two of our favorite cookie books: Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunch Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich and Lauren Chattman’s Cookie Swap! Below, check out (on the left) some Snickerdoodles from Chewy Gooey and (right) some Chocolate Peppermint Dirt Cookies from Cookie Swap!, lovingly baked by Workman employees.

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Gearing up for your own holiday party? Whip up a plate of delicious ginger cookies from Artisan’s spectacular Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy and you’re sure to wow all the holiday revelers you know; the recipe’s below. (And keep scrolling for a few choice shots from the party!)

Partygoers mingle and jingle.

Red-and-green peanut butter thumbprints (!!)

The Reprints---Nancy (at the back on the spoons), Erin, Liz, Bob, David, Jeanne, and Mike (below)---rock out.

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Donated gifts under the tree---and Cheryl and Griffith Day of "The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook" on top!

Happy holidays, from our family to yours!
—Avery

With our turkey craving satisfied and Christmas less than twenty days away, the holiday season is officially upon us. And of course we are smack dab in the middle of the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. Most likely, there are some gentle gentiles out there who’ve been invited to their first Hanukkah party and are uncertain about what to expect. For all those first-timers, Molly Katz’s Jewish as a Second Language, a humorous field guide to Jewish culture, offers some tips for navigating the waters.

Jewish Guest Behavior

When visiting your new relatives and friends, you will encounter situations that seem familiar. Your impulse will be to handle them in the familiar way. Do not make this mistake.

Heed these lessons:

Situation

You’re a dinner guest. You’ve brought a huge tin of anchovies for a gift (you have a relative in the restaurant supply business).

Old Behavior. You present the gift, eat, and leave.

New Behavior. Before dinner, mention often that you’re bringing something great. When you arrive, insist that the hostess serve the anchovies immediately. Ask if she has capers. Suggest she roll each anchovy around one. Watch while she does it. She might miss some.

Direct the other guests’ attention to the anchovies. Don’t let them get distracted by the other hors d’oeuvres. During the meal, remind everyone a few times how good the anchovies were. When you leave, ask the hostess if she really enjoyed them. Hint that you might bring something even better next time.

Situation

(Women Only)

You’re at a new relative’s holiday dinner. Nearly everyone has finished eating. You’d like to help clear.

Old Behavior. You wait till the last person is done, then carry plates to the kitchen. Everyone moves to the living room. Later, before leaving, you offer to help wash. The hostess declines.

New Behavior. About now the hostess will rise and reach for the plates of those who are finished. Stand next to her and help as she scrapes food onto one plate and stacks the others. Keep glancing at those still eating to see if they’re done yet. Only when all dishes are scraped, stacked, and organized can you bring them to the kitchen.

The men, and any women who don’t care about their reputations, will retire to the family room for TV and conversation about what’s on the TV. The real women will bulldoze the kitchen, washing, wiping, and wrapping leftover food to the tune of such favorites as “It’s a Crime to Throw This Out,” “Let the Glasses Air-Dry—It’s More Sanitary,” and “Don’t You Have a Tupperware Arugula Container?”

Situation

You’re a first-time guest in someone’s home, and you’re sniffling. It must be your cat allergy.

Old Behavior. You take an antihistamine and have fun anyway.

New Behavior. Ask accusingly if they have a cat. Proclaim that you’re violently allergic. When they offer to put the cat in another room, say it’s too late. Ask what medications they have. Reject them all. Describe the details of your allergy. Use up a box or two of tissues. When the topic shifts, sneeze louder.

Another delicious latke recipe from Judy Bart Kancigor’s Cooking Jewish. Click here for more Hanukkah posts.

MALAYSIAN LATKES
From Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman) by Judy Bart Kancigor

1/2 cup chopped unsalted cashews or peanuts
1/4 cup chopped mint or flat-leaf parsley, or a combination
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeño pepper, seeded and deveined
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 large eggs, beaten
2 large baking potatoes (12 ounces each), cut into wedges
1 medium-size onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil, for frying
Cucumber Dip with Yogurt Sauce (recipe below)

1. Combine the cashews, mint, bell pepper, jalapeño, ginger, salt, curry powder, and eggs in a large bowl, and mix well. Set it aside.

2. Shred the potatoes and onion together in a food processor fitted with the shredding disk. Squeeze between several changes of paper towels to release as much liquid as possible. Add the potato/onion mixture to the egg mixture, and combine well. Stir in the flour.

3. Pour enough oil into a large, heavy skillet to cover the bottom, and heat it over medium-high heat. When the oil is quite hot but not smoking, add a scant 1/4 cup batter per latke and flatten them with a fork. Fry only as many latkes as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Cook until crisp and brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the latkes to paper towels to drain. Keep the latkes warm while frying the remainder.

4. Serve immediately, with the Cucumber dip. Makes about 16.

(Cacik) Cucumber Dip with Minty Yogurt Sauce

1 English (hothouse) cucumber
Kosher (coarse) salt
2 cups plain yogurt
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds

1. Grate the cucumber coarsely into a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt, and allow to stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Then rinse off the salt and let drain.

2. Combine the yogurt, garlic, olive oil, cumin seeds, and salt to taste in a bowl, and whisk until smooth and creamy.

3. Pat the cucumbers dry, and combine them with the yogurt sauce. Taste and adjust the salt. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour.

Hanukkah starts early this year, but Judy Bart Kancigor, author of Cooking Jewish, is always ready with a creative and delicious recipes! She’s back again with her menu for this year’s Hanukkah party.

We’re still nibbling on leftover turkey, and here comes Hanukkah already! This year our Chavurah (a group of friends that meets monthly for dining and dishing) is having a Hanukkah tapas party. What a great idea!

Ever notice that the hors d’oevres are more fun than the meal? A meal of hors d’oevres – what a concept! I am in charge of the latkes, so I’m making minis: my Crispy, Crunchy Potato Latkes with Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce (below) and, for something really different, Malaysian Latkes accompanied by Cucumber Dip with Minty Yogurt Sauce.

I’ll do a few the low-fat way too for the die-hards and…okay, okay, I’ll bring some applesauce and sour cream for the traditionalists. Happy Hanukkah!

Judy Bart Kancigor

CRISPY, CRUNCHY POTATO LATKES WITH AUNT HILDA’S CHERRY CHILI DIPPING SAUCE

From Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman) by Judy Bart Kancigor

2 pounds baking potatoes
2 large eggs
1/2 medium-size onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 medium-size firm apple, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher (coarse) salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour or matzah meal
Peanut or canola oil, for frying
Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce, for serving

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. To keep them white and release some of the starch, submerge them in a bowl of water while you’re preparing the remaining ingredients.

2. Place the eggs in a blender. Add the onion, apple, salt, white pepper and baking powder. Drain the potatoes and squeeze them dry in paper towels. Add enough of the potatoes to fill the blender (all 2 pounds may not fit). Turn on the blender, and pushing down on the sides with a rubber spatula (careful you don’t blend the spatula — there is no rubber in this recipe), blend until the potatoes just move around. Add the remaining potatoes as you’re blending, but do not over-process or make it too smooth. The texture should resemble applesauce. (This takes about 6 seconds in my Osterizer.)

3. Transfer the batter to a large bowl and add the flour. The batter should be flowing, but not too thin.

4. Now for the real secret of my very crisp latkes: Pour enough oil into a large skillet to coat the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it is quite hot but not smoking. Use a serving spoon to scoop up the batter (about 2 tablespoons per scoop), hold the spoon about 8 inches above the pan, and spill it all at once. Splat! Remove your hand quickly so you don’t burn yourself. (Like tennis, it’s all in the wrist.) The batter will splatter, forming holes … the better to hold the dipping sauce. Repeat with as many as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Cook until browned, about 1 minute. Then flip them over and cook the other side for 1 minute.

5. Drain the latkes well on paper towels, and keep them warm while you cook the remainder, adding more oil as needed.

6. Serve immediately, with Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce.

Note: If you want to make the batter ahead, to cook later or the next day, prepare it through Step 2 (do not add the flour), and pour the mixture into a tight-fitting glass jar (do not use plastic ware). Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles, cover the batter well with a thick layer of flour, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. When you are ready to use it, remove and discard the flour with the black layer that has formed beneath it. Transfer the batter to a large bowl, stir in the flour, and proceed with Step 4 using fresh flour.

Makes about 3 dozen latkes.

Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Dipping Sauce (without the chicken!)

1 can (16 1/2 ounces) pitted black cherries, undrained
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup dry sherry or white wine
2 bottles (12 ounces each) chili sauce, such as Heinz
1/3 cup (packed) dark brown sugar

Slice the cherries and combine them with their liquid, the raisins, sherry, chili sauce, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Reduce this mixture over medium-high heat until it’s as thick as you like it, about 20 minutes.

For more Hanukkah recipes, visit cookingjewish.com or read Judy’s blog post from last year.

With Hanukkah beginning at sundown tonight, Judy Bart Kancigor, author of Cooking Jewish, shares some of her favorite holiday memories and recipes for a Hanukkah feast including latkes, dipping sauce, and a delicious cherry chicken.

Hanukkah comes early this year. You know what they say about the Jewish holidays – they’re always early or late. They’re never on time!

When my boys were young, I used to hate it when Hanukkah came early. By the time Christmas rolled around, all their toys were already broken. Oh, the joys of the Hebrew lunar calendar. Only once, to my memory, did Hanukkah fall after Christmas. That year I saved all my Hanukkah shopping for the day after Christmas sales. (Talk about a leap of faith!)

As we light the candles, I can’t help but remember the Hanukkahs of my youth. My mother’s family was very close, and we cousins (13 of us) were raised together practically as siblings. Remember the movie Avalon? That was our childhood (without the fire, of course!) There were so many of us Papa Harry even put a board in the children’s table.

The highlight, of course, was our Hanukkah party. The pile of latkes! The mountain of presents! The noise! The excitement! The squabbles! Then when we cousins started producing the great-grandchildren, Aunt Sally’s basement bulged with our bounty. (No one ever thought of drawing names for a gift exchange back then!)

When we moved to California from New York, our boys were six and four. Away from our roots, our friends became our extended family, and our neighbors only too eager to share our traditions. On the first night of Hanukkah I would make my signature latkes, those crispy, irresistible potato pancakes, and set them on doily-lined Hanukkah paper plates for my boys to distribute up and down the block.

I have noticed through the years, however, that a snobbery has developed among latke aficionados, who view with disdain from their lofty perch those who use a blender to process the potatoes. Their mantra? Shredded is better. “Oh, no,” they tsk-tsk when they see my recipe, just a touch of feigned sympathy in their eyes. “I use the food processor. I like texture.”

Texture? You want texture? I’ll give you texture. Use my SPLAT! method and you’ll get all the texture you want with these babies. My family hovers over the pan to fight over the thinnest ones that are so crunchy and full of holes you can practically see through them, so turn down your decibel meter.

Now for the real secret of my very crispy latkes. Heat the oil until very hot, but not smoking. (I use canola.)  Scoop some batter with a large spoon, hold the spoon about eight inches above the pan and spill all at once. SPLAT! Remove your hand quickly so you don’t burn yourself. (It’s all in the wrist.) The pancake will splatter, forming holes, the better to hold the sour cream or applesauce. Keeping the temperature of the oil constant is key, so don’t crowd the pan. Allow the temperature to go down and you risk soggy latkes.

If you want to prepare the batter up to a day ahead, here’s a trick taught to me years ago by my friend, Elaine Asa. Prepare the batter without adding the flour, and pour the mixture into a tight-fitting glass jar. (Do not use plastic ware.) Tap the jar on the counter to release any air bubbles, cover the batter well with a thick layer of flour, and refrigerate up to 24 hours. When ready to cook, remove the flour layer with the black ring that has formed beneath it. Then add the flour, stir and fry.

For a change of pace, serve the latkes with a dipping sauce made from Aunt Hilda’s Cherry Chili Chicken, her decades-old signature dish, eagerly anticipated by all (although she just called it “Holiday Chicken.” I always was a sucker for alliteration.) Sweet yet zippy, pretty plump cherries dotting the dish, Aunt Hilda’s Holiday Chicken ushered in countless New Years, heralded scores of birthdays and graced many a holiday table.

Not serving chicken this year? I’ve included a recipe below for the dipping sauce minus the bird. Happy Hanukkah to all!!

Click here for recipes fit for a Hanukkah feast