Lotza Latkes

Our friend Eliot, when pressed by me to request a specific dish for our Saturday night get-together, chose Latkes and beet salad. Having never made latkes before, I consulted our old friend The Internet. I used this recipe as my basic template. Then I turned to Chowhound for some tips, such as throwing in a little baking powder for fluffiness. I confess, the serious tenor of the chowhounders intimidated me a bit. These people really know their latkes and don't fuck around. It also made me feel a bit guilty mixing in a dash of instant mashed potatoes as a fail-safe for my initial latke-making adventure. Another sin for some, I opted for the food processor over a box grater. In the end, I'm not sure if anyone could notice these cheats except perhaps one of those latke masters from the 'hound.


I started Jackie and Eliot with a coldcut nosh and crispy white wine, while I finished frying the last of the latkes. Then, we moved outside to the patio where I served the salad. This dish was actually planned a week before when I was making my borscht. I had roasted an extra beet and put it in the fridge with vinegar. Last night, I mixed that with some pine nuts, goat feta, fresh dill, and white onions, placed on a bed of arugula. To this, I added a couple eggs I had pickled. The salad was a light and tasty complement to the big meats that would follow.


I had asked Eliot to bring by some dark rye from one of those amazing Russian bakeries in West Hollywood . He did not disappoint, showing up with a loaf of the blackest most beautiful bread you will find. Holy shit, that combined with killer veal sausage and some raw onion was out-of-the-box good. Eliot also brought us some wonderful sour cream to accompany the applesauce we'd be covering our latkes with.


But no meal, for Jackie, is complete without dessert. Me? I'm not much a sweets fan; you'll probably never read about me whipping up a pastry or some such thing. But what I offered last night seemed to please: Ben&Jerry's vanilla ice cream topped with this awesome coconut jam called Kaya that I got from my new favorite Malaysain restaurant: Yazmin. Add a fresh strawberry, and you've got a cool and refreshing way to end a Saturday night repast.