My Memories of a Hanukkah Party

Although many recall Hanukkah with fond memories of exciting gifts, my Hanukkah memories revolve around food. Delicious fried potato pancakes and chocolate Hanukkah coins were staples at our holiday dinner. We had roasted chicken too, but it was the pungent aroma of the potato latkes that permeated the house and made my mouth water. The first year I was married my family lived hours away. I did not live in same area as my parents, so I decided to have a holiday party for my friends and create the traditional foods I enjoyed as a child. The preparation of the potato latkes still stand out in my mind.

We lived in an apartment in Fort Lee, New Jersey at the time. Although the bedrooms in our apartment were spacious, the kitchen had little counter space. I did not have a food processor because they took up a lot of room. Nevertheless, I was determined to make potato latkes for 30 people with freshly grated potatoes. After peeling 20 potatoes, I took out a small hand grater and began grating. It seemed like my pile of potatoes was barely disappearing, but my hands and fingers began hurting from the constant back and forth motion together with the pressure I had to apply to grate the potatoes. After the first hour I wondered if the potato latkes were worth the effort. Finally I asked my husband to help.

“Honey, could you do me a favor?”

“What? I am watching the football game.”

“Don’t worry. You can do it while you watch.”

“Okay.”

Minutes later, I had the hand grater over an empty bowl and a pile of peeled potatoes in front of my husband. While he began grating, I began cutting onions, mixing other ingredients and frying the latkes. A half hour later, my husband began grumbling about his fingers too. An hour later, he was more than willing to leave his seat in front of the television as long as he did not have to grate potatoes. In the end, we took turns grumbling and grating together until the job got done.

The smell of crispy, fried potato latkes greeted my guests that night, but my husband and I have never forgotten the effort or time it took to make them. Nevertheless, despite our discomfort grating, I still look back and remember our joint effort in creating a memorable Hanukkah party for our friends. Nowadays, I still entertain friends on Hanukkah, but I usually ask them to bring potato latkes while I take care of the main course and dessert.


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