This morning Gerri Chizeck put aside her role as head of The Day School at Baltimore Hebrew, tied on her apron, and led a brigade of parent and student volunteers as they made some 250 latkes for the evening's much-anticipated school-wide Chanukah party.
When it comes to making latkes, Chizeck is hands-on from start to finish. “I love making latkes and enjoy feeling like the old Jewish mother who gets bloody knuckles from grating potatoes by hand,” she says. “It makes me feel part of my heritage.”
Tonight they will celebrate the holiday with a pot-luck party for the students of the Day School and their families. The party will include traditional songs, dreidl games, lighting the menorah, and of course the latkes. But, it’s not all fun and games for this community, they have also collected toys for the Toy Closet at Jewish Family Services and coats for the WBAL Coats for Kids Campaign.
Potato Latke recipe
Chizeck estimates they used 200 potatoes and 55 eggs for the latkes for her crowd, below is her recipe for a more manageable group.
2 lbs. potatoes
2 eggs
one onion, grated
3 tablespoons flour
salt
oil for frying
Peel and finely grate potatoes, mix with onions and squeeze to remove excess water. Beat eggs lightly with salt and add to potato mixture. Next, add flour and stir. Fill the bottom of a heavy frying pan with oil and heat. Take serving spoonfuls of the mixture and drop into hot oil. Flatten, and cook evenly. When one side is brown, turn over and brown the other. Serve latkes hot with applesauce. Serves 6
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