No, the Jewish homes would have used fat rendered from their Kosher butcher. But for most Eastern Europeans and lots of other places, it is mostly lard made from butcher sources that would be mixed, but would be mostly pig/pork. But the Jewish populations almost always had to follow the localities sources, as far as they were able.That one reason why being Kosher was even "harder" then, I would think.

I use canola oil with all my pan fried things (less and less of those as time goes on) and fry them very crispy. Make sure you have the oil very hot before you drop in potatoes and then they will be lighter and not greasy from absorbing cooling fats. I always do press with a paper towel on both sides when they come out as I try to make them as free of fat excess as possible. I hate that lead balloon feeling you get from greasy food input, like after eating potato chips. You don't get that grease soak if you put mixture in when fat/oil are very hot and if you pat/press both sides and salt immediately upon taking out. That's why I almost always do latkes or cannoli shells or anything with that heat and speed, with a duo or more. One to fry, one to pat/salt etc. We used to have a great assembly line and one SON would do ravioli, or cannoli shells with me. Cannoli shells you need at least three. One to cut dough and wrap on the rods, one to dip sticks in oil / fry/ turn and get out before they are too dark, and one to slide the shell off the rods and get to the draining/paper or rack. I did them with just two a couple of years ago and we both ended up with small burns and quite a few overdone shells. We make our cannoli shells very rarely now, but I know how to do it and the dough has no other liquid but wine.

Lots of this stuff is so much fun and for religious or any traditional holiday children love to help and learn. Now with food processors I don't think the latest generation even knows how to grate. It's hard work and you always lose some knuckle skin. I used to do 20 lbs. and it would take me most of Saturday when I was a girl. We didn't have "activities" we had that kind of work. ALWAYS. I am rather glad that my granddaughters aren't "working" all the time. But skills are lost.

Be careful if you are using Crisco and heating in a shallow pan. It smokes at a lower heat, I think, and you don't want to start a grease fire or your smoke alarm going off- or worse burn yourself. But DON'T cook on a slow heat with Crisco or you will have grease bombs as a result. If it starts to smoke at ALL, turn it down.

Trouble with this kind of skill is that by the time you get really good at it, you may have passed the point in your life when you afford these kind of calories with any amount of exercise you would do. Well, that is why they are so good for a traditional feast, like Chanukah- because they are happy/special ways to celebrate. Just once or twice a year, or for very special celebration.

To get the smell out of the air, I use a scented candle. Grease was "burnt" if you can smelt it REALLY heavy. And it will hang awhile.

Oh my dear ones, I just read all the additonal postings. Now tomorrow I am going to reread. Right at the moment my head is spinning but at the same time I understand because it is like when I try to tell people how to cook Italian food.

I only know how to do it. Have nothing written down. I have cooked for 300 people. But to tell someone how to prepare pasta for say 30, no idea. I try to explain but it is always a problem because I do not have an exact receipe written down about any dishes. Because one just knows how much of this and that and when to do what and when.

A side note, my Italian grandmother always told me that the two cultures that were the same were the Italians and the Jews. She always said that their morals, their love of family, their love of God, their love of their history etc. bonded them together in ways most people did not understand.

Well dear ones, IMHO it is true. And I am going to prepare latkes, but know that they will not be as wonderful as if I had learned how to cook them at a dear grandmothers elbow. But I am overwhelmed by all the good and beautiful advice you have posted to help me. I wish we could all sit down together to enjoy a wonderful meal together. Shalom!

ita: I have never frozen latkes, we always eat them as I cook them but you could test a pancake out - it shouldn't take long to freeze. I also use canola oil. As for the smell, usually the smell that lingers is pleasant unless the oil burns then as JJ5 suggested, lighting a scented candle helps...a bit!

This IS a great thread. I really enjoy learning about the cultural traditions of food and the family.

LoveItaly - I have never used Crisco to fry latkes. I use canola, corn or peanut oil for my latkes - depending on what I have in the house.

I drain them on a brown grocery bag.

I have only frozen them one time, a few years ago when my non-Jewish in-laws and some other friends were coming for dinner. I didn't want to look frazzled and I didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen when they were there. I'd do it again.

If you freeze them, fry them a little underdone to allow for browning in the reheating stage.
On the advise of my cousin, a fabulous cook, Jewish and otherwise, I made them a few days in advance and froze them in one layer on individual cookie sheets, separating the layers with wax paper or parchment paper. When they are frozen, put them into a plastic freezer bag. I think that you can only freeze them for 4-5 days. Mine were only frozen for 2 days.

You reheat them on cookie sheets in a 450 degree oven for 5-8 minutes, or a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until they are hot, sizzling, and crispy.

Actually they were even better than I had expected. Everyone was pleased, my kitchen was clean, and I was able to eat with my guests.

I used to use Russets exclusively until Yukon Golds became popular. I like them both. The russets have a more 'potato-y' flavor, and the yukon golds are very smooth tasting. I have never tried red potatoes, but I probably will now that they have been so highly recommended.

One recipe that I saw online said "this serves a family of four, as long as the mother doesn't eat!" ;-)

Potatoes - shred with shredding blade on Cuisinart. Couldn't be easier.

Oil - vegetable!!

Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce.

When placing on table, move quickly out of way. ((Y))

One Wandering Jew, it IS a small world! I was born in Bobruisk. Belarus rocks huh ;) And in 15 years of living in USA never ever had a desire to visit.

Yesterday the children came for their Chanukah Gelt. Latkes went fast. Like lightning! By the way, I don't squeeze. I just poor the liquid off before addint salt. Correct me if I'm wrong, but after you add salt and spices the potatos give more liquid, and if you squeeze that you lose salt and flavor. With each spoonful which goes onto a frying pan (or 2 or 3) I just pick up some of that liquid which will evaporate.

I use eigher canola oil or 1/2 canola 1/2 olive. Olive oil is expensive, this is the only reason for me. Lard for latkes? EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Yesterday I had apple sauce and red caviar to go with latkes - they sell cheap caviar in russian stores. Surprisingly enough all 4 kids liked the sauce. My tommy is going to have a holiday today feasting on the caviar leftovers :)

I asked my dad what my grandmother fried the latkes in. And he said "Wesson oil". LOL! And then I said, "no, in Europe." And he said it was an "oil" that had a white/solid head at room temperature. So in only 60-70 years we have another mystery! I think it had to be from the butcher or Kosher butcher, or was some kind of crude soy or vegtable oil, maybe sunflower. Not corn in Europe. But in our case it definitely was not olive oil which gives a much different taste. Eastern Europe/ Russia does not have the same uses /connotations of "lard" as we do- AT ALL.

I have done exactly like Nina66 and froze them that way. Mine were overdone and lost their signature crispness at the same time. My group is spoiled. But her tip of doing a bit lighter doneness-is right on. But they are just not as crisp and we like them very crispy.

I'll never get to be an expert at any freezing etc. with these as Jed is right because in my house I have never had any practice freezing finished products overall. AND these! You do need to stand back- QUICK.

Love Italy, my mother also compares the Jewish/ Italian cultural family/traditions endlessly. There is a double dose in her family. And we were all educated by Catholic nuns. Do you think we know a bit about guilt? Ha-ha!

JJ5 Guilt you say?? Oh yes indeed!
:-[ Is there anyway to get rid of it? I think not. Rather builtin, isn't it.

Thank you so much all of you. Am emailing this thread to myself.

Take good care.

JJ5 and LoveItaly ... Joan Rivers said that she was raised in Scarsdale which had a large Jewish and Italian population. The high school she went to was 'Our Lady of Perpetual Guilt'. ;-)

There is nothing, absolutely nothing that can compare to a fresh lake right out of the frying pan. Freezing is a weak substitute, but but works in a pinch if you can't spare the cooking and clean up time on the day of your dinner.

Also if for just one or two people, freezing some from your original batch for a few days, allows you a 'freebie' when you re-heat them a few days later.

Thanks to all of you for taking my original Chanukah wish and turning it into a delighful, insightful, discussion from all sides. Isn't that what the Holiday Season is suppose to be all about.

Maybe Fodor's will consider a new group/topic. Of course it would have to be travel related:

- How Many Latkes Are You Allowed in Your Carryon

-How Many Latkes Do I Tip For Good Service

-How Do You Keep Latkes Warm in NYC in December

- Funny Stories About Electric Frying Pans Setting Off Smoke Detectors in Hotel Rooms

- The Best Place For Latkes in Nepal

- Has Anyone Ever Been to The Great Latke Cookoff in Kansas City

Chanukah is almost over, but the warmth of this thread will stay with me for the rest of the year. Not to mention the added inches to my hips!

Nina

Next year I'm going to the Latke Macabee Winter Olympics :-D

Do they have separate events for sweet potatoes, russets, and yukon golds?

I've had some latkes that could easily be used in the discus throw.

Warning -- the applesauce will be tested for steroids prior to each event.

My first batches could have been used as practice pucks for the hockey teams.

No, JJ5, I believe that would have been the use for my mother's cannon - I mean matzoh - balls (but that's a WHOLE other thread)! They were delcious, too, by the way. They have a middle with cinnamon. Has anyone heard of that before? Apparently, that's the way they made them in the Lithuanian town her ancestors were from.

Susan
Best wishes to everyone for a delightful thred and a very happy and healthy holiday and new year!

Oh Nina 66, sharing Joan Rivers comment, too funny!! I had told my daughter about this thread today (she is a graduate of Catholic schools) and she laughed her head off. I always tease her about her "mother's guilt", you all know the feeling I am sure, anytime one of the children are not perfect.

But now about Matzo Balls!

I do not know how to make them.

So I buy the Manischewitz Matzo Ball soup (in chicken broth of course).

Does anyone approve? I really love this, on a cold winter night. You gently warm up this (it comes in a glass jar) of matzo balls and chicken broth until hot. Imagine homemade is better but since I do not know how to make matzo balls (do know how to make good chicken broth) I do enjoy it.

I have always used the recipe on the box of matzoh meal, and been happy with the results. I use chicken fat as the fat and add chopped parsley to make them pretty.

LoveItaly, I wish that I could help you with a recipe for matzoh balls, but like so many other second generation Americans, I was never taught my ancestors' recipes.

Whenever I asked my mother to let me help her cook or bake, she always shooed me out of the kitchen, saying that it was easier for her to make it by herself. Funny, but when it came time to dry the dishes, she never felt that she could do it better by herself!

The few times she did attempt to give me a recipe, it always went something like this - 'add a little of this, a little of that, you know, until it looks right'. If I knew what it was suppose to look like, I wouldn't have asked her ;-)

As a young adult, I asked for the recipe for her world famous mondel broit (sp), which is similiar to biscotti.

She actually wrote down the ingredients and directions, but didn't give an exact amount for the flour. When I asked her, I got the 'you'll know when it looks right'. WRONG ... I kept adding flour until the slab of dough weighed about three pounds, and then I decided that I was out of my element, and that it must be time to bake it.

It was dense and tasted like a sack of flour, abslultely no flavor. When I told her. she said me that I must have used too much flour... #%$#&^*#*$#

I have found other recipes for mondel broit and have made it over the years, but you guessed it --- it's not the same.

Years ago she showed my daughter how to make matzoh balls. I guess the 'just right' thing skips a generation.

Maybe I'll ask my daughter to devulge my mother's recipe. If she refuses or give me that 'just right' business, I'll ground her and send her to her room ... even though she is 47 years old ;-)

What I'd give to make my mother's honey cake. I've had many of them over the years, but none as moist or as flavorful.

I'll get the recipe from my Mom and post here later. I'm not sure I ever got the recipe from her -- it's always been her thing to make. They're dense and flavorful, NOT light and fluffy. You know, there's two distinct types. Having grown up on these, I much prefer them.

She's even somehow perfected a low fat version, but I like the original. Now I DO have her wonderful recipe for mondel bread. I'll post that as well if anyone's interested. It's super easy and delicious. Both recipes were handed down from her ancestors from Lithuania.

Susan

My matzoh balls come from the recipe on the matzoh meal box too, just like abram. I love them but no one in my family was big on them unless they had a cold or were sick. I don't know why, so I didn't make them very often and not at all in recent years. They are not hard, and I always did notice when "out" that there are two basic kinds like bellairegirl says. And I also like the dense ones.

My first husband came from first generation Lithuanian/German ancentry and his mother made excellent kugela (not sure of the spelling) and several other recipes that were delicious and very heavy (dense). There is a restaurant in Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago called Healthy Foods (HA-HA)
that makes all of these dishes and the owner is from Lithuania. It was just featured on Check Please (a PBS show in Chicago). And I am tempted to take a ride there before spring now, after reading all on this thread.

I wish I would have had Nina66's mom teach me some things. My German grandmother only had sons, so she was more apt to teach me than anyone and she is the only one who taught me very precisely. My Sicilian half, just say "throw a hand-full etc." and none of their recipes are exact. I can not duplicate my mom's biscotti, and I gave up trying. And my mom's and my aunt's ravioli dough is very different, and I don't really get "why" as the egg/ flour proportion is the same. Must be the way/length of time they mix/knead?
No one ever let me stay around to see this as they were made "ahead" of the feast.

My daughter is so into healthy foods that she doesn't want to learn a lot of the heavier dishes. My sons all do and have learned several.

Well one more day and I am taking a day off to make Manicotti for our pre-Christmas Christmas, as many of us are spread out elsewhere on Dec. 24 and 25.

I should have my granddaughters over and have them help. But guess what, I don't want them "in the way." HA=HA!
Well, maybe when school is off and when they are a bit older.

Happy HOLIDAYS and special occasions and Health and Peace in 2005

LoveItaly - "So I buy the Manischewitz Matzo Ball soup (in chicken broth of course)."

It's like buying frozen waffles or making them yourself. If it doesn't involve making a big mess in the kitchen it just doesn't taste as good. ((R))

What is everybody talking about? I didn't even bake my hamentashen yet! Just wait till March, we'll all be baking, I have the easiest recipe! ;)

The last latke night is tonight, sigh... Everybody: ready to go on diet? Purim is coming, get ready!

Oh sigh, receipe is on the box of the matzo meal. Oh, sometimes the most obvious solution just does not hit my brain :">

Nina, a handful of this and a pinch of that, yes thats I how I cook Italian. And so my dear daughter does not know how. At least I was smart enough when I was a teenager to hang around the kitchen of Italian cooks so learned early in life how to do this. But still cannot make a decent brown gravy (for roast) or bake a pie etc.

I will keep my eye on this thread for receipes. You all our wonderful. Thank you.

And by the way, I sure can make a mess in the kitchen when I cook. Never have learned to "clean up as I cook" but think that would take the fun away.

A good day to all of you.

Here's my mondel bread recipe. (It's very similar to biscotti - a "twice-baked" cookie).

1 c. vegetable oil (or canola or Crisco)
1 c. sugar
3 eggs (added one at a time)
1 t. vanilla
3 c. sifted flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. almonds (optional)
chocolate chips (my addition)
cinnamon-sugar

Mix all ingredients well and divide dough into thirds or fourths. Flour hands and board (or countertop). Shape sections into somewhat flattened, oblong shapes. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon-sugar and place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Take out of oven and cut each section across into strips about 1 inch wide. Separate a little and put back into oven until lightly browned. Enjoy!

My non-Jewish friends love this recipe too, although they think it's biscotti!

Susan

Long ago someone told me a tip for light matzo balls. Instead of placing the mix in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before making the balls, place the mix in the freezer. They are especially light.
BTW, I do use the matzo ball mix from time to time (Manichevitz) with canned chicken stock. It does in a pinch.

Thanks so much, bellairegirl. I'm printing it out and going to try that for sure this weekend. My mom can taste at Christmas, she is mid-eighties and doesn't bake anymore but loves this kind of treat from her childhood.

And I will call it mondel bread, it's correct name. And almonds are tops for this type of baking. Sounds delicious.

I'm not at home now and won't be for a few more days, so I don't have my mother's mondel broit recipe. I do remember that she put in a spoon or so of strawberry jam for flavor.

Her parents were from Russia and Poland. My grandmother passed away when I was two years old, and they still talk about what a marvelous baker she was. I bet that she would have taught me! My mother was a good cook and an excellent baker. My father was born in Lithuania, but I didn't know any of his family.

My mother's cousin (by marriage) was the absolute best all around cook and baker that I have ever met. When she would give my mother a recipe, it never tasted the same. My mother used to joke that her cousin would leave out an ingredient so that it wouldn't be as good as her's. Not true, I'm sure.

LoveItaly, I too am a messy cook. What doesn't cling to my clothes, hits the floor, counters, walls etc... I am the exact opposite of my mother. That's why I froze the latkes when my in-laws came over. I can only imagine the look of horror on my mother-in-law's face, if I had made the entire dinner while they were there! I also wanted to sit down and eat as my mother would say 'like a human being' with the family, something my mother was always able to accomplish.

I am good about cleaning up afterwards, but when I cook, I cook. Clean up comes later.

LoveItaly - this Christmas Eve we will be having an Italian dinner at Babbo in Manhattan.

My way of cooking Mandelbrot is to go to a store on Polk Street :) it's a block after Lombardi's toward the bay, on the same side of Polk. They sell lots of yummies, including canned fish "sprats" from Lithuania or Latvia. The best canned fish!

Oopss for you you San Franciscans: forgot to post the name of the store. Actually I forgot the name of the store :) Something like "specialty cheeses" or something with the word "cheese" in it.

Nina, you make me feel better!!! The kids always would come into the kitchen and say "gads what a mess!". They sure didn't mind eating all the food though.

I always wondered why I cleaned floors before cooking, what a waste of time!

Your Christmas eve dinner sounds wonderful. Our Christmas eve dinner is always sort of confusing because Rome born & raised SIL likes fish dishes, daughter won't eat them. So I usually do a southern Italian pasta with shrimp. Finally even 13 year old grandson has discovered shrimp and loves them. An easy dish to do (well except for the sauce splattered everwhere but you know how that goes).

bellairegirls mondelbreak receipe sounds very good. I am not much of a baker but think I could manage these. And it does seem like biscotti. Bet my SIL would love them!!

Good grief, we are all going to have to go on a diet after New Years. And I am already living with clothes to tight thanks to Thanksgiving and daughters birthday.

Take good care!

Okay, here's my Mom's matzoh ball recipe. The recipe came from her grandmother -- one of those cooks who never measured anything. To write the recipe down, my Mom followed behind her and measured everything.

Matzoh Balls (makes 7 or 8 -can double recipe)

1 egg
2 tablespoons of oil
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 cup matzoh meal
little salt [very little as soup is salty]
dash of pepper,garlic powder,cinnamon

In bowl, beat egg and add the oil, matzoh meal,water, and seasoning. Mix. Put in refrigerator, covered for 20 minutes. [You can start boiling a half pot of water now.]

When you take out of refrigerator,form balls loosely. Can wet hands if sticking. Fill insides with filling (recipe below) if you want.

Drop balls in 1/2 pot of boiling water. (You can boil in soup if you want.)

Reduce heat, cover and cook 30 minutes. Do not lift cover.

Filling:
1/2 half of an egg yolk
some matzoh meal, cinnamon

These are dense and flavorful. They are very different than the light and fluffy type typically served in restaurants. I think they are far superior; however, if you make them be prepared to having them compared to cannon balls!

Susan

lRE: Matzo balls ( Kneidel)

I'm a believer that most people like "the kind their mother made".

I grew up on the light, fluffy kind and prefer those. My wife uses my mother's recipe....which had been passed down to my mother from her mother..

bellairegirl, thank you!! Sincerely. Now just a question or rather two.

What type of oil?

Second question, if there are any leftovers can they be refrigerated and heated up the next day?

Again, thank you for taking the time to give this receipe.

I just checked with my Mom, and she uses canola oil. Also, she frequently makes them in advance, refrigerates them (up to a few days), and reheats them in the soup.

Hope they turn out well for you. I'll have to try them myself! When I asked my Mom for the recipe, she offered to make some for me and bring them over. Aren't Jewish mothers great!!! :D

Wow bellairegirl, thank you so much. All of you are terrific! Do not know how to thank you, everyone, for all your help and assistance.

Now, if I could just have your Mom arrive here to cook I would be in seventh heaven :-p

Again, thank you sincerely. Best wishes to all.

The recipe on the matzoh meal box:

2 T oil (I use chicken fat)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 c matzoh meal
1 t salt
2T chicken stock
I add chopped parsley

The last Chanukah candles have been lit for this year. The warmth and comraderie from this thread, both Jewish and non-Jewish will last for quite a while.

My mother used to put newspaper over the kitchen floor, after she scrubbed it on her hands and knees with a scrub brush. No one was allowed in the kitchen when the floor was drying. For any reason whatsoever. AND if you did sneak in, you had better walk on the newspaper.

When I wash the floor, with a mop, I insist that my husband and I snack over the sink for the first few hours - sick huh? ;-)

LoveItaly ...I actually cook more in the Italian style, homemade tomato sauce, chicken dishes, pastas, veal, eggplant parmesean (sp), always always freshly grated Reggiano Parm., never that canned sawdust! I know that you sent Limoncello to Younville. Did you make it? I make one helluva batch at least once a year. Am willing to share recipe. I usually make it in the spring when lemons are faily cheap, as you use the skins of 15 lemons. I'll copy to this thread.

My husband has Italian mistresses - our Alfa Romeos. ;-) - his absolute passion.

Faina .... we were just at Lombardi's last week stocking up on some warmer things for NY. We'll definitely try your store.

Purim, already? My how time flies when you are having a good time.

A Chanukah thread is one thing, but a Purim thread?

How can we keep this thread going, no not just Chanukah or matzoh balls, but ethnic recipes and family customs? Any suggestions?

Cheers,

Queen Esther

Her identity and what the heck is Purim ... will be answered upon request ;-)

LIMONCELLO RECIPE

**** Limoncello should taste like fresh lemons, not poor quality vodka, so use only good quality 100 proof vodka. After trying Absolute and others, I prefer STOLI. The higher alcohol level will ensure that the limoncello won't turn to ice in the freezer.
-------------------------------------

- 15 medium to large lemons (I prefer Meyer Lemons)
- two 750ml bottles of 100 proof vodka
(save the two vodka bottles and refill them with the finished limoncello for storage )
- 4 cups of sugar
- 5 cups of water

One large glass jar, at least 4 quarts, with a lid

-------------

Wash the lemons well with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove wax or residue. Pat the lemons dry and remove the zest. A vegetable peeler does the job best, it gives you long, wide strips of zest with very little of the bitter white pith. Carefully scrape the pith off with the tip of a knife. Put one bottle of the vodka in the jar and as you remove the zest, drop the lemon peels into the vodka.

MIX THE INGREDIENTS AND WAIT:

After combining the vodka and the lemon zest, cover the jar and store it at room temperature in a dark cabinet or cupboard. There is no need to stir - all you have to do is wait. As the limoncello sits, the vodka slowly takes on the flavor and rich yellow hue of the lemon zest.

After about 40 days, combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, bring it to a boil, and cook about 10 minutes over high heat until thickened. Let the syrup cool before adding it to the Limoncello mixture, along with the other bottle of vodka. Cover the jar and return it to the cabinet for another 40 days. Then strain the limoncello into bottles and discard the lemon zest. You can store the bottles in a cupboard, but always keep at least one in the freezer, so it's icy cold when you want to drink it. ( I strain it through cheesecloth, into a pitcher or something, before pouring it into the bottles, so the liquid is as clear as possible.)

Notes:

The hardest part is peeling and taking the white pitch off. It takes about an hour to do them, but I sit at the kitchen table and watch TV while I'm doing it.

It takes 80 days from start to finish.

When done, we keep it all in the freezer, until we serve it, in aperitif glasses. Drink immediately, and repeat as needed.

I was just at a party the other night (and had a Lemoncello covered chocolate - yum) and a friend mentioned how she made her own Lemoncello using 100 proof alcohol at home after a trip to Italy. Now I get what *everyone* has been talking about. It certainly sounds delicious but <i>potent!
</i>

Oooooops - typo in Limoncello recipe.

It should have been pith, not pitch - unless you are making it while watching a baseball game ;-)

Oh my goodness, groan. I feel so stupid. All this time I have been drinking Limoncello I did NOT know it was made with vodka. Honest!!! How embarrasing.

No wonder a friend of mine a few years ago got sick after having 2 small servings (she cannot drink hard liquor).
She sure loved the Limoncello while she sipped it though. #-o

No wonder I love it! I hardly ever drink hard liquor only wine and once in awhile in summer a Pacifico beer. But I do love vodka. Too funny!

I have the perfect jar. Real big. Given to me by the owner at an Italian deli years ago.

I think I will be in the kitchen all of January with all the wonderful receipes.
Cooking and Fodors. Well that is a good way to spend cold and rainy January. Sure beats getting tax info ready for the accountant.