• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol Goodman Kaufman

a.k.a. Carolinda Goodman

  • Home
  • About
    • Carol Goodman Kaufman
    • Carolinda Goodman
  • Events
  • Articles
    • Art & Culture
    • Travel Writing
    • Food Writing
  • Books
    • Mystery Writing
    • Children’s Writing
    • Non-fiction
  • Podcasts
  • TV & Radio
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Contact
  •  

potato pancakes

Say Cheese!

December 9, 2015 by Carol 4 Comments

cheese_highdefinition_picture_4_167320It’s Hanukkah this week, and with it comes the temptation of foods fried in oil. The traditional story behind the practice is that the little cruse of oil sufficient for lighting the Temple menorah (candelabra) for only one day miraculously lasted for eight.

We all know about the latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) that are the oil-heavy stars of the Hanukkah menu. They are delicious and, hey, we only eat them once a year, so enjoy yourself.

But there is also a custom of eating cheese on the holiday and it has a feminist, if somewhat grisly, backstory that comes from the biblical Book of Judith.

About 2200 years ago the Syrian-Greek army laid siege to the town of Bethulia, a mountaintop town  overlooking the Jezreel Valley. As the siege continued, the townspeople suffered from increasing hunger and, feeling desperate, declared their intention to surrender when the food ran out. But Judith, the beautiful daughter of the High Priest Yochanan, came up with a plan. Using her knowledge that Holofernes desired her, she approached him with a basket of her homemade cheese, bread, and wine. Eating the salty cheese made the general thirsty, so she plied him with the wine. The more wine he drank, the drowsier he became, until he fell asleep. Judith then took his sword and beheaded him. She  brought the head back to the town elders in a bag and urged them to attack the enemy, who were sure to panic once they realized that their leader was dead. She was right. The troops fled and the town was liberated.

So, in Judith’s honor, perhaps we should throw a wine and cheese party. (No swords allowed.) Or, combining the two culinary traditions, maybe we should eat fried mozzarella sticks.

Filed Under: Food, Hanukkah Tagged With: Bethulia, cheese, Hanukkah, Holofernes, Judith, potato latkes, potato pancakes, wine, Yochanan

Hitting the Sauce

December 18, 2014 by Carol Leave a Comment

Hanukkah is here, which means that it is time to bring out the traditional holiday foods. While I prefer my potato latkes straight up and salty, with no condiments, everybody else in my family wants sour cream and applesauce.

Sour cream is best left to Hood or Breakstone, but applesauce must be homemade. This will not be the stuff prepared from our wild apples, as that was inhaled before Thanksgiving, but a new batch made from Granny Smiths, my absolute favorite for cooking and baking.

Coming from the bitter cold into a warm house is comforting. Entering one filled with the aroma of cinnamon-infused apples cheerfully exclaims, “Welcome, and join us around the hearth!”

May all your candles burn bright with hope, peace, and freedom.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: applesauce, Chanukah, Hanukkah, homemade applesauce, latkes, potato pancakes, sour cream, traditional holiday foods

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • A Proustian Memory and a New Project
  • Good things come to those who wait. And wait.
  • Guest post from Clara Beaufort
  • From A to Zuchinni
  • A Berry Good Orange!

Categories

  • Bread
  • Dessert
  • Family history
  • Food
  • Gardening
  • Hanukkah
  • Music
  • Musings
  • Nature
  • Once in a Full Moon
  • Passover
  • Pirate Ships and Shooting Stars
  • Thanksgiving
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetables
  • Wild foods

Footer

Events & Categories

  • Books
  • Travel Writing
  • Food Writing
  • Art & Culture
  • Podcasts
  • Events

Recent Blog Posts

  • A Proustian Memory and a New Project
  • Good things come to those who wait. And wait.
  • Guest post from Clara Beaufort
  • From A to Zuchinni
  • A Berry Good Orange!
Follow Carolinda Goodman Follow Mystery and Mayhem Follow Food and Travel With Carol

Copyright © 2025 · CAROL GOODMAN KAUFMAN