1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted chicken or goose fat
2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 large russet potatoes
1 medium onion
2 large eggs
1/4 cup matzo meal, breadcrumbs or potato starch
1 cup thawed frozen peas
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Using some of the  vegetable oil, lightly grease 12 muffin tins.
 
Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the mushrooms, and cook for 5-6 minutes or until crispy and no liquid remains in the pan.  Set aside.
 
Peel the potatoes and grate them by hand or with the fine-shredding blade in a food processor.  Place in a bowl.  Grate the onion into the potato shreds.  Stir in the eggs, matzo meal and remaining oil, and incorporate them completely.  Add the mushrooms and peas and mix.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
 
Place mounds of the potato mixture into the muffin tins.  Can also make this in a 9 x 13 pan or a jelly roll pan.
 
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until browned and crispy.  Serves 12.

1 pound wide egg noodles
8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 cups dairy sour cream
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins, optional
2 cups crushed frosted corn flakes or plain corn flakes
4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook the noodles in lightly salted water until al dente.  Drain and set aside.
In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until blended.  Add the sour cream and blend it completely.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the cinnamon and raisins.  Pour the mixture of the noodles and toss to coat. Place in 9 x 13 baking dish.
 
Combine the frosted flakes and melted butter. Sprinkle the coated flakes on top of the noodle mixture.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is crispy. Serves 8-10.

Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday that commemorates the re-dedication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the Syrian-Greeks in 165 B.C.E. and it has its accompanying food traditions. The holiday is marked by the consumption of foods fried in oil in commemoration of the miracle in which a small quantity of oil sufficient for one day lasted eight days.

The two most popular Hanukkah foods in Israel are potato pancakes, levivot, also known in Yiddish as latkes; and jelly doughnuts, sufganiyot in Hebrew, as these are deep-fried. Bakeries in Israel have popularized many new types of fillings for sufganiyot besides the standard strawberry jelly filling, including chocolate, vanilla or cappuccino cream, and others. In recent years downsized, "mini" sufganiyot have also appeared due to people’s concern about calories.

Potato latkes by Linda Larsen

Ingredients:
* 2 lbs. russet potatoes
* 1 lemon
* 1 onion, grated
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 3 Tbsp. flour
* 2 tsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp. pepper
* solid vegetable shortening for frying

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Squeeze the lemon and add the juice to a large bowl of ice water. Peel the potatoes and roughly grate them into the bowl; let stand for half an hour.
Drain the potatoes well, squeezing dry with a kitchen towel. Process the potatoes in a food processor, using the pulse function, until fairly smooth. Place the potato mixture in a large bowl and add onion, garlic, egg, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Place a few tablespoons of the solid shortening in a heavy duty frying pan and heat over medium heat. Scoop 1 Tbsp. of the potato mixture into the skillet for each latke, cooking four of them at a time. Cook until golden and puffy, about 1 minute. Turn and brown the other side for about 30-45 seconds. Place on a rack and keep them warm in the oven. Add a bit more shortening to pan for each batch. Yields about 24 latkes.