photo taken by Olga Massov, on November 28, 2008, CC licensing

Casale Monferrato, a town deep in the wine country of Piedmont, Italy, made our Hanukkah latkes sing.

It wasn't the recipes from the slim cookbook of the community's Jews. Nor did we buy a local ingredient there, like truffles, that would make our latkes stand out.

photo taken by kthread, on December 17, 2008, CC licensing

Add just a smidgen of sugar to tea or coffee-even the darkest Turkish brew-and it then becomes undrinkable to me. I find sweetened sodas, candies, and most desserts thoroughly unappealing. But a light sprinkle of sugar melting into a hot, oniony potato latke? That's the way my grandmother served it, and it still tastes like heaven to me.

photo taken by vidalia_11, on October 26, 2006, CC licencing

A Parisian-Jewish caterer once described to me his favorite T-shirt, seen on a beach in Eilat, Israel. There was a smiling beige fish, stippled with schmears of purple-red, the exact color of beet-horseradish. Underneath, in bold black letters it implored: "Save the Gefilte Fish."

photo taken by Indiana Public Media, on December 23, 2009, CC licensing

Ingredients:
- 4 eggplants [(about 2 lb./1kg.) will make
about 1 lb. 6 oz./650 gr. Of Aubergine Caviar]
- 1 oz./30 gr. Onion, finely chopped
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1 fluid oz./30 ml. vegetable oil
- 2 fluid oz./60 ml. vinegar

Preparation:
Preheat the broiler.

photo taken by TheCulinaryGeek, on April 1, 2010, CC licensing

Ingredients:
- about 3 tablespoons of homemade rendered chicken fat
- 1 pound fresh chicken livers
- 1 large onion, sliced into small pieces
- 2 eggs, hard boiled
- Salt and pepper

photo taken by In Praise of Sardines, on December 7, 2005, CC licensing

Preparation:
To prepare two of our three inter-related classic recipes, you must start with perfect Chicken Fat.

Check the fat to see that nothing green is in it (mine was perfect, and fresh - no odor at all). I managed to put together a pound of chicken fat for this.

photo taken by megabeth, on April 11, 2009, CC licensing

Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons of chicken fat
- 5 eggs
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup matzoh meal, plus a bit more in order to make a stiff mixture.