When It Comes to Recipes, Including Hanukkah Food, Anything Goes

Chef Rossi likes breaking all the rules when it comes to cooking, so why should Hanukkah be any different?

“I learned to be zany and fun with food and throw away the stuck-up culinary rules that bind so many chefs,” Rossi told the Journal. “Pulled barbecue chicken on latkes, anyone?”

Rossi, who was raised “Orthodox light,” credits America as her hometown. She grew up in a camper wedged on the top of a Ford pick-up truck and had visited most of the United States by the time she was 10 years old. Her wacky sense of humor and international food fusions reflect her Hungarian Yiddish background and her love of all things loaded with flavor.

“I cannot shake my Jewish mother’s lesson that too much is never enough,” Rossi said. “I always make TOO MUCH FOOD!”

The catering director, owner and executive chef of The Raging Skillet in New York, Rossi is self-taught and self-made. Her tasty memoir of the same name tells how she cooked her way through some of life’s biggest challenges in New York City’s most unlikely kitchens. What began as a revolt against the microwave turned into a quest to make food that is fearless, fun and, most importantly, delicious. 

“I love the holiday season because for just a snippet of time every year, everyone in NYC seems to be smiling,” the author, caterer and radio host said. “There is a feeling of love and wonder and child-like fun in the air. Then it all disappears at the first traffic jam or when someone else steals your taxi cab. But it’s pretty awesome while it lasts.”

Rossi remembers Hanukkah growing up, when her mother would sit everyone around the dinette table and dole out eight days of mostly awful gifts.  Sometimes, a jewel would emerge.

“I would hold my breath as I opened the many crappy gifts and almost gave up; I mean, who gives their kids shampoo for Hanukkah?” Rossi said. “Then would come that G.I. Joe action figure I wanted so badly. My mom loved the drama.” 

These days, one gift Rossi gives the most is her sense of flair when it comes to food. She thinks of herself as the anti-chef. Her reputation as the one to call when you want food that’s different is well-earned. 

Rossi likes mixing different types of food together and creating mini-food people will love.  “It is a recipe for my success,” she said. “If you are an old fashioned, super proper or rather uptight person, this will not work for you.” A great example is her recipe for Sweet Potato Latkes, which are “super easy and not at all precise.” 

Rossi started making these because she is gluten-free, and can rarely eat latkes. She also has many vegan clients.  “They are amazing,” she said. “I serve them with applesauce, no sour cream, -so they stay vegan. And they are just super yummy.”

Sweet Potato Latkes

We always make a huge volume when we do this. Ten sweet potatoes yields about 300 mini-latkes, so adjust accordingly. 

Ingredients
10 sweet potatoes
Salt
Potato starch
Ground pepper
Cooking oil

• Peel 10 sweet potatoes and grate them. Since we usually make a large quantity, we usually put in the grating extension of our robot coupe because life is short.
• Do not drain any liquid that comes out; you want the liquid.
• Put grated sweet potato in a bowl, mix with a handful of salt and let it soak in. Then mix in several handfuls of potato starch. Add fresh ground pepper.
• When you are ready to fry, put a frying pan over medium high heat with at least a 1/4 inch of oil in it.
• Take a handful of sweet potato and roll it into a ball. Then smush it into a mini latke size pancake. Fry until firm and brown on both sides.

It’s hard to believe that this works with no egg and no other binder, but it does. We make these ahead of time and freeze them. They are fabulous, gluten-free and vegan.

Rossi did not grow up with donuts for Hanukkah.

“The first time I ever had a donut on Hanukkah I was in my 40s,” Rossi said. “It seemed all of my Israeli pals were doing it, but it was not an Ashkenazi thing.”

Rossi did a gorgeous Latin Jewish wedding and they made mini-dessert empanadas.

Mini Dessert Empanadas

Ingredients
Mini empanada wrappers
Tub of cream cheese
Sugar
Orange zest
Guava paste
Powdered sugar

• Defrost mini empanada wrappers.
• Mix cream cheese with a pinch of sugar and orange zest.
• Cut guava paste into small dice.
• Fill the empanadas with a teaspoon of cream cheese and one piece of guava. Fold it over and press with a fork. Freeze until ready to cook.
• Heat a frying pan over medium heat with oil. Then fry them up until lightly brown. Serve with powdered sugar. Oy vey and Olé!

“Oil is not just for latkes,” Rossi said. “Anything fried is cool with me for Hanukkah.”