This week, we speak with cookbook author and Jewish cooking expert Leah Koenig about what might be the greatest holiday food of all time: latkes! From the surprising role that cheese plays in the history of latkes to tips for frying them up perfectly, this is your latke playbook. And, yes, you should have a latke playbook even if you don’t celebrate the holiday. We say, latkes for all!
The DIJFY Listener Survey
We’ve got a holiday ask! Think of it as a holiday gift to us that will help us keep on giving to you:
We’ve put together a DIJFY Listener Survey to learn more about you and you want from Didn’t I Just Feed You.
We promise it’ll only take a few minutes. In fact, you can fill it out now: DIJFY Listener Survey.
And of course there are prizes!
We’ll be gifting three randomly selected survey takers every week that the survey is up. Each gets to choose 3 free months of a DIJFY Supporting Membership (hello 6 bonus episodes!), a cookbook bundle, or a week’s worth of coffee on us as a thank you.
About Our Guest: Leah Koenig
Leah Koenig is the author of six cookbooks including The Jewish Cookbook (Phaidon, 2019) and Modern Jewish Cooking (Chronicle Books). She is currently at work on her next book, which explores Rome’s historic Jewish cuisine.
Leah’s writing and recipes can be found in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Epicurious, Food52, and Tablet, among other publications. She also writes a weekly newsletter, The Jewish Table, which shares recipes and stories from the world of Jewish food.
In addition to writing, Leah leads cooking demonstrations and workshops around the country and world. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two children.
Links From This Episode:
- The Jewish Cookbook by Leah Koenig
- Leah’s newsletter, “The Jewish Table”
- Leah on Instagram as @leah.koenig
- The Story of Hanukkah
- How to Explain the Hanukkah Story to Kids
- Beyond Latkes: A World of Holiday Fritters by Leah Koenig
- Sufgoniyot recipe (Hanukkah Jelly Donuts)
- Sfenj recipe
- More about sfenj in A Moroccan Feast for Hanukkah
- Leah’s Bimuelos with Apple Rose Syrup
- Leah’s Pollo Fritto per Hanukkah (Fried Chicken for Haunkkah)
- Leah’s Balsamic and Brown Sugar Brisket
- Ruth’s Brisket on Food52
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