Ask A Sacramento Chef: 5 Traditional Chanukah Recipes

Chanukah, or Hanukkah, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that begins this year on Dec. 6 and ends on Dec. 14. Stacie Shoob-Allen, owner of Bubbie's Love Deli, celebrates the season with favorite foods, including some made from her late grandmother's recipes.

he ebullient Shoob-Allen and her culinary crew serve delectable meals, sides and desserts throughout the year. "We make our own corned beef, bagels, knishes, rye bread, cheesecake and lots of other things," she says, "but the white fish, lox and pastrami come straight from New York." Entering Bubbie's Love feels like walking into your best friend's family home in the old neighborhood — everyone is laughing, eating and kibitzing with the always-entertaining Shoob-Allen.

With a laugh Shoob-Allen warns, "Don't taste the batter — it's really gross!"4 potatoes, shredded

1 onion, shredded
2 eggs
1/2 cup matzo meal (or flour or breadcrumbs)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. each salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil

Put potatoes and onion into a large bowl and press out excess liquid. Add eggs and mix well. Add matzo gradually, mixing until batter is doughy but not dry. Add baking powder, salt and pepper, mix well. Heat 1/2-inch of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Form batter into thin patties about the size of your palm. Fry batter in oil. Be patient: this takes time, and too much flipping will burn the outside without cooking the inside. Flip when the edges are golden brown and the center has dried a bit.

Place on paper towels to drain. Eat hot with sour cream or applesauce. Makes approximately 12 latkes.

Related: Ask A Chef: Best Breakfast Casserole Recipes

Bubbie's Best Brisket

Brisket is the traditional main course for Chanukah, but is delicious anytime. Many meals at Bubbie's include their incredibly moist and tender brisket.

1 tbsp. each paprika, salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. dried oregano
5-lb beef brisket, trimmed of some of its fat
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
3-1⁄2 cups chicken stock
1 (14 ¹⁄₂-oz.) can chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine salt, pepper, paprika and oregano, and rub on brisket. Heat oil in an ovenproof enameled cast-iron pot or other heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, just large enough to hold brisket snugly, over medium-high heat. Add brisket and brown on both sides, about 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and pour out fat from pot. Add stock, tomatoes and bay leaves to pot and scrape any browned bits stuck to bottom of pot with a wooden spoon. Return brisket and any accumulated juices to pot and scatter onions and garlic over meat. Cover; braise in oven for one hour. Uncover and continue cooking for another hour.

Push some of the onions and garlic into liquid surrounding brisket. Check meat for tenderness by piercing center with tip of a sharp-pointed knife; it should slide in easily when fully cooked. Cover pot and return to oven for up to 2 more hours or until done. When done, the meat will be very tender when pierced.

Transfer brisket to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil. The onions and garlic in the pot should be very soft, and braising juices should be rich and saucy. If juices are thin, transfer pot to stove and simmer until juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Slice brisket across the grain and transfer to a warm serving platter. Spoon onions, garlic, tomatoes, and juices on top. Discard bay leaves before serving.

Sufganiyot "Hack"

Sufganiyot are deep-fried donuts, typically filled with jelly or custard with a pastry bag. Making Sufganiyot from scratch is time-consuming, so Shoob-Allen offers this shortcut hack of the original recipe. Instead of buying a costly pastry bag, she suggests just getting a pastry tip. Make a small hole in the bottom corner of a Ziploc bag and put the tip inside it. "Fill the bag with jelly and squeeze it out through the tip and into the doughnut," Shoob-Allen explains, "and boom, you're done."

Canola or vegetable oil
Refrigerator biscuit dough (like Pillsbury)
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
Jam or jelly

Fill a large pot with canola or vegetable oil; heat to 350 degrees (Shoob-Allen suggests using a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature). While the oil is heating, combine sugar and cinnamon. Separate dough and roll each biscuit into a ball. When oil is at 350 degrees, carefully drop each ball into the oil until golden brown. Drain on a plate covered with several paper towels. While the donuts are still hot, roll in cinnamon sugar.

Allow to cool, then cut a small hole in the top and fill with a jam or jelly of your choice.

Related: Best Bakeries In Sacramento For Passover Desserts