Ask A Chicago Chef: Top Traditional Chanukah Recipes

When it comes to the Chanukah holiday season, there's a lot of planning to do for those eight nights. Whomever you're celebrating with, chances are your menu is at the top of your mind. Draw some inspiration this year with some recipes from some local chefs. Some of these recipes are more traditional than others, but either way, they're sure to impress your family and friends, and taste downright delicious.

Acclaimed Chef Michael Kornick got his start at the Culinary Institute of America and the famed Quilted Giraffe. In 1998, he opened MK in the River North and has since garnered national recognition for MK as well as his other restaurant pursuits, including James Beard nominations. When it comes to Chanukah, which he celebrates with his family ever year, he has some upscale takes on the holiday classics. Some of his favorite dishes include brisket served with wild mushrooms and potatoes and homemade potato and scallion latkes served with a sweet Granny Smith apple sauce and spiced Greek yogurt.

Latke Ingredients

• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled
• 4 scallions
• 4 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp flour
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1.5 to 2 cups pure olive oil

Spiced Sour Cream Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/16th tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander seed
• 1/2 lemon zest only

Granny Smith apple sauce Ingredients

• 6 granny smith apples
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 fresno chili
• Pinch of salt
• Touch of sugar (optional)

Directions:

1. Start by making the latkes. To do this, slice the scallions (both the white and green parts) into thin rings.
2. Combine in a large bowl the eggs, garlic, flour, scallions, and then season generously with at least 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Add more, if you'd like.
3. Grate the potatoes using the coarse side of a box grater.
4. Add the potatoes to the egg mixture, and combine well.
5. Heat a heavy bottom large saute pan over high heat, and add 1/8-inch of oil to this pan.
6. Using a dinner fork, quickly add a forkful-sized latkes to the pan, and then flatten to a thin third of an inch with the fork. once it's browned, turn it once, and allow it to cook until done.  (You may have to adjust the stove flame a few times to get enough heat to brown but not burn).
7. Place each of the latkes on paper towels, or a rack, to cool. Prior to serving, warm the latkes (you can do this by heating the oven til 450 and warming for 4-5 minutes).
8. Make the spiced sour cream by combining the ingredients and allowing them to sit for a minimum of an hour in the fridge).
9. To make the apple sauce, peel, core, and then dice the apples into half-inch to three-quarter-inch pieces.
10. Prepare the fresno chili by halving and removing the seeds, then mincing.
11. Place the apples, water, and salt in a non-corrosive sauce pan; this pan should be wide, as it'll be easier to cook off some of the moisture while cooking the apples.
12. Cook the apples over high heat with a cover on, for at least four to five minutes hard boiling.
13. Uncover the apples and turn down the heat so they come down to a fast simmer. Stir the apples with a wooden spoon or a heavy whisk until they break down and thicken.
14. Once the apples have cooked about 3/4 of the way, turn off the heat, and then stir in the pepper and chili. Allow this to cool in the pool, and then adjust the seasoning to your taste with some salt, pepper, and if you'd like, a touch of sugar!

• 1 full sized beef brisket, well trimmed of all the exterior's fat
• Flour for dusting
• Oil for browning
• 2 quarts veal stock or beef broth
• 1 1/2 lb chanterelles (or hen of the wood mushrooms)
• 1 medium-sized Spanish onion
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 medium carrots
• 3 ribs of celery
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 sprigs of thyme
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 4 large Yukon gold poatotes
• 2 tbsp blond roux
• 2 tbsp porcini powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Season the meat well, and then dust it with flour. Next, use a large pan to brown both sides of the meat in oil. Once browned, remove from the pan and put into a large roasting pan. (Keep the pan with the oil to brown the vegetables).
2. In the roasting pan, add the stock (or broth) as well as porcini powder, and then cover with a tight-fitting lid (or foil), and bring the pan to a boil on the stove. And then place the pan in the oven at 300"F for 90 minutes.
3. While that cooks, peel and dice the carrots, celery, and onions into half-inch pieces.
4. Peel the garlic, and cut off the heels of the cloves.
5. Brown all the vegetables in oil in the large pan, and once they started to brown, add the garlic and cook for two more minutes. Remove the veggies from the pan.
6. Trim the mushrooms and leave in large pieces. Saute until they become slightly tender (and as they cook, they'll shrink).
7. Slice the potatoes into 3/4-inch thick slices.
8. Remove the brisket from the pan, and skim the fat off as best as possible.
9. Whisk the roux into the broth and then bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the bottom, then add the vegetables, herbs, the beef, and finally the mushrooms. Cover the dish and return to the oven for about another 90 minutes at 250"F, but check after 60 minutes. The meat will be done when it's fork tender throughout.
10. Remove the meat and carefully place on a serving dish (avoid using a cutting board as the juices will run out).
11. Drain the sauce into a sauce pot, and then gather all the vegetables and potatoes and carefully place onto the serving dish.
12. From the sauce, remove as much fat as possible. Reduce the sauce a little if necessary and then season.
13. Add the juices from the meat to the sauce.
14. Slice the brisket as thick as you would like if it is tender -- the thicker, the better!
15. Arrange on the serving dish with the vegetables and serve the sauce on the side.

Related: Best Ways To Celebrate Hanukkah In Chicago

With about two decades of culinary experience, Executive Chef Hector Marcial is familiar with a variety of made-from-scratch cooking, from French to Mexican. Jellyfish, located in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, is an elegant and intimate lounge with some fabulous views of Rush Street. The menu here focuses on pan-Asian food, and Marcial infuses the menu with creativity, which this non-traditional Chanukah recipe demonstrates. The lox is just about the only thing 'traditional' about this holiday dish!

• 2 oz sushi rice (cooked)
• Sheet of nori
• Horseradish (to taste)
• Strips of smoked salmon/lox
• Semi-soft cream cheese
• Red onion, minced
• Scallions, chopped
• Capers

Directions:

1. Spread two ounces of the cooked sushi rice over your sushi rolling mat.
2. Take a slightly moistened sheet of nori and lay it down over the cooked rice. Smear fresh horseradish down the length of the nori.
3. Cut the smoked salmon/lox into quarter strips, and then lay lengthwise on the rice.
4. Repeat with the semi-soft cream cheese.
5. Roll the ingredients into a sushi roll.
6. Garnish the roll liberally with minced red onion and chopped scallions.
7. For an extra treat, finish topping with some capers, and perhaps even serve with a side of bagel chips.

Related: Best Holiday Markets In Chicago