By Sylvia Center Executive Director, Jennifer John

The 10th Annual Latke Festival Celebrated The Many Joys Of The Potato Pancake On Monday, December 3rd.

Hosted in the beautiful pavilion of the Brooklyn Museum and benefitting The Sylvia Center, the tasting event featured 26 different restaurants and chefs, each with their own take on the best latke for 2018.

Over 500 guests and 14 celebrity judges tasted latkes that ranged from the traditional to the edgy. Everyone ate, drank, and grooved to DJed beats. Each guest received a wooden token to vote for the “People’s Choice” winner, while the judges decided “Best Creative Latke,” “Best Traditional Latke,” and “Best Overall Latke.” Guests had different strategies for tasting, with breaks for drinks or salad or doughnuts, depending on their mood.

The announcement of the winners was kicked off with a proclamation from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office, presented by Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Alicia Glen, declaring it “Latke Day” in the city. Then, New York legend Veselka took home “Best Traditional” and “People’s Choice” titles for their “Dima’s Sweet and Savory Short Rib Latke.” Three-time winner Benchmark won “Best Overall” for their “Hoppin’ John Latke,” and “Best Creative Latke” went to the “Falatke,” a falafel-inspired take from Kalushkat.

Net proceeds from the event will power programs that teach young New Yorkers how to enjoy, prepare and speak up for healthy food. In fact, The Sylvia Center brought a group of their ‘Cooks for Health’ students from the Williamsburg Community Center to compete with their “Latke-purria.” Their recipe was a take on the Puerto Rican snack, the alcapurria, which is traditionally made with yucca, plantains and taro. The students’ entry was stuffed with savory black beans and topped with greens, compliments of Aerofarms. While Sylvia Center students didn’t win a title for their delicious vegan recipe, they loved the opportunity to show off their cooking skills next to seasoned professionals.

THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE RESTAURANTS THAT PARTICIPATED!

AeroFarms/Sylvia Center
BAM Cafe
Benchmark Restaurant
Big Daddy’s Smokehouse
Bricolage / Pearl Street Caviar
BRINS Jam & Marmalade
Claudette
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola
Feisty Flavors Catering
FONDA
FryGuys
Garden Court Cafe
Jacob’s Pickles
j’eatjet?
Korzo
Kulushkat
Little Red Kitchen Bakeshop
Mama O’s
Mae Mae Cafe
Mike’s Hot Honey
The Norm at Brooklyn Museum
Orwashers
Patina Restaurant Group
Riss’ Knishes
Veselka
White Tiger
Rise Flour
Burger and Lobster
Dutch Boy Burger
Baoburg
Shelsky’s of Brooklyn
Daddy O’s

VESELKA’S “DIMA’S SWEET AND SAVORY SHORT RIB LATKE” RECIPE (WINNER OF ‘BEST TRADITIONAL LATKE’ AND ‘PEOPLE’S CHOICE’)

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

Potato Pancakes:

• 5 large Idaho Potatoes
• 4 Eggs
• 1 Onion
• ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
• Salt/Pepper

Short Ribs with Prunes topping:

• 4lbs boneless Short Ribs
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• ½ cup Honey
• ½ Red Wine
• Bay Leaves
• Salt/Pepper
• 1 cup Dried Prunes

Prune Reduction:

• 2lb dried Prunes
• 4 sticks Cinnamon
• ½ cup Honey
• ½ Red Wine
• Salt/Pepper
• ¼ Balsamic Vinegar

Sazon

• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon achiote (annatto)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper

 Latkes

1. Shred or grate 4 Idaho potatoes and one onion in a food processor.

2. Place in mixing bowl, add eggs, salt and pepper, mix well.

3. Spoon potato mixture into a sauté pan containing about !/2 inch of oil at 350 degrees.

4. Fry until golden brown on bottom, turn over and continuing frying until golden and remove to drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Shredded Short Ribs

1. Place ribs in a roasting pan  with a coarsely chopped carrot and onion and roast at 450 degrees until browned. Add water, red wine, honey and salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for three hours until meat begins falling off the bone.

2. Allow meat to cool then pull apart with two forks. Add some of the cooking liquid back to the meat to obtain the desired consistency. Add finely chopped prunes.

Prune Reduction

1. Add 2 cups prunes,  two cups water, cinnamon sticks and balsamic vinegar  to a sauce pan and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove pits if necessary. Put through blender or food processor and liquify.

Serve

1. Spoon some of the short rib mixture onto a latke, spoon on some of the prune reduction

MAE MAE’S BEET LATKE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

• 1 medium Tomato, diced
• 1 Cucumber, diced
• 1 small Red Onion, diced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh Mint
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh Cilantro
• 1 Lime, zested and juiced
• 1 tsp Lemon Verbena Oil
• ¾ cup Vegan Mayo
• 2 cups Matzah Meal
• ¼ cup Corn Starch
• 1 cup shredded Beets
• 1 cup shredded Yukon Gold Potatoes (squeeze out excess liquid)
• 2 tbsp grated White Onion
• 1 tbsp grated Garlic

1. Mix vegan mayo with chives and lemon verbena oil. Cover and set aside

2. Combine tomato, cucumber, red onion, mint, cilantro, lime juice, and

   chopped lime zest- season with salt and pepper to taste

3. Combine the grated beets, Yukon gold potatoes, onions, garlic, matzah

   meal, and cornstarch. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Let sit for 10 minutes to let the mixture absorb

5. Heat Canola oil in a sauté pan over medium heat

6. Add walnut-sized balls of the mixture into the pan- flatten into disks

   with a spatula. Cook until crispy on first side then flip and crisp the other side. Drain on paper towel. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

SYLVIA CENTER’S “LATKE-PURRIA” RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

• 5 very green plantanos, peeled
• 1 pound taro root, peeled down to white flesh
• 1 pound yucca, peeled down to flesh
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sazon (see recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

For The Filling

• 1 large spanish onion, small dice
• 2 peppers, red and green, small dice
• 1 16-oz can black beans, rinsed & dried
• 2 teaspoons sazon
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Salt to taste (1 teaspoon or less)
• 2 tablespoons capers or green onions, minced

Sazon

• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon achiote (annatto)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper

1. Using the shredding blade on a food processor, shred platanos, taro, and yucca*. The platanos is what will be binding mix and should be crumbled and somewhat moist. Transfer starches to a bowl.
2. Add the sazon and olive oil, folding to incorporate into the dough, working with the hands if needed.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge while you make the filling. This dough can be made up to 48 hours in advance as long as it is chilled and kept away from air.
4. Rinse and dry the black beans. Crumble them either by hand or in a food processor– careful not to puree! It should be dry and chunky.
5. In a saute pan, add olive oil and sweat the onions until translucent. Add peppers and cook until tender. Add black beans, sazon, oregano, and garlic. Cook for about 2 mins and add the capers or olives. Remove from heat.
6. To form latkes, take a heaping tablespoon of the dough and flatten into the palm of your hand, or on an oiled surface such as plastic wrap. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center and using your fingertips, roll the dough towards the center to cover filling. You may need to add some extra dough if you are struggling to connect the outside pieces. Once the filling is covered, flatten into a disc. Continue until dough is gone.

Assembled latkes should sit in the fridge to firm up before pan frying.

* leaving some shredded yucca or taro visible gives this recipe the latke look the students achieved in class.

Sazon:
Add all ingredients to a spice grinder or coffee grinder and pulse until a fine consistency appears.

SYLVIA’S TABLE TRADITIONAL POTATO LATKE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

• 1 medium Onion, chopped
• 4 Russet Potatoes, peeled and shredded by hand or food processor
• 3 tbsp Flour or Potato Starch
• 3 Eggs
• Salt and Pepper

Ingredients For the Toppings:

• Applesauce (store-bought or homemade) or Sour Cream

1. Sauté the onion in about 2 tbsp of olive oil till soft but not browned. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix the grated potatoes, onions, flour and eggs together in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Then turn them into a colander set over a large bowl. Drape a damp dishcloth over the colander. When it seems that very little liquid is draining off the potatoes, after about 15 minutes, carefully pour off the water leaving the starch that has collected at the bottom of the bowl. Mix the starch back into the potatoes – this will help hold the latkes together as they cook.
3. Place a large skillet over a medium heat and pour in equal amounts of olive and canola oil to a depth of about 1 inch. The oil is hot enough when a tiny bit of the latke mixture sizzles when you drop it in.
4. I make small latkes, 3-4 inches across, scooping up a large tablespoon of batter into my palm and flattening it out before sliding it into the pan. The edges of the latke are very ragged and make me think of multi-clawed crabs! It takes only a few minutes for the latkes to brown. Then I gently flip them. As they come out of the pan, I move them onto a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

Guideline for Yield: One potato will make about 2-3 latkes. One person will eat 3 latkes, depending on the size.

Photo Credit: ©Eric Vitale

Have you ever wondered what a wedding would look like if it were the joining of a computer programmer for Etsy and a freelance writer/blogger? Well, wonder no more. These New York nuptials are the crème de la crème “all-out gorgeous” an explosion of beautiful fall details and maybe our new favorite wedding to date. Of course, no wedding is complete without the fabulous vendors behind the scenes and this wedding is boasting some mega-heavy hitters. Robert Sukrachand lent his hand to the picture-perfect images while Hatch Creative Studio created a masterpiece of floral proportions. THE Sylvia Weinstock made one extremely gorgeous cake and the paper goods were tackled by Hello!Lucky AND Ceci New York. All in all, total perfection.

“Eli and I saw our wedding as a public expression of who we are as a couple. We chose to have a traditional Jewish ceremony but spent a lot of time making it our own. We added our own vows and wrote our own translations for the seven blessings. The intimacy of the ceremony was incredibly special for us and brought all our guests together beautifully. It was especially important to me that I looked and felt like myself when I walked down the aisle. My wedding dress took a while to find, but as soon as I tried this one on, I was crying. It was the most gorgeous second skin I’ve ever worn. When Eli saw me that day, I know that he saw the woman he chose to marry. We tried to bring in as many DIY touches as possible, though we discovered that takes a lot of time! Among the highlights: My brother made our wooden ring box by hand” he even sewed the tiny pillow inside; our chuppah was my mother’s beautiful handiwork, and included 64 sunrays (for our song, “When I’m 64”); I made the bridesmaid necklaces, with each of our birthstones wrapped into the back clasp; Eli sang to me, backed by the band and his college acapella group (easily one of my favorite moments of the night); and our wedding was entirely gluten-free and delectable to boot!

“I imagine that every bride has a favorite idea for her wedding, and mine was the mailboxes (Barb’s gorgeous creation!) filled with personal notes that we wrote for each of our guests. Writing those notes was a wonderful reminder of why each person was there with us that night and we loved watching how thrilled the guests were when they saw them. The energy at the reception was electric from start to finish. We felt so warmly surrounded by all our family and friends. At the end of the night, I knew we’d thrown an amazing party when all of our guests started screaming for an encore! As we were driving back to the hotel, totally exhausted, we could not stop talking about the day. We wanted so much to keep the moment, to just hold it and have it for one second longer. I feel so blessed to have the memory, to have a wonderful husband, family, and friends, and to have so much love in my life.”

And a note from the Groom. “I just want to throw in a few additional details. One, the band was off the CHAIN. They were tight as hell and had obvious passion and joy while performing. Everyone was dancing even my other computer programmer friends (which is, like, a feat). Two, my suit was made from LASERS. Yes, it’s true! Alton Lane measures you with a super-futuristic laser booth and creates a suit that fits like a glove. They also are patient with the fashion-inept. Two thumbs up. Three, some other handmade touches include the Save the Dates (taken by my co-worker), the amazing website (made by Nadia and myself, which includes a custom-built online RSVP thing), and a recording booth that guests could use to leave us a fun voice message (assembled by me and Nadia’s dad, and complete with mad fun prompt signs, made by a friend of Nadia’s). Four, if you’re reading this and are planning for your wedding, know that all of those ridiculous nights when you and your spouse-to-be are wringing your hands and bandying about questions like “should we use plum or sage for the ribbons on the gift bags?” actually do pay off. It was such a mind-bending pleasure to see all of the details that Nadia and I had agonized overcome together into a coherent event that was much more than the sum of its parts. I hope that viewing our pictures is inspiring or useful to you in some way.”

THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED

A year and a half ago when I met Julie and her family I knew that it was good to be a Gurland! Then when I met her fiancé Brad and his family and I quickly realized that this wedding was not only about two people creating one life together but this was about the coming together of two fantastic families!  Julie and Brad both come from extremely loving and devoted families and each of their parents has certainly set a fantastic example of what marriage should look like. Julie is 1 of 4 children and Brad is 1 of 3 children and you can tell just how close they are to their families when they are all together. Julie & Brad’s wedding was one of those parties that anyone would have had a fantastic time attending.  They wanted to create a very elegant yet relaxed atmosphere where their guests could get dressed up, eat a fantastic meal but really ultimately enjoy the energy of the dance party!

Julie and Brad met while attending college at Lehigh and were close friends throughout college. Post- College while Brad was living in NJ and Julie was living in NYC and they stayed in touch and started dating long distance and eventually Brad moved to NYC and the rest is history. In Julie’s words, “We decided we wanted a New York City wedding very early on in our planning process. We now live in New York and just wanted a classic city wedding. My dad mentioned looking at The Plaza (my parents stayed there the night of their wedding) and from that moment I had my mindset on it. The Plaza was the first place we looked and after that, all of the other venues we looked at just didn’t compare! I couldn’t stop thinking about the Grand Ballroom and the Terrace room. Everything was so detailed and beautiful and exactly what we had in mind. It was classic and amazing, a true New York City wedding. We met the CPS Events team and fell in love with them. Their spunk and enthusiasm for everything made us so excited, and they explained everything with such ease and comfort and made us feel so calm about the entire wedding planning process.” The big day arrived quickly and before we knew it, guests were arriving at the ceremony! Julie and Brad’s processional consisted of very close friends and family, and as an ode to Jerry Garcia, they walked down the aisle to “Ripple” by the Grateful Dead.  In order to be a Gurland, you must share a serious love for the Grateful Dead.  Their love is shown by the fact that each of Julie’s siblings all shares the initials, “JG”, showing their affection towards the talented singer/songwriter. Brad’s family was quick to learn this as well and all of the guests expected nothing less than for “Ripple” to be a part of their wedding day!

After the ceremony guests moved into cocktail hour, where there was a surprise for Brad and his family.  The Nelson’s are deeply rooted in Philadelphia and share a strong love for the Phillies baseball team. Julie not only wanted to show Brad how deep her feelings were for him but also for the Phillies and so a Phillies Station complete with Philly Cheese Steaks, Hot Dogs, Peanuts, and Cracker Jacks welcomed guests to the party! This was also a complete surprise to Julie’s oldest brother Justin, who is a true Yankees fan, but this day belonged to the new Mr. & Mrs. Nelson. The fabulous Harris Lane & his Band opened the Grand Ballroom with a burst of energy that didn’t stop throughout the evening.  Harris even got into the “JG” mania and wore a Grateful Dead tie and he, too, learned quickly how to be a Gurland!

Guests dined on a Summer Vegetable Salad, Pumpernickel Crusted Salmon, Grilled Prime Beef Entrecote, Espresso Chocolate Valrhona Torte, and cake by the legendary Ron Ben-Israel.  Dinner service moved quickly in order to keep those guests on the Dance Floor. Julie danced with her father, Brad dance with his mother, both to classic rock songs, and even Julie’s parents Dr. & Mrs. Gurland got into the action with a  classic ballroom dance of their own to “Into the Mystic”, and then invited guests to join them to “Old Time Rock & Roll”. Harris played for an extra hour because the dance party was just that hot. He closed out the night with, who else, but the Grateful Dead! He played “Casey Jones” and Brad and Dr. Gurland just felt the need to get up on the stage with Harris and sing along with the Band.  Pretty soon the rest of the Gurland’s and the Nelson’s were all singing “Truckin” on stage too! What a way to send Julie & Brad off into their new life together!

Julie told me later that, “The entire staff made our wedding weekend flawless. They were there when you needed them at any point during the weekend. We didn’t have to think about a thing. The energy in the room that night was amazing and the love and warmth we felt is something we will always remember. The Plaza now holds a very special place in our hearts. It is a weekend we will surely never forget!” The music definitely doesn’t stop here!