Blue Pacific is home to an incredibly diverse family of employees, sharing food customs and traditions from all over the globe! We are truly fortunate to have so many talented team members, each with unique flavor experiences and memories, contributing to our world of flavor. From Chinese New Year to Dia de los Muertos, we enjoy celebrating the cultural holidays of our employees in the workplace. Sharing family recipes is one of the ways we authentically and respectfully connect with cultures and traditions outside of our own.
In honor of our Jewish colleagues and customers, we celebrate the 6th night of Hanukkah with a couple of favorite holiday recipes from Kimberly Wilkes! Kimberly not only is a brilliant cook, she’s also Blue Pacific’s biggest cheerleader and wife to our founder Donald. Her recipes for Latkes (Potato Pancakes) and Sufganiyot (Jelly Donuts) are the highlight of the season.
“Latkes have become a family tradition at the holidays, but we enjoy them all year long!”
– Kimberly Wilkes
“Latkes have become a family tradition at the holidays, but we enjoy them all year long!” Kimberly shares. “They are best served when they’re hot and crisp right from the pan, but for a larger group you can keep them warm in the oven before serving.”
“Latkes are traditionally served with sour cream and applesauce, but you can also make them as mini appetizers by adding fun and festive toppings like salmon and chives, cinnamon-spiced sour cream and cooked apples, or pomegranate and dill!” says Kimberly. You can find even more creative takes on the potato pancake here.
Thank you Kimberly for sharing your Latkes and Sufganiyot recipes with us. We wish all our friends and family who celebrate Hanukkah a very happy Festival of Lights. Chag Sameach!
Potato Latkes with Sour Cream and Applesauce
- 5 medium potatoes
- 1 small onion
- ¼ cup unbleached flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- Corn or peanut oil
- Applesauce
Shred the potatoes with a hand grater or food processor and place them in a bowl. Grate the onion and add it to the potatoes. Add the flour, beaten egg, and baking powder.
Heat some of the oil in a large heavy skillet. For each latke, drop about a ¼ cup of the potato mixture in a mound. Brown on one side and then turn, flatten, and brown the other side. Remove the finished latke to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Continue making the latkes, adding more oil if necessary. The latkes can be kept warm by putting them in a baking pan in the oven on low heat.
Serve with applesauce and sour cream. Yields 16 latkes.
Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- Strawberry jam
- Powdered sugar
Beat the eggs. Add the sugar and oil, and then beat again. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add half of this to the egg mixture and beat well. Add the milk and vanilla and then the remaining flour mixture. More flour may be needed to form a soft dough that can be rolled. Refrigerate the dough for one hour.
Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut circles of dough with a glass to form 32 circles (about 2 inches in diameter). On half of the circles, place a teaspoon of jam. Then place a circle of dough over each one and pinch the edges together.
Deep fry the doughnuts in hot oil using a thermometer to keep the oil at 350 degrees F. When the doughnuts are golden, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. The doughnuts can be rolled in powdered sugar if desired. Yields 16 sufganiyots.
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