Episode 5: In which jewgreek meets greekjew

The other half of my heritage is Eastern European Jewish. I didn't mention it in my introductory post, because while it plays a significant role in my every day life (not least because Hot Librarian is 100% Jewish), the Ashkenazi Jewish culture has not left much of an imprint either on world gastronomy or on my everyday eating habits. But tonight is an exception, the first night of Hanukkah, a holiday commemorating religious bigotry, fried foods and, in the U.S. at least, Jewish integration into the national festival of conspicuous consumption. I like one of those three things.

Tonight's menu was:

• Grilled lamb rib chops (sprinkled with Greek oregano)
• Braised cavolo nero with garlic, lemon and anchovy
• Traditional potato latkes (topped with Greek yogurt)

In this house at least, the Hellenizers won after all.

(Sorry, no pictures tonight--it was too hectic. There may be some some more ambitious and camera-friendly fried items over the weekend.)