Happy Hanakkuh!

Tonight was the third night of Hanakkuh and as is the Sunday night custom, the Kutners had me over for dinner. Now, dinner there is always good, but tonight was one of my all-time favorites. The conversation was peppered with laughter and the atmosphere sparkled with the excitement of the upcoming year. It was just all around a great night. And having three glasses of wine didn't hurt either :-)

After taking some pictures of the Fall foliage and reading the paper at the 'Bucks, I got bored and went over to the Kutners early. Pam was the true light of the evening (wink, wink) and was busy preparing the nights amazing meal. Here she's hand mixin' the fixin's for the latkes, one of my all time favorite Jewish foods. For my gentile friends, they're potato pancakes essentially, with matza and onion in them that are then fried. What I love about Pam's in particular are the fact that hers are made from shredded potatoes, not mashed.

Here's Marc on his perch watching Dallas get their butts kicked, all the while feeling proud that FINALLY his fantasy football team was kicking some butt themselves.

And of course Ms. Lindsay working on some homework and gearing up for finals this week. Jenny was home from her first semester of college and I sympathized with Lindsay having to stay diligent while her sister was already in party mode.

Speaking of party, here's the college girl herself striking a pose while eating pomegranite seeds that her mother intended for the salmon.

And introducing Dana, Jenny's roommate from UT. Dana has been been seduced by the wonder that is the Kutner family - more importantly the Kutner Kitchen! - and decided to fly home to North Carolina from Houston after a wonderful Hanakkuh meal. Like me, Dana is Dutch and we of course connected instantly - and discussed that since we were Dutch we were basically Jewish.

Remember that annoying, yet addictive, Youtube clip from last Christmas or the Christmas before of the Burger King employee singing, "Ding Fries Are Done!"? I had finally gotten it out of my head till these three pulled it up on the internet again and now I'm afraid it's in my head to stay. And, oh yeah, that's my second glass of wine there in the shot. I was really taking a picture of it and had to make up some other story for all of you to believe... ;-) It was really good wine.

Just a pretty shot that didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped. I loved the colors of the pomegranite seeds (on the left, barely visible), the edemame and glazed salmon. And no, that is not my glass of wine; it's Pam's. And it was her second glass as well.

And here's a shot of that great wine. I mostly took the photo cause I liked the shadow and that solitary drip - but I also took it so I could remember the name.

MMmmmm....Latkes. Bllllllaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh............. (picture Homer drooling, eyes glazing.)

Sitting down to Matza Ball soup (my first favorite Jewish food), while Pam cuts her signature Challah loaf.

The gang sitting down to feast. I think just about everytime I'm there, I tell Jenny and Lindsay they just don't know how good they've got it at their house, eating like this all the time. Last time I was there, Lindsay said the speech for me. This time, since Dana was new, I told her how I didn't think Jenny and Lindsay knew how good they had it. Dana agreed.

Look at that spread! That dish in the bottom right hand corner is Kugel, a noodle dish that's sweet and like nothing I can compare it to. It's Dana's favorite and was her special request. And those two jars are the homemade applesauce that you put on the Latkes! I love the Kutners!

Just a close up of the kugel and the Hanakkuh table cloth.

My plate with the brisket, kugel, asparagus and latke with sour cream and applesauce. I'm hungry again just typing this! Thank God, then, that Pam sent me home enough leftovers to have Hanakkuh at my house every night!! Now....where did I put my candles? And have I mentioned that I LOVE the Kutners???

Yup. Homemade hot fudge. For the homemade brownie dessert. Homemade by Lindsay, who is following in her mother's footsteps. I think I don't know how good I have it at the Kutners...

And here's my dessert...a crowing delight to a wonderful evening. Brownie with coffee ice cream topped with hot fudge and homemade whip cream. YUMM-O!! I love you, Kutners! You make me happy, when skies are gray, you'll never know, friends, how much I love you...please don't take my dinners away. :-) You were singing it weren't you? Now it's in your head. Your welcome. It's my gift to all of you - and to help you get that Ding Fries Are Done song out of your head...