Chanukah is tomorrow and while I'm missing the celebrations because I chickened out on my first Christmas away from my family, I thought I would get in the spirit and make these latkes for Jason. The thought of not waking up at my home to a nice fat tree and gifts with no names because without fail my mom forgets was just too sad. I'm headed back to the Burgh this week alone and will fly back late Christmas Day to be with my husband and in-laws. How do people deal with this splitting the holidays situation? Let's hope 2015 is the year I get my shit together and be an even better wife.

Oh, p.s. I'm not a big fan of sour cream, so made these latkes with tzatziki instead - power move.

For the latkes

One yellow onion
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled
2-4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2-4 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil

For the tzatziki

1/2 English cucumber, peeled
16 oz greek yogurt
4 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped dill, fresh
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

To make the tzatziki, finely dice the cucumber and squeeze out the juice. You can do this with your hands and then let dry on a towel.

Combine diced cucumber, yogurt, garlic, dill, lemon juice salt and pepper and mix everything together. Let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour for the flavors to meld.

To make the latkes, grate the onion in a large bowl and then strain to rid of it's juices. Again, you can do this with your hands.

Wash potatoes and grate to make strings.

Combine onion, potatoes, flour and eggs (I ended up using 4 tbsp of flour and 4 eggs because the onion and potatoes weren't sticking together.) Then season with salt and pepper.

With your hands, make little balls and flatten them into about a 3-inch disc.

Pour about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil into a skillet and heat over medium high heat.

Put a few latkes in the pan at a time and press down on them firmly with a spatula. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.

Put a dollop of tzatziki and garnish with a little dill.

So, I'm super pumped about this recipe because lately I've been failing in the kitchen. The last few things I've created haven't been that great hence the lack of foods posts. Usually all of my dishes are spin-offs of things I've eaten at restaurants, twists to recipes that someone in my family makes or just made up in my head. This is something I made up in my head.

For any of you who are planning a holiday party, this is a perfect appetizer. And if you're not planning a party, it's an easy recipe to assemble upon arrival. To make it look extra fancy, try plating on scraps of wrapping paper like I did here with this gold sheet from Paper Source. The ripped edges make for a cute rustic look.