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EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece is one of a series of guest cooking columns j. is running during the Jewish holidays. Here, Alice Medrich presents a novel take on the latke.




I grew up in a non-Jewish suburb of Los Angeles where most of the local kids had never even heard of Chanukah. My parents, meanwhile, were less focused on observing Jewish ritual than they were on living their values, which at that time meant supporting the civil rights movement, working for local fair housing and opposing the war in Vietnam. Our knowledge of Jewish traditions came largely from religious school rather than from the family. However, we did eat a little differently from the rest of the neighborhood. My Baptist girlfriend ate bagels and lox, borscht and rye bread at our table ... and I ate grits and ham at hers.

I still love good potato latkes and cheese blintzes, but true to my roots, I am quite comfortable straying from tradition. Chocolate Latkes are rich and gooey chocolate coconut macaroons —- not a potato in sight — and Chocolate Banana Blintzes are a flight of chocolate fantasy. Happy Chanukah.

Both recipes will be published next year in "Chocolate Holidays" by Alice Medrich (Artisan).




Chocolate Latkes | Makes 2 dozen 2 1/4-inch cookies

4 egg whites
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (9 oz.)
3 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
scant 1/4 tsp. salt

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all of the ingredients in a large heatproof mixing bowl, preferably stainless steel (the ingredients heat up faster in stainless steel than in glass). Set the bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water and stir the mixture, scraping the bottom to prevent burning, until it is sticky and hot to the touch.

Scoop rounded Tbs. of the mixture about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Flatter each cookie slightly with your fingers to resemble miniature potato pancakes. Bake until the cookies feel dry on the surface and the edges and the protruding coconut shreds are dark golden brown (despite the chocolate color) and the interior still looks like melted chocolate, 13 to 15 minutes. Rotate the sheets from front to bake and upper to lower about halfway through. Slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack. Cool the cookies completely before removing them from the parchment paper.

The cookies are most delicious on the day they are baked — the exterior is crisp and chewy and the interior soft and moist. May be stored, airtight, for 4 to 5 days.




Chocolate Banana Blintzes

Crepes:
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups milk
2 Tbs. melted butter

Sauce:
7 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped in small pieces
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 large ripe bananas
butter or oil for frying
sour cream for serving

To make crepes, combine eggs, flour, salt, milk and melted butter in a blender or food processor. Pulse just until blended. Chill 1 hour or up to one day.

Heat a 6-inch frying pan or crepe pan over medium-high heat. Brush the pan lightly with butter. Pour two Tbs. of batter into the pan and tilt the pan immediately to coat the entire surface evenly. Cook until the crepe is uniformly translucent and the surface no longer looks wet (45 seconds to 1 minute). Loosen edges of the crepe with a spatula and invert the pan over a piece of wax paper. Repeat with the remaining batter, buttering the pan when necessary. Use the crepes immediately or stack them between sheets of wax paper, cover airtight and store in refrigerator up to 2 days.

To make sauce, mix chocolate, milk and sugar in top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir frequently, just until warm and smooth. If sauce appears curdled, whisk in a little extra milk until it is smooth. You may use the warm sauce immediately or set it aside and use it cool. Sauce keeps several days in the refrigerator (rewarm before use).

To assemble blintzes, slice bananas 1/4-inch thick. In the center of the brown side of 1 crepe, place 3 banana slices in a row, horizontally. Spread 1 Tbs. of sauce over the slices. Fold the 2 parallel sides of the crepe over bananas. Fold top of the crepe down over the bananas. Fold the bottom of the crepe up, overlapping the first fold. Place each blintz on a wax paper-lined tray. Repeat to assemble all of the blintzes. Cover and chill blintzes at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days.

To serve, fry blintzes in butter, turning to brown on both sides. Serve plain or with sour cream.




Alice Medrich is the founder of Cocolat, a former specialty bakery and dessert shop in Berkeley; a culinary consultant and teacher; and the author of numerous cookbooks, including "Bittersweet: Recipes for Today's Better Chocolates."