Mindy Segal Dishes on Her Family’s Hanukkah Traditions for a Holiday TV Special

Christmas specials are all over the place this time of year, and WTTW is giving the Jewish Festival of Lights the same treatment. hanukkah celebration, Hosted by Jeffrey Baer, ​​the show features music, sweet interviews with family members, explanations about the origins of the holiday, and demonstrations of how to prepare traditional holiday dishes from James Beard Award winner Mindy Segal of Mindy’s. Masu. Ayelet Benezra of Bucktown Bakery and North Shore Kosher Bakery in West Ridge;

Hanukkah celebrates the Jewish revolt against the occupation of Jerusalem in the 2nd century, with eight nights of lighting candles, giving gifts, and eating fried food. This holiday is very important for Seagull. Segal’s journey into baking began at the age of 13, when her mother bought her a KitchenAid ProLine stand mixer.

In this feature, we learn the surprising fact that latkes were made from fried cheese in the 14th century, but Segal demonstrates how to make the classic version using potatoes. She uses her mother’s recipe to make the potato pancakes thin and crispy, browned around the edges, and cooked with schmaltz to “add an extra Jewish flavor,” she says. “Grandma fries everything in schmaltz.”

Segal’s mother taught the staff at her daughter’s now-closed restaurant, Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, how to make latkes. There’s no real place to buy this dish from Seagull. Mindy’s Bakery doesn’t have a refrigerated case, so it’s topped with apple compote and brisket and drizzled with a pepper vinaigrette. However, she still uses the bakery kitchen to prepare meals for herself and for her annual meals. The huge hood makes it easy to clean all the grease and grime that comes with preparation, making it perfect for Hanukkah parties.

“I want[viewers]to know that potato pancakes are easy to make,” she says. “Be sure to squeeze all the starch out of the potatoes and don’t get the pan too hot, because you don’t want them to brown or cook.”

Benezra, of North Shore Kosher Bakery, uses her father’s recipe to make sufganiyot, another signature Hanukkah sweet. Similar to ponchiki, donuts are made from fried yeast dough infused with various sweet fillings and dusted with powdered sugar. Venezra uses the most traditional filling, raspberry, along with chocolate, custard and caramel. The West Ridge bakery used to handcraft 30,000 to 40,000 sufganillos a year, but that number has dropped to about 25,000 since they stopped selling wholesale. “Fried donuts don’t stay as good when they’re on the shelf at Jewel versus when they come to the store and are super fresh,” Benezra says.

north shore bakery

The bakery begins making sufganiyot weeks before the holidays to cater to customers who can’t wait for the seasonal feast, and to ensure the quality of the product for a truly festive occasion. “Now that it’s been a year, when we do it again, we’ll be working at different outside temperatures and different humidity levels, so everything changes,” she says. “Maybe the oil temperature is slightly off, or one of the burners isn’t working properly. On the first run, there are usually some slowouts, but after that you get into a rhythm. .”

Benezra became emotional when she saw the trailer for the Hanukkah special. “I want to increase knowledge about Hanukkah and encourage everyone to celebrate it, whether they are Jewish or not,” she says. “Christmas gets a lot of attention this time of year, but Hanukkah gets a little bit of attention. It means a lot to be able to showcase the food and story of Hanukkah and what it means to Jewish survival.”