Cookbook author and TV show host Ina Garten stopped by the TODAY kitchen to share a few of her favorite festive recipes for Hanukkah from her books "Cooking for Jeffrey: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook" and "Barefoot Contessa Parties!: Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun." She shows us how to make tender brisket with vegetables, crispy potato pancakes and a spiced honey cake with bourbon and almonds.
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Brisket is a great one-pot meal; the meat and vegetables are roasted together for hours. I make the meat ahead of time, slice it when it's cooled a bit, then reheat it with the vegetables in a pretty ovenproof serving dish. This recipe will definitely make enough to have leftovers.
I have always made potato pancakes with grated potatoes for crisp pancakes, but I've also thought about making them with mashed potatoes for creamy ones. When I read that Andrew Zimmern's grandmother made potato pancakes with both of them together, I had an aha! moment. Even better!
Honey cake is a classic Jewish holiday dessert; I like it moist, spicy and topped with toasted almonds. Mine has layers and layers of subtle flavor from honey, brown sugar, orange zest, coffee, and spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and ginger. How good does that sound? Oh! And one more thing: bourbon!
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