Happy Chanukah....Latkes and Birthday cakes

Today is my baby boy's 18th birthday...it seems like yesterday he was born. Where does the time go? I am off to bake his birthday cake....he is a RED VELVET boy...he requested a repeat of last years cake.
There are delicious memories today of all his birthdays and all of the cakes, all of the smiles, and all of the kisses.
We have given him wings and he is ready to fly...I still feel like I need a Xanax every time he gets into a car to drive... I am going to have to get over that...I am working on it.

It is also Chanukah and last night I tried a new latke recipe that I found on Sarabeth Levine's new blog
"Sarabeth-Goddess of Bakedom" . It is a lovely place to visit. I got her new cookbook, Sarabeth's Kitchen and I have been reading through it cover to cover. It is a gorgeous book. The Latke recipe is from Mimi  Sheraton's book "From my Mother's Kitchen". It is a killer recipe. Just click on Sarabeth's link for the recipe. I have an old tattered copy of Mimi's book and I could not find it, despite looking for a long time. I will look again today, it is also a wonderful cookbook.
I have been making latkes for many years and they are pretty darned good...but this recipe is even better than what I have been making. The latkes were light due to the separation of the eggs and beating the whites to fold in at the end. The method of preparing them is key.
I usually use the food processor when making latkes and I grated the potatoes by hand using Mimi's recipe.It was quick and easy, I will continue to use this recipe from now on for sure.
They were crisp and golden brown and not in the least bit greasy.
I like them with both applesauce and sour cream....these were really a hit. They were gone in the blink of an eye.

Happy Chanukah to all my friends and family.....may the light of the candles shine in your hearts...and even if you do not celebrate...no one really needs a reason to eat delicious potato pancakes.