Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey • Page D5

APP.COM Asbury Park Press Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 Page D5 table Nothing says Hanukkah like latkes if id Susan Weiner Sarah Griesemer tSM -5- niti he a III 1 11 -14 LH Kl Southwestern latkes with chipotle yogurt, associated press 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled, coarsely grated and squeezed of excess moisture 3A pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled, coarsely grated and squeezed of excess moisture cup finely chopped scallions (white and green parts) 2 large eggs, lightly beaten Vt cup all-purpose flour Kosher salt 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 1 to 2 teaspoons minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or to taste Pinch of sugar Fresh cilantro, to garnish Directions: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine the sweet potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, scallions, eggs, flour and teaspoon salt. Mix well. In a large nonstick skillet over high, heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add 4 rounded Vt-cup mounds of the potato mixture to the skillet, flattening each mound to a 32-inch circle. Cook the latkes for 2 minutes, then turn them over and add another tablespoon of vegetable oil. Cook, turning them several times, until golden on both sides, about another 4 to 6 minutes total. I love latkes Traditional potato latkes are a widely loved staple of the yearly Hanukkah feast. And what's not to love about crispy, fried, grated potato patties topped with sour cream or applesauce? Still, wonderful as they are, latkes are not light.

So Sara Moulton for the Associated Press devised this recipe in the hope that all of us might enjoy our latkes and live to tell about it. Her re-design employs both sweet potatoes and the more traditional white potatoes, significantly reducing the amount of oil required to cook the latkes. She also substitutes Greek yogurt for sour cream. However, it is holiday time, so I say go for the real thing. They are finished off in a 350-degree oven because the recipe's sweet potatoes, with their high sugar content, turn the latkes too dark if left on the stove for more than a few minutes.

What gives this recipe its Southwestern flavor? The combination of sweet potato and the chipotle in the yogurt topping. And Hanukkah aside, these Southwestern latkes would be a great little side dish any time of the year. SOUTHWESTERN LATKES WITH CHIPOTLE YOGURT Start to finish: 50 minutes (20 minutes active) Servings: 6 (makes 12 latkes) Ingredients: A Roman cheesecake with orange-scented honey. ASSOCIATED PRESS prepared baking sheet. Use a silicone spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the batter into an 8-inch circle over the bay leaves.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and puffy. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the honey and remaining orange zest. Heat for several minutes until thin and warmed. When the cake is done baking, use a wooden skewer to poke holes in the top of the cheesecake. Drizzle a third of the warmed honey over the cake, letting it soak into the surface.

Place a serving plate over the cake, then overturn so that the cake is on the plate. Use the skewer to poke holes in the surface again, then drizzle the rest of the honey over the cake. Let the cheesecake rest for at least 30 minutes to allow the honey to soak in. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, then cut into 6 wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. Recipe courtesy of Associated Press ROMAN CHEESECAKE WITH ORANGE-SCENTED HONEY Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes, including resting time Servings: 6 Ingredients: 6 fresh bay leaves 2 large eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Grated zest of 2 oranges, divided Vh cups whole milk ricotta cheese 2 cup all-purpose flour lh cup honey (orange blossom if possible) 1 tablespoon poppy seeds Directions: Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the bay leaves in the center of the parchment in an 8-inch circular pattern. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, vanilla and half of the orange zest. Beat in the ricotta, then the flour. The mixture should form a thick batter.

Scoop the batter onto the arranged bay leaves on the ry, Hanukkah is celebrated in part by eating foods fried in oil, such as latkes and doughnuts. But, the Associated Press writes, in much of the world, Hanukkah also is celebrated by eating salty cheeses. And for that, there is another and equally fascinating though in the U.S. lesser known story. The short version goes something like this: Around 2 B.C., a Jewish widow saved her people by ingratiating herself with an enemy general, plying him with salty cakes of cheese, then wine to quench the thirst it brought.

When he fell into a drunken stupor, she lopped off his head with his own sword. What can be better than to have to eat cheesecake to celebrate a holdiay! I definitely plan to give this a try. Jews in Southern Europe gravitated toward the Hanukkah dairy tradition and often prepared a variation of savillum, a traditional Roman cheesecake made with ricotta, eggs, flour and honey. New Jersey's best craft brewers are those embracing By Mark Spivey DraftPicks As a big fan of the Atlantic Highlands-based Carton Brewing Company, the tasting notes for their newest limited-release offering had me deeply intrigued. The specs said it all: Epitome, a seriously hoppy imperial black ale, clocked in at a lofty 10.3 percent al Transfer the latkes to a rimmed baking sheet.

Repeat the process with the remaining potato mixture and oil. When all of the latkes have been browned, bake them on the middle shelf of the oven for 5 minutes, or until they are cooked through and tender. Sprinkle them lightly with salt, if desired. While the latkes are baking, in a small bowl combine the yogurt, chipotle, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Stir well.

To serve, arrange 2 latkes on each of 6 serving plates. Top each one with a dollop of chipotle yogurt and a fresh cilantro leaf. Recipe courtesy of Associated Press Cheesecake for Hanukkah Everyone knows or at least every Jew knows the story of Hanukkah's origins, the story of how just a tiny amount of oil miraculously burned for eight days. And they know that, in the spirit of that sto drinkability through balance and harmonization of flavors," the notes read. "But even self-imposed rules are meant to be broken.

With Epitome we decided to embrace the teenage metalhead in each of us and get discordant with a seriously hoppy, high-gravity black ale. The only notions accepted were to make it bigger, bolder, hotter and faster. A beast." Why? Simple, the brewers said: "Because things worth doing are worth overdoing." To me, there was just one issue, though, and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing: Epitome wasn't overdone. Not by a long shot. Nor was it lacking in drinkability.

Several relatives agreed that "dangerous" was the best way to describe it pint glasses of the stuff disappeared at an alarming rate, considering the strength, which was hidden to the point of making you wonder if it was just mislabeled. And don't get me wrong, the hop blend packed a punch, but it was matched so well with slightly sweet, roasty malt flavors that it never came off as unbalanced in the slightest. Death metal? No way. This was more like a symphony. The black IPA (and imperial versions) is a relatively new subgenre in the We want to see kids cooking! Do your kids like to help you cook or bake? If so, we'd love to publish pictures of your kitchen helpers on our new Friday Table page.

Email a photo to sweiner njpressmedia.com, and be sure to include your child's first name, age and town and describe what they are doing. TODAY'S ANSWERS innovation CARTON EPITOME TYPE OF BEER: Imperial black India Pale Ale (IPA). APPEARANCE: A deep, dark black with nary a glimpse of dark brown or red to be had. Poured into a small sample glass twice once at the brewery and later, back home, from a growler. AROMA: Dank notes of piney hops and toasted malt, but not as strong an aroma as I would have guessed for the style.

DRINKABILITY: Considering the alcohol content and the IBUs? Incredible. You can have multiple glasses in one sitting and not feel too full. MOUTHFEEL: Crisp and even a touch creamy at the first sip with a pleasantly bitter hop kick to the finish. Feels like you notice something new with every taste of it. TASTE: Strong flavors of piney and citrusy hops balanced against slightly sweet, slightly toasted malt.

OVERALL SCORE: (1 to 10): 9.5 world of American craft brewing, but this one edged out Firestone Walker's Wookey Jack among the most enjoyable I've tried so far. In my book, it was all the more impressive because this is one style that strikes me as incredibly easy to screw up. One misstep in the brewing process of a beer this hoppy, this strong and this strange, and you're toast. But that also speaks to precisely why I consistently list Carton and its Monmouth County next-door neighbor Kane as two of my favorite breweries anywhere in the Garden State (I am salivating to try Kane's new 365 Anniversary Beer, incidentally, a 70-30 blend of its quad and a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout). Put simply, it's all about innovation.

As Augie Carton put it to me a few months ago, every budding craft brewery is going to make an IPA. They're all going to have their imperial stouts. What these places really have to do in order to stand out is to make beers that don't fit neatly into any one genre, but blur the lines of several different ones or make up a few new ones altogether. That's what I like about Carton, and Kane, and most of my favorite breweries I have been thrilled, for ex- cohol by volume (tops among their commercially released beers) and a whopping 100 IBUs (International Bittering Units), with a release carefully synchronized to fall on Black Friday at dozens of bars across the state. "We don't have many rules at Carton Brewing, and those we have we made up for ourselves.

In general, though, we strive for GRAMS SOLUTION rack 1 0 rack 2 61 65 72 RACK 3 RACK 4 TOTAL Canada. 2012 Hasbro. Distrib 207 ed by Tribune CAN AL I ivMC 1 veMna GSlAV MAN ETIf RSlS ERE I EMU BBto SlTHE a I TF I PU RTpMl a aIf eIro ABK Jp((Z A ASN RN aIsh eIdn a ElO CaBB ale rtMTe xE s. h. GAL AlHE PMCO A I er 1 cIacmeIluger a ys a ne OPE Epitome, a heavily hopped Imperial black ale from the Atlantic Highlands-based Carton Brewing Company.

MARK SPIVEYSTAFF PHOTO ample, that the boundary-pushing Exit Series by Flying Fish, the state's largest craft brewery, has been as big a hit as it has been among beer lovers (one specialty beer for every exit of the New Jersey Turnpike, several of which certainly can be described as trendsetters). Remember, though: It doesn't have to just be the brewers doing this sort of thing. Next time you're looking to pair a six-pack with dinner, try steering yourself out of your comfort zone. You might be pleased with what you find. Mark Spivey has been writing about the wonderful world of beer in his Draft Picks column since 2009.

Email him at mspiveynjpress media.com. WORD SLEUTH Wednesday's unlisted clue: JAWS today's cryptoquote IT IS BETTER TO REMAIN SILENT AT THE RISK OF BEING THOUGHT A FOOL, THAN TO TALK AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT OF IT. MAURICE SWITZER JUMBLE Jumbles: EAGLE CRAMP STEREO POISON Answer: The rock climber saw these when he went to buy new climbing equipment STEEP PRICES BRAND cT Lq3 L3 LH1 a n3 t7 a PAR SCORE 145-155 US and Answers to Wednesday's Boggle' BrainBusters: BED SOFA TABLE CHAIR DRESSER SUDOKU 5. 4 2 6 87 93 6 8 2 7 9 3 5 14 7 9 3 5 12 86 9 3T8 4 5T2 1 6 7 2 7 4 6TT9 8 3 5 1 5 6 387942 865974321 31 7826459 4 2 9 1 3 5 6 7 8 Jeremy, 2, of Holmdel gets cookies ready to bake..