Dish of the Week: Sufganiyot (pronounced as soof-gahn-ee-yoot)

Where: Kosher Pastry Oven, Heller’s Bakery, Dunkin’ Donuts, Krispy Kreme

Jelly-filled doughnuts are so in this season. With Hanukkah starting this weekend, these year-round confections, once again, get special status as one of this winter’s many holiday delicacies.

The fried quality of these particular doughnuts—called sufganiyot—makes this a traditional dish eaten during the Festival of the Lights. Several accounts of this culinary tradition, including this History.com piece, say oil was responsible for the miracle of the menorah, making it burn for eight days instead of the expected one. So why not celebrate foods, such as the popular potato pancakes also known as latkes (pronounced as lat-kas), cooked in this fundamental all-purpose ingredient.

This holiday dish is big in Israel. According to Epicurious.com, Austrian Jews who immigrated to the Middle East in the mid-20th century most likely brought the recipe for Viennese confections called krapfen.

If you prefer creating your own holiday delights, there are countless of recipes listed on the web. This includes Huffington Post’s recent slideshow featuring “new twists” to the filling inside these fried dough treats.

Small Bites

Hurricane Sandy Relief Toy Drive
D.C.-area chefs David Guas, R.J. Cooper and Robert Wiedmaier will be hosting a toy drive to support the children who were victims of last October’s Hurricane Sandy. Donors can drop off an unwrapped toy in a motorcycle-paper covered box at these chefs’ restaurants: Bayou Bakery, Coffee & Eatery, 1515 North Courthouse Road, in Arlington; Rogue 24, 922 N Street NW; Mussel Bar & Brille, 7262 Woodmont Avenue, in Bethesda. Drop off the donation on Wednesday, December 13 and get a free chocolate treat.

Gingerbread House Party
Cork Market & Tasting Room, 1805 14th Street NW, will be hosting its third annual community Gingerbread House Decorating Party. The event will take place at the Tasting Room on Saturday, December 15 from 12-3 p.m.

Darling Clementine
Jaleo is getting zesty this season, as it celebrates the harvest of the clementines. From December 10- December 23, Jose Andres’ restaurant will serve special dishes featuring this fruit also known as the “Christmas orange.” They include a clementine salad with escarole, pomegranate and mahon cheese and seared clementines with goat cheese. The citrus-themed libations include a gin-infused cocktail called La Valenciana, a rum-mixture called El Toro Dorado and a clementine mimosa.