when sriracha met brisket
A little jewish, a little hot
The traditional Ashkenazi Jewish flavor profile is fat and salt, without much spice or other flavorful ingredients. This is because after being expelled from Western Europe in the Middle Ages, Jews were forced to live in poverty and had very limited ingredients. They got creative with the unwanted foods (chopped liver anyone?), maximized the use of everything (rendered chicken fat aka schmaltz is a mainstay) and the only vegetables in sight were pickled.
Now, these recipes are overdue for a flavor-update. In my kitchen, potato kugel spices up with some paprika, brisket is nestled in caramelized fennel, and jalapeños get thrown in the latkes – hence the Spicy Latke!
My hope for this blog is to share with you all some of my tastiest experiments and maybe help you to spark some kitchen creativity of your own.
about me
Hi, I am Jessie! Born and raised in the Bay Area, I’m now an San Francisco based 9-5er spicing it up in the kitchen in my spare time. My cooking is inspired by my jewish upbringing (grandparents pictured here) and the challenge to create “drama in the mouth” … click about me to read more
the spicy latke 