Potato Latkes

Description

An upbeat, madcap song that teaches how to make potato latkes for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The song’s a riot and the recipe really works! This Hanukkah kids’ song is fun to listen to or perform for an audience. It’s full of lively instrumentation, an 11 year old kid narrating, and some funny voices singing the recipe. Enjoy!

lyrics

Narrator: So here it was, only a day before Hanukkah and I couldn’t find my recipe for potato latkes. Now everyone knows you can’t celebrate Hanukkah without potato latkes, and I had looked everywhere for that recipe. When I had just about given up hope, the doorbell rang and in walked all these little people. They called themselves the “Emergency Recipe Squad.” I told them I’d never heard of them and asked if they were some kind of rock-and-roll band. They said, “Sort of.”

Potato latkes, potato latkes.

Narrator: Yeah, that’s exactly what they started doing!

Makes twelve pancakes.

Narrator: Did you lose your recipe too? I was just telling them …

Enough for one Maccabee soldier.

Narrator: Soldier? You must have the wrong house.

Or four civilians.

Narrator: Well, they were really strange. But what did I have to lose? So what’s in these things?

Two medium potatoes.

Narrator: Where’re the potatoes?

They’re over here!
One half of a little onion too.

Narrator: You got an onion?

Uh-huh.
Two tablespoons of flou-ou-ou-r.

Narrator: What do you need a plant for? Oh, that kind of flour.

And two eggs.

Narrator: Anything else?

Oh sure.

Narrator: Definitely strange. But adorable!

A half teaspoon of salt.

Narrator: Where’s the pepper? You gotta have pepper!

A quarter teaspoon of pepper too.

Narrator: It’s just like I told you. You’ve gotta have that pepper!

Two tablespoons of oi-oi-oi-l.

Narrator: You gonna fry with that oil? I’ll bet you’re gonna fry with that oil.

For frying.

Narrator: I told you so.

How do you do it?

Narrator: Tell me.

How do you do it?

Narrator: Tell me!

How do you make those tasty latkes that we love so much?

Narrator: Are you gonna tell me?

Here’s how you do it.

Narrator: Oy.

Here’s how you do it.

Narrator: I don’t believe this!

Here’s how you make those tasty latkes that you love so much.

Narrator: Okay, I’m listening.

First, you scrub and rinse the potatoes.
Grate them into the bowl.

Narrator: That sounds easy.

Peel the onion and grate it into the bowl.

Narrator: Onions make me cry. Do I have to put in onions?

Yes!
Add the flour, eggs, salt and pepper and mix it up real well.

Narrator: Mix, mix, mix!

Now go turn on the stove ‘cuz that’s the next step.

Narrator: Are we that far already? That didn’t take long at all.

Heat the oil in a frying pan at medium heat’til it ss-ss-sizzles.
Drop in heaping tablespoons of the mix.

Narrator: Then you know what we’re gonna do?

Flatten every latke with the back of a spoon.

Narrator: Isn’t this fun?

Turn them over one by one.

Narrator: We’re cookin’ now!

Fry both sides until golden brown.
They’re almost done.

Narrator: They’re almost done.

They’re almost done.

Narrator: They’re almost done!

Put two paper towels on a plate.

Narrator: Everybody hungry?

Put the latkes on the towels on the plate a couple of minutes and …

Narrator: These are gonna be really good.

Then and then and …

Narrator: I can almost taste them.

Then and then and then and then …

Narrator: Here they come!

SERVE!

Narrator: They’re terrific!

What’s the way to to make someone happy?
Just fry up up a batch of latkes.
Then they’ll know you want them to have a happy Hanukkah.
We want you all to have a happy Hanukkah.

Narrator: Whatever they say goes double for me!

Have a happy Hanukkah!

Narrator: And that’s what happens when you ask a singing group how to cook!

credits

released May 24, 2020
words and music by Billy Dreskin
narrator is Aiden Dreskin
additional vocals by Billy Dreskin
sound engineering by Larry Alexander (Studio “L,” Congers NY)