okee doke, i am back from california, under my pile of wearable blankets, and have got just enough time to do a load of laundry and catch up on designated survivor before packing back up and scooting over to chicago and indiana for two of my final fall tour stops! it feels so good to be home, *especially* because eggboy kept up with all of the leftovers while i was gone so our fridge is not the war zone i expected! instead it's shiny and clean and ready to be filled up with lefse dough for the holidays. somehow there are zero eggs in our house though. macaroni, what the heck?? i was all ready to get back and try these steam scrambled eggs that alana just posted about (you use an espresso steamer to cook them!) but that will have to wait until macaroni get back to work. what are they even doing.

it's probably for the better that i don't dive into a new recipe just yet because i have kind of a lot to unpack still and no clue where i'm going to put it all. on my trip i acquired a dozen new cookbooks 😬, a collection of sprinkles (from alana who brought them back from europe and my new friend amelia who brought a custom mix to me at my san francisco signing (!)), and some new warm weather gear in the form of socks that feel like a bear suit and a sweater that i'm never taking off. luckily it all fit in my allotted three checked bags (remember that time i packed light? lol) so if you need me i will be out back, building an igloo of cookbooks and a hot tub of sprinkles.

i have a brussels sprouts recipe for you for thanksgiving! typically my family roasts them or shreds them and turns them into latkes, but this year i'm going all in and deep frying the suckers. the first time i fried a brussels sprout was when i made the brussels sprout risotto from yotam ottolenghi's plenty more. it's the most beautiful bowl of lemony, parmesan-y, brussels sprout-y rice but i couldn't help myself from eating most of the fried brussels sprouts before they even made it into the mix. so i decided that i needed a whole dish of them cause yolo. i kept the lemon and parmesan components of yotam's recipe but then flung the sprouts onto a little bed of yogurt for a nice cool contrast and finished em off with breadcrumbs for texture and harissa powder for heat. and they're fried in olive oil, so you feel less bad about deep frying. i mentioned this in my sweet potato chip post, but trust that i'll never let you forget that you can deep fry in good olive oil since, as i learned at olive camp last year, it has a smoke point well above the temperature that's needed to fry. i'm using california olive ranch's everyday olive oil, which comes in nice big bottles and deep fries beautifully. you'll use a lot for this recipe, but whatever's leftover can be saved and used for future frying or to grease the pan for an omelette. a brussels sprout infused omelette, is that weird sounding?

fried brussels sprouts with lemon, parmesan, and breadcrumbs

ingredients

califorinia olive ranch everyday california extra virgin olive oil

12 oz brussels, halved and completely dry

kosher salt

plain full fat yogurt

a fresh lemon

a handful of panko breadcrumbs

chopped fresh parsley

parmesan

black pepper

harissa powder or paprika

clues

heat 2 inches of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. clip on a thermometer and heat the oil to 375ºf. working in batches, fry the brussels sprouts for a couple of minutes until browned and the outer leaves are crisp. be careful because the oil will splatter.

transfer the sprouts a wire rack, and sprinkle with kosher salt while still hot.

spread a large dollop of yogurt onto a shallow bowl or plate and top with the fried brussels sprouts. add a large squeeze of lemon and top with breadcrumbs, parsley, freshly grated parmesan, black pepper, and harissa powder, or paprika.

serve and enjoy!

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-yeh!

thank you so much, california olive ranch, for sponsoring this post!

i've lost more than ten pounds since i moved to north dakota. it doesn't really match up when you consider that local cuisine requires creamy soups and pounds of butter and that all recipes for "salad" call for jell-o and/or cool whip. oh and i work in a bakery and i've yet to join a gym.

but i attribute my loose jeans to two things:

1. i no longer have a running list of new bakeries/ice cream shops/burgers to try, like i did in new york. (the last new restaurant that opened up in town was a panera, three months ago...) and afternoons with nothing to do can never turn into a donut tour of the village. occasionally it's a bummer, but for the most part i enjoy not having the pressure of needing to be in the know with the latest pastry. is that silly? is the pressure to be in the know about pastries the worst first world problem ever?

2. eggboy and his family are all about the vegetables. a typical meal includes vegetables as the main, and meat and grains as sides. one back in new york, i had this massive mac and cheese party and lived off the leftovers for days. afterwards i felt all gross and chubby, so i asked eggboy, the resident health nut in my life, what i should do. he reads a lot of health books and he said that i shouldn't think about eating less of anything, but rather i should think about eating a lot more vegetables. that did the trick! it was yummy and i felt way better. since moving here, i've had the time to plan and cook most of our dinners, and i've needed to pack eggboy full of nutrients for his long farming days... i suppose i've done this whole vegetable thing without totally thinking about it.

we love our brussels sprouts.

multiple times a week, our dinner is roasted brussels sprouts and then whatever meat we have on hand. local turkey, fresh elk, or sometimes breakfast sausage. and i like to drizzle the sprouts with my favorite sesame sauce.

i've lately gotten into adding gochujang, a korean condiment made from fermented red peppers. it's smoky and spicy, but not too spicy, and a little bit sweet. it can luckily (and surprisingly?) be found at most grocery stores here, so my koreatown withdrawal hasn't been too bad. i like that gochujang adds a kick and another flavor dimension, and i think it goes really well with sprouts!

roasted brussels sprouts with sausage and gochujang

makes 2-4 servings

ingredients

2 tb olive oil

3/4 pound brussels sprouts, halved

salt, to taste

2 sausage links, uncooked and with casings removed

2 tb soy sauce

2 tb tahini

1 tb gochujang, or more to taste

a drizzle of honey, optional

clues

preheat oven to 400f.

coat the bottom of an oven-proof skillet with olive oil and place the brussels sprouts face down. depending on the size of the skillet, you may need to use two in order to fit all of the sprouts. sprinkle with salt and set over medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, until bottoms are browned (do not stir the brussels sprouts, keep them face down).

once sprouts are brown, give them a little stir. if you used two skillets, combine the sprouts into one. stick them in the oven for about 15 minutes, until cooked through.

meanwhile, cook the sausage, breaking it into crumbles with a spoon. also, make the sauce by combining the soy sauce, tahini, gochujang, and honey. if it's too difficult to stir, heat it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

combine the sprouts, sausage, and sauce, and enjoy!

-yeh!