chicago + minneapolis

thanksgiving came early this year!!! i just returned from my week spent in chicago and minneapolis, spreading all the love and gobbles for jennie-o turkey on the teevee!!!! it was so much fun. when i wasn't in the tv, i got to celebrate stoopie's birthday, eat a butt ton of tacos with some college homies, and have thanksgiving number one with my chicago family. 

since we actually had a massive wedding-related to-do list in chicago (find eggboy a wedding outfit! get me sparkly dancing shoes! convince stoopie that she certainly will not be walking down the aisle in a snowsuit!), our thanksgiving consisted of some unbelievable aleppo cornbread that mum whipped up, one of the easiest turkeys in the whole wide world, and take-out from the restaurant that i absolutely must go to every time i'm home, mizrahi grill. we had turkey and hummus all cuddled up in a bed of pita and it was the tastiest, not to mention the laziest, and i was v down with that, especially considering that thanksgiving number two is coming right up. dessert was our friend marshy's famous lemon cookies, and then later that night, mum made this absurd bar type thing that was pumpkin pie filling topped with yellow cake. it was incredible. sort of like this recipe, but she used a homemade cake because that is how she rolls.

after chicago, i scooted on over to minneapolis, where i made cornbread stuffing on fox (you can watch it here)!!! and then i celebrated my not-barfing-or-potty-mouthing-on-air with a trip to my new favorite store, askov finlayson, and some bison tartare and za'atar cod at spoon & stable. yummmm, what a place. so worth this. 

i mosied on home last night, but not before another quick segment and a bite with the gem that is melissa from the faux martha. <3! holy guacamole, minneapolis is such a great city, especially after having adjusted to *these winters*. i wish i didn't live so far away. maybe one day i'll convince them to build a bullet train from grand forks to the cities.

i hope you all have wonderful weekends everyone!!!! get those thanksgiving menus planned!!!

-yeh!

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thank you soooo much to jennie-o for sponsoring this week and this post!!!! all opinions are obvi my own, and i had such a great time being their turkey girl!!! check out their thanksgiving site for recipes, tips, and other holiday goodies :)

also big thank you to shabby apple for my mustard dress!!! i loved wearing it on air, and it did not get one wrinkle despite the fact that i smooshed it into the bottom of my carry-on. perfection!

breakfast hasselback sweet potatoes + friday links

putting sriracha on it, spreading it with nutella, covering it with sprinkles... these are a few of the elite actions that i keep in my back pocket for when i need to a) salvage a dish that i royally screwed up, b) elevate something that would otherwise be just a little bit too basic, or c) recover from reading too much heavy news. to this list i would like to add: hasselbacking. so jolly, so easy to do, and it looks so cool! you can hasselback a lot of things: salami, zucchini, tomatoes. the original, of course, is the potato, so today over on the west elm blog, i have hasselbacked a sweet potato and added bacon and eggs to make it a perfect little pocket-sized brunch. go check it out!!

eggboy and i are off to chicago for a bit! we'll be celebrating stoopie's birthday, having our first of two thanksgivings (!!!), and i'll be going inside of the tv to be a jennie-o turkey girl! it does not involve me dressing like a turkey, unfortunately, but i will be demonstrating some fun thanksgiving sides and desserts on air. i can't wait! i'm nervous and excited and praying that i don't accidentally tell the anchor to please toss this salad. so if you live in chicago, tune in on monday and tuesday morning! i'll be tweeting exact channels and air times.

have a great weekend everyone!!!! 

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friday links!!!

this guy opened a rogue trader joe's in vancouver and i really want to do the same in grand forks.

hi, look at this massive squishy egg nest. if anyone should have it, eggboy should, right???

go to this post for the ramen donuts, stay for josh's joshness. 

i would like a winter ball to wear this convertible pouffy dress to, please and thanks.

these maple oozy gooey butter cake bites. i could see myself eating entire batch in one sitting.

i'm a sucker for temporary tattoos these days.

ariko inaoka's photos, how beautiful are they??? i especially love the erna and hrefna series.  

ellen made my red velvet macaroon cake in miniature tiered form!!!!

this brussels sprout & hazelnut gratin looks sooo perfect.

kelsey has a new elk friend + fig pull-apart bread (!!!!)

coconut oil pie crust!

mandy's new series, "the shit i eat when by myself," is so real and fantastic. 

my friend talia has an entire radio show about pizza and i've spent the week listening to the backlog and i love it so much.

can all of my ice cream cones come with little bunny cookies and christmas trees?

-yeh!

through lydia's lens

my friend lydia is one of the most delightful and talented people i know. we met when she was my orientation leader at juilliard, and since graduation we've kept in touch through a shared love of photography, food, and janna gur. she's also secretly my style icon because belieb me, if i could wear dark lipstick like hers without it getting all up in my teeth, i would. 

when i was in new york a few weeks ago, she and i strolled around with brian, and we ate and ate. first israeli food, then mac and cheese pancakes, buffered by matcha lattes and kenny shopsin being kenny shopsin. the whole day was magical because even though the three of us left new york after juilliard, there we were, back in the city on the same beautiful day with nowhere to be but with each other. (sorry, i get all mushy with little college reunions like these!!)

later, lydia and i stopped in lincoln center for some shots on their new bridge over 65th street. we reminisced about our years there, how insane they were, and how much we loved them despite the insanity. it was nice to be back, if only for a moment.

all of these shots were taken by lydia. go check out more of her work, i love it so much!!! especially these farm shots.

-yeh!

new york

i am back.

back from a week of challah, schnitzel, new bffs, and old ones.

halva crème brûlée, halva frosting, pickles, and fish.

san fermin, bagels, hummus, and za'atar.

epic is an understatement, turnt is more like it!

this week was like camp, with babka class instead of pool time and jewish food royalty instead of counselors. we shuffled around town, learning history through food and creating bonds over meals that had me so full on love, i nearly exploded. 

my time there ended with a zooey deschanel sighting (!!!!), four added pounds, and rob's album release party, and by yesterday, i was ready to be back on the farm with my netflix and eggboy and our new range hood that he spent the entire week building from scratch. 

i probably will not shut up about my trip for the next few posts, but for now i should get my rear end on the treadmill and leave you with a few links for new york things i tried and loved:

bar bolonat: home of the first olive i ever loved, the best za'atar i ever had, and a halva crème brûlée that had us nearly licking the dish.

la boîte: the fanciest spice blends i ever done smelled, including a smoked cinnamon which i plan on putting all over venison this week.

gefilteria: we had a pickling workshop with the owner and it was the funnest! only then i was the worst fermenter in the world and didn't take care of my pickles and they made my hotel room smell like a million butts had farted at once. 

hummus place: this might be my dessert island restaurant. give me all the hummus, pita, and kadaif. 

yonah schimmel's knishes, russ & daughters, and katz's: you simply cannot come to new york to learn about jewish food without going to these places. more on these later though, as i have a little lower east side jewish food article coming out soon!

zucker bakery: a little east village bakery with israeli yummies like za'atar crackers and tahini pastries. (they were the ones that had the turkey sufganiyot last year!)

la vara: my new love affair with olives continued here (who am i??) and i also loved their crispy eggplant with honey and salt baked fish with harissa. 

breads bakery: a wonderful bakery from israel that has the softest, most perfect challah in all the land. we took a challah and babka making class and i learned so much and got nutella all over my hands. new bff talia and i delivered our babka to the food52 office afterwards and it was the happiest afternoon ever.

blackseed bagels + mile end: the future of deli is upon us and it tastes to gosh darn good. we spent a day at their beautiful kitchen on the water in red hook, eating bagels, learning how to make the fluffiest ever matzoh balls, and eating schnitzel.

cafe glechik: a ukrainian restaurant out in sheepshead bay. our meal put every meal in game of thrones to shame. it was one of those banquet-y meals where you fill up on like a million different dishes, drink a bunch... and then they come out and announce the main course. 

wythe: after a failed attempt at sneaking into the brooklyn bowl to see san fermin (alias: rachel green), new bff jacob and i sipped away our sorrows at the wythe rooftop and it almost made everything better. fast forward two days when we heard that the ebola guy was in a bowling alley in williamsburg the same night that we *tried* to get into a bowling alley in williamsburg: no, just no. ohmygod. no. but we did get to see san fermin the next night and it was cray, as always.

shalom japan: shortrib cholent, toro toast with scallion cream cheese, sake challah... oh and a heated toilet seat. get at me!!!!

taam-tov: a secret uzbeki restaurant in the heart of the diamond district, it's kosher with chinese influences, and it was so delicious.

kalustyan's: an epic spice and specialty foods store where i stocked up on odd ingredients like soapwort root, sodium acetate, and nigari flakes... things that just do not come to north dakota without a personal invitation.

new york public library menu archive: menus from the inauguration of the statue of liberty, a dinner with the queen in 1957, a meal from the astor house in 1843... we got to hold these things!!!!!! it was so freaking fascinating. did you know that there used to be a soda and fruit juice dispenser's union??

shopsin's: it was difficult to keep my shit together because all of the rules scared me, but mac and cheese pancakes, a post modern grilled cheese where the cheese was on the outside, and kenny shopsin yelling that no one knows what a fucking kazoo is before handing brian a kazoo and listening to him play beyoncé on it made it all worth it.

el rey: i spilled coffee all over myself there and i still had a delightful time because i was with lydia and brian and we ate beet pickled eggs with za'atar.

sammy's roumanian: this review of sammy's is perfect. i love that place so much. it was the perfect end to our week. 

with the exception of the wythe, shopsin's, and el rey, all of these meals and classes were enjoyed through the tent food nyc workshop. i can't recommend it enough!!!!!! you should apply. and pack stretchy pants. i'm happy to answer any questions you have if you're thinking about applying.

-yeh!!!!