THANKFUL // THE NORTH DAKOTA EDITION

thankful for my bomber hat, my leg warmers, my bigass scarf, my new coat that keeps me warm down to -50 f

thankful for the trader joe's care packages from my mum

thankful for shopping carts and big grocery aisles

thankful for live-streamed concerts that keep my inner philip glass satisfied

thankful for recipes on the internet that allow me to indulge in crack pie and magnolia

thankful for my cute little town and its cute little streets

thankful for transportation that brings me to cities for long and wondrous days of eating and walking and eating and walking

thankful for the lefse and the venison and all of the new culinary delights that i've met here

thankful for cozy nights in with eggboy and ruby tuesday nights out with the eggfamily 

thankful for my new friends here and my old friends there who make me feel at home wherever i go

happy thanksgivukkah!!

-yeh!!

MINI PUMPKIN SUFGANIYOT

you know how on thanksgiving you have your special eating pants that stretch real nice to allow for maximum turkey consumption but even then sometimes you eat too much because the food is just too good and you really wanted more stuffing so you had more stuffing and in the end you're like crap i didn't leave room for dessert? and you know how on hanukkah a similar thing happens where you wear your special eating pants but latkes are just the best and you can't help yourself from eating 12? and you know how you have to now combine the two holidays this year and somehow take advantage of both latkes and turkey on the same day? annnnnd eat dessert? yeah, we're all fucked.

but i have a possible solution! dollhouse-sized versions of everything. starting with the sufganiyot. 

my recipe is over on the jew and the carrot. it was a fun one to put together and it reminded me of all those little cartons of dunkin donuts munchkins that were the sign of a true fourth grade party. these donuts have soft fluffy innards and a sturdy, sugary shell. they're really satisfying to bite into. and do they kinda look like boobies? 

-yeh! 

RECIPE: LATKE PUMPKIN PIE

today in i'm-going-to-be-sick-of-thanksgivukkah-food-well-before-thanksgivukkah: a latke pumpkin pie!

seriously, by the time thanksgivukkah rolls around, i will already be on, like, cottage cheese, or whatever diet food is it these days.

i yolo'd a shit ton of chocolate today, also scotch eggs and half an apple sticker (bc you know what's worse than finding a whole apple sticker on your apple...). and then when all was photographed and done, i scraped a bunch of pumpkin pie filling out of this pie and then ate the latke crust. (i left out the sugar in the filling so it could be eggboy-friendly. ew, you guys, don't ever do that.) 

i should really get my tookus to the gym one of these days. sometimes egg works out with a kettle bell in the living room and i join him with my yoga mat and foam roller and dumb core workouts, but i usually just end up in shavasana thinking about cookies and puppies. (omg have you seen this puppy?)

also sometimes i buy salad greens and if they sit in my fridge for long enough i can usually convince myself that i've been eating healthy.

i am counting on next week's new york trip being a big walk fest. i'm going to pre walk off all of my holiday meals and pretend that any and all schnitzels eaten while walking don't count in the calorie department. 

in other vaguely exciting news, you have until the end of the day to enter my pretty apron giveaway!

oh but back to this pie. it has a fun sweet/salty thing going on (like dipping your fries in a pumpkin frosty, if pumpkin frosties existed... do they??) and it was inspired by a quiche recipe that i love that has a sweet potato hash brown crust. this recipe is basically a how-to for a latke crust, and then i encourage you to pour in your favorite filling because my filling seriously blew nuts. you don't even have to make it a pumpkin pie, you can make it chocolatey or custardy or bacony or whatever!

latke pumpkin pie 

makes one pie 

ingredients 

a half batch of ex-boyfriend latke mixture (if you get weirded out by weird things, leave out the onions... but i kinda like it with the onions)

canola or vegetable oil, to coat your pan

a batch of your favorite pumpkin pie (or any pie) filling

clues 

preheat oven to broil. 

once you've mixed up the ex-boyfriend latke mixture, coat an oven safe pan with oil and set over medium heat (i use my 9-inch cast iron pan). pour the latke mixture into the pan and use a spatula to firmly press the mixture all over the bottom and around the edges. 

cook until the bottom browns. the crust may start to puff up in the center-- if this happens, poke a few holes in the bottom with a fork. 

once the bottom is brown, stick the pan in the oven and broil for 8-12 minutes, or until the top starts to brown. 

reduce the heat to 375 (or whatever your pie filling recipe advises), pour in the filling, and bake until the pie is set. 

enjoy immediately with a dreidel! 

-yeh! 

RECIPE: BRUSSELS SPROUT LATKES WITH BALSAMIC DIJON SOUR CREAM

for the first 20 years of my solid food life, my thoughts on brussels sprouts were exclusively informed by cloudy with a chance of meatballs. i'd run from them, i'd spit them out, i'd talk smack about them without even checking my phone to make sure i hadn't butt dialed them. 

the recipe that changed this is my mum's recipe that we make every thanksgiving. the brussels sprouts are roasted and then tossed in a yummy mustardy vinaigrette. (i did a guest post with the recipe on ashlee's blog last year.) these opened the door for some very fantastic sprouty experiences: the cheesy ones at parm, the mustardy ones at buttermilk channel, roasted ones in sesame sauce... i think brussels sprout season might be my favorite season.

anywho, i made a little brussels sprout fried rice yesterday for lunch. i shredded some sprouts, stuck them in a pan to brown, and then scooted them to the side of the pan to make way for the egg. i cracked the egg in, and at first i was stressed because the whites oozed into the sprouts, but then i thought well if all of those sprouts stuck together, that could make a fun little pancake thing.

and then it struck me that i had no choice but to immediately make a brussels sprout latke! the perfect thanksgivukkah treat.

i dug up my favorite latke recipe, the ex-boyfriend latke, made a few adjustments, and cranked out some absurdly amazing latkes. then i made a variation on mum's mustard vinaigrette and mixed it into some sour cream. ooooh baby!

i want to eat the entire batch right now but i also don't want to get all bloaty in case i decide at the last minute to dress as a slutty marilyn hagerty for halloween. (just kidding i'm not actually considering that. but you should.)

 brussels sprout latkes with balsamic dijon sour cream

makes 10-12 latkes 

ingredients 

4 c shredded brussels sprouts*

1 medium onion, chopped

kosher salt and pepper to taste (i use about 4 big pinches of salt and a couple good cracks of pepper) 

the juice from 1/2 a lemon

4 egg whites 

1/2 c all-purpose flour or chickpea flour**

oil, for frying (i use canola) 

*you can find brussels sprouts in the store pre-shredded. i measured out one 9 oz bag to be 4 cups, even though the nutrition facts state otherwise. perhaps i simply didn't pack them as tightly in the measuring cup... i just sorta tossed them in...

**thank you to awesome reader courtney for testing this out with chickpea flour for a gluten free option! she also added bacon. hell yeah. 

 sour cream ingredients

1 c sour cream

2 tb dijon mustard

2 tb honey

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

 clues

if you've bought your sprouts pre-shredded, comb through them and chop up any big chunks because those could cause the latkes to fall apart.

in a large bowl, combine the sprouts, onion, salt, and pepper. stir in the lemon juice and egg whites, and then stir in the flour.

heat 1/4 inch of oil in a pan over medium heat. using an ice cream scoop or a large spoon, place dollops of the mixture in the oil. gently flatten them with a spatula. fry until golden brown on each side.

for the balsamic dijon sour cream, simply combine all ingredients (and place in a cute ramekin).  

enjoy for thanksgivukkah!

-yeh! 

p.s. if you're worried about oil spitting all over your cute thanksgivukkah clothes, enter my cute apron giveaway!