Season of Light

Latkes, sour cream, applesauce, smoked salmon, and light

Golden, crisp, and delicious

I never had occasion to eat latkes until I met Alex. My first attempt was about two years ago, and having never eaten them, I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing when I first made them, despite assiduously consulting my thrifted copy of The Jewish-American Kitchen. They turned out delicious, but also heavy, greasy, and way too thick in the middle as Alex politely informed me after I had already made them.

Over time, however, I have mastered the technique. If you want more explanation, this month’s Bon Appetit magazine has a spot-on article about latkes. My key to success? Think light thoughts. No sumo wrestlers in pointe shoes. Only light thoughts. Like butterflies and tiny icicles and snowflake kisses. No dense pancakes here. Light and crisp, light and crisp–these are the words I say to myself while I form the cakes. ‘Tis the season of light (and crisp, light and crisp), indeed!

I’m re-posting my recipe for latkes in case you are interested in flipping yours in the air sometime(s) this week.

Potato Latkes
Makes about 20 latkes

 – 3 russet potatoes
– 1 yellow onion

Peel and shred the veggies using the wide holes on a box grater. Place in a clean kitchen towel over an empty bowl. When you’re finished, wring out the moisture through the towel (there will be a lot).

Get a frying pan heating up on medium-high heat on the stovetop. Also heat your oven to 200F and put a wire cooling rack atop a baking sheet in the oven for keeping the latkes warm while you fry up the rest.

– 2 lightly beaten eggs
– 1/4 cup (or a bit less) all-purpose flour
– salt and pepper
Add to the potato/onion mixture in a large bowl. Fold to combine with a spoon or fork.

Heat enough oil in your frying pan to comfortably cover the bottom of the pan. Form latkes by gently shaping batter into a small cake (think light and crispy – you don’t want it too dense).Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until they turn a lovely caramel brown color. Slide each into the oven to keep warm (and crisp) until you’re ready to plate. (But watch out – they may disappear before you have a chance to do so!). Repeat until you’ve used all the batter. Serve warm with applesauce (or other sauce of your choice).

Caring About Where Food Comes From

Last night I had the pleasure to hear one of my local heroes, Joel Salatin, speak after a screening of American Meat, a new film by Graham Meriwether.

The film was well done, and I appreciated the ways that Meriwether wanted to present not only the great things that Salatin is doing, but the challenges that conventional farmers face too, in a way that was honest and without judgment. His work leaves the viewer empowered and curious to ask more questions and to make better informed decisions.

Overall, I didn’t feel like I learned anything terribly new about the situation that faces American food and its farmers from the film (conventional farmers sign contracts with major companies that require them to purchase and build hi-tech, permanent buildings and make upgrades; conventional farmers don’t own the animals they raise, and if they aren’t producing the yields required by the contract, they can be let go with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt; grass-fed meats take longer to raise but restore the land and are healthier; the government subsidizes corn and soybeans that are fed to conventional animals; etc. etc., and if this is news to you, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan is a good place to start). But that’s because I read a lot.

I did love seeing footage of the animals at Polyface Farm, and it did make me desperately want to be part of the new, young generation of farmers, if only in my own small way. It just makes sense.

The film is a great introduction to the faces behind the farmers that put the food on our tables, and I definitely encourage you to check it out and support the film, as well as to be mindful of your food-buying decisions this holiday season. Shop local for quality products!

Is it possible to be starstruck by a farmer? Surely that can only be a positive thing… From left to right at the University of Virginia: Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms; Chris Ely of Applegate; and Graham Meriwether, director of American Meat.

 

Thanksgiving Re-cap + Holiday Preview

 

 

Some instagram shots of our Thanksgiving with friends (follow me on Instagram @jessalynf):
– the menu
– the appetizers are about as “traditional” as we went this year. Turkey meatloaf, cranberry shortbread, and sugar&spice pecans made the perfect accompaniment to our champagne toasts.
– serve-yourself buffet-style platters
– the centerpiece is 3 mini parfait glasses (the middle one is upside down with cranberries inside). I wanted something simple but still fall-themed, and low enough to be able to talk over.
– here’s my plate!
– but where’s dessert? yeah we ate that up before I took a picture.

Are you rushing around today in the post-Thanksgiving madness? Since the holiday came earlier than usual this year, you’ve got a few extra shopping days before the winter holidays, I suppose. But while you’re resting in between sales, or if you find yourself yearning to give something homemade and handcrafted this year, I humbly encourage you to swing by my Etsy shop, Highlands Homestead.

Photo courtesy of Jenni Gabriela (www.jennigabriela.com)

There, during my unofficial grand re-opening, you’ll find nourishing lip balms, shampoo soaps, and jam – all homemade, and all of which make great stocking stuffers! And, for the next two weeks, from now until December 7, as a thank you for reading my blog, use coupon code YUMJOY2012 at checkout for free shipping on your order (at this time I am only processing U.S. orders). Joy to the world and fa-la-la-la-la! Order now for the best selection and to take advantage of free shipping.

Thanks for your support! And happy holidays!

Get Thee a Can of Pumpkin!

Starting in September (or was it the end of August?), my Facebook News Feed became littered with statuses exuding head-over-heels excitement that the season of pumpkin spice lattes had returned. This was disturbing to me for two reasons: first, I don’t drink coffee. Trust me, I tried. I went to college. Second, I’ve never been a big fan of pumpkin. The fact that I have more than one can of pumpkin puree in my pantry right now is like, newsworthy.

And, can I vent for two seconds? There is a difference between pumpkin flavor and pumpkin spice flavor, right? Pumpkin is like earthy and sweet and squash-like. Pumpkin spice is cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger – things we associate with potpourri and autumn and baked goods. Pumpkin spice is often paired with pumpkin because it makes the earthy squashy orange stuff taste better, no?

Ahem. So. I have been collecting ideas for what to do with pumpkin over on Pinterest in a valiant effort to give my relationship with pumpkin another shot. But if we were gonna do this right, I wanted unique things to make with pumpkin (i.e., no pies or cheesecakes or mousses or soups please). Things started well with this mostly paleo pumpkin granola. Followed by some decidedly not paleo pumpkin whoopie pies (I made these “cookies” and sandwiched them together with maple-ginger cream cheese frosting).

But yesterday, I hit the jackpot.

Pumpkin macaroni and cheese.

Intriguing, right?

It’s really a classic mac&cheese recipe: bechamel sauce made cheesy and tossed with pasta. But here’s the trick: add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices and fresh thyme to the milk, and use a lovely fall blend of cheeses – cheddar and smoked gouda – and you get a luxurious and filling dish…gah! I couldn’t believe it!

The recipe can be found here, by the incredibly talented Spoon Fork Bacon. I only departed from the recipe in two ways and it still came out great: a) I added a pinch of ground ginger to the pumpkin bechamel seasoning; b) I didn’t have yellow cheddar so I used 3 oz. sharp white cheddar, and 2 oz. smoked gouda. I did top it with some toasted breadcrumbs as suggested in the recipe, but in the future I might sprinkle with some chopped toasted pecans too.

If you’ve been looking for something new to do with pumpkin, make this. Like tonight. And if you don’t (can’t/won’t), you should leave a comment and tell me your favorite way to enjoy pumpkin (if at all) so that I may increase my pumpkin love potential.

P.S. If you come across a recipe that calls for “pumpkin pie spice,” you may already have everything you need in your cupboard (no pumpkin required)!

To replace 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice:
– 1 tsp. cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
– 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
– 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

That should do it.

The Philly Cheesesteak, Two Ways

No trip to Philadelphia would be complete without indulging in the city’s namesake sandwich.

On the left: Classically delivered “with provolone and onions” (I just couldn’t bring myself to opt for Cheez Whiz…) at Jim’s Steaks on South St. with a Birch Beer (which I was mildly surprised to learn contains HFCS?).

On the right: Interpreted as Asian fusion tapas at Sampan on a fried bao bun with shallot and Sriracha.

Old school? New skool? What’s your jive? Do tell.

What to Cook your Dog-Sitter

We are blessed to have Alex’s mother so close by and so willing to take care of our dog babies when we travel. And it seems that we have been traveling a lot this month!

A weekend trip to the city of brotherly love. We made it home safely before Sandy hit.

Along with the usual list of feeding instructions, whose leash is whose, and unique quirks to each dog, I throw a meal in the crock pot on the morning that we leave so that dinner is warm and waiting for her when she arrives. Makes for great leftovers for lunches and dinners all weekend long.

Here’s a recipe that Doggie Grannie particularly enjoyed. Even if you don’t have a pet-sitter that you need to cook for, you should make this. It’ll warm you right up! Lord knows many of us on the East Coast could use a bowl of warmth right about now.

Smoky Turkey Stew 
(Adapted from Stephanie O’Dea)

 

– 1/2 large onion, chopped
– 1 cup frozen corn
– 8-10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
– 1.5 pounds turkey cutlets
– 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
– 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
– 1 can black beans, rinsed
– 1 can diced tomatoes
– 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
– 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
– 1 quart chicken stock

1. Season turkey generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Layer onion, corn, and spinach in bottom of crockpot. Place turkey on top. Sprinkle in the herbs.

3. Add beans, tomatoes, Tabasco, and liquid smoke on top. Pour in chicken stock. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

I was worried the frozen spinach would be stringy and awkward in the finished soup, but it really wasn’t. Also, I never salt my chicken stock when I make it at home, so I added some extra salt and pepper before I turned the slow cooker on. You can salt and pepper yours a la table, as needed. Serve with some tortilla chips for a fun crunch!

Thank you, Doggie Grannie!

Here’s hoping that you and your loved ones are safe and warm.

Don’t Judge a Cake…

In the last of our anniversary celebration posts, I promised to recreate our wedding cake.

No, no. I don’t take credit for this one. This was our actual wedding cake, made by Jennifer of La Bella Torta.

It’s still talked about in hushed, reverent tones at friends’ weddings. I was pretty much a lone, dancing fool when the dances started after the cake cutting at our reception. The words to Whitney Houston’s “I wanna dance with somebody” were ringing a little too true as I twirled around the dance floor. Alone. I was initially fearful that I had invited a non-dancing crowd and that I would be the solo act for the evening, and that I would subsequently be shunned from society for hosting a ho-hum reception. (Did I ever mention that I sometimes entertain irrational fears in my mind?)

It was only later that I found out that no one else was dancing at the time because everyone wanted to actually eat the cake. It was that good. They were figuratively bound to their chairs, determined to finish every last bite, lest some cake-deranged wedding guest hovered a little too close with plans to scavenge any abandoned fork of frosting. Imagine that! It was so good that after our honeymoon, Alex and I ate all but one slice of our anniversary layer–a slice which I only reluctantly wrapped up and froze for the sake of tradition. I’ve been waiting a year to recreate that dance floor-abandoning cake.

So now, in a Cakewrecks worthy kind of reveal, here is the monster I recreated today:

Okay, okay. Let me explain.

I’ll wait for you to stop laughing first.

I…

…okay. Time to get a grip.

…Really, control yourself.

…Are you quite finished?

Okay. I know this looks nothing like our original, beautiful wedding cake. Here’s why*:

1. I made more batter than I needed. Not on purpose. I had enough to fill a 6″ round. And then I still had batter left over. And you can’t just let precious cake batter go to waste, right? So I made two more successively smaller layers in some ramekins I had standing around. The smallest layer might have been eaten for my lunch today.

2. I didn’t make enough buttercream. Especially since I had some extra layers to deal with. That is why, in the image above, you see what could have made a very good “crumb coating” to prep my cake for its luscious outer layer of frosting. And that’s it. This is my cake in its underwear. I was too tired to make more buttercream. We’ll call it less fattening rustic.

3. My cake display dish is too short. When I put the lid on it to stash in the fridge, the top layer got smooshed down against the top of the inside of the dome. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Actually what I thought was “oh good, maybe it will help even out the decidedly uneven layer on top.” What I failed to anticipate was that the buttercream would firm up in the fridge. Which meant that the top layer became virtually cemented to the top of the glass. I tried to reassemble it, but that’s why you see fissures the size of a pastry Grand Canyon snaking across the top layer.

*I included these disclaimers in attempt to redeem myself in your eyes as an actually competent cake baker. You see, I clearly have the wherewithal and self-reflective conscientiousness to recognize what went wrong, and the humbleness to admit that I was too busy with normal daily life to fix it. I promise if I were making your wedding cake, or even your birthday cake, the finished product would be photo-worthy. In a good way. 

Despite everything that is wrong about this cake, I definitely did a few things right (including using this Vanilla Buttermilk cake recipe and this version of Swiss buttercream). Because I’ll be darned if this didn’t taste almost exactly like the cake we fed each other one year ago.

The flavor of our wedding cake was strawberry-lemonade. To achieve this, I spread a thin base layer of buttercream on the chilled cake. Then I topped it with lemon curd (good quality from the store, but I’d have used homemade if I’d had it). I sliced up some strawberries and arranged them on top. I spread another thin layer of buttercream on the underside of the layer that would top it all off, just to help it stick together.

If you want to try to make this cake, here are some variations you could do:
– use mango or orange curd instead of lemon curd
– leave out the lemon curd layer but add the zest of one lemon to the cake batter. or to the buttercream
– replace strawberries with raspberries or blueberries
– no fresh berries? try jam instead
– slice each layer into 4 smaller layers and alternate your fillings for a beautiful cake cutaway

We’ll call it a rustic shortcake…

Would it be cliche to say that the moral of the story is… don’t judge a cake by its haphazard assembly? Alex and I fed each other the first bite of this anniversary cake (just like we did at our wedding – with forks! No cake smashed in the face for us, thank you very much). (I mean really, it would have been a nightmare to get all that frosting out of Alex’s lumberjack-wannabe beard. It was very generous of me to just feed him like a civilized person).

And as I lingered over the sweet taste of strawberries, puckered at the refreshing tartness of the lemon curd, let the buttercream dissolve over my tongue, and stared into my husband’s (my husband! yes, still makes me giddy) kind eyes, I realized that this deformed-looking cake might serve as a reflection of our lives together today–that no matter what it looks like on the outside, life is always sweeter when we’re together. Sure, I was a little disappointed that the cake didn’t look perfect for such a landmark celebration. But I dwelt on that disappoint for a moment. Because I took comfort in the fact that I also walked the dogs twice, folded 3 loads worth of laundry, worked for 4 hours, picked up groceries, and made dinner! I probably would have been more frustrated if I had spent all day working on the cake and then fretted over all the things that I wouldn’t have gotten done.

As I have increasingly come to learn, life isn’t perfect. Or maybe, life is perfect, but only thanks to its imperfections. There have been times that I know I am acting ugly to Alex and then feel guilty for it later but am too proud to apologize in the moment. (Tell me I’m not alone on this one). We both have quirks that irk the other. We may even have done the unthinkable–gone against the age-old newlywed advice and gone to bed angry a time or two in the past year. But we’ve also grown in the way that we love and respect the other for our talents, personality, and willingness to support each other–in discovering what it means to be a husband and a wife. Like the cake, we look past exteriors to shovel tasty cake into our mouths find solace in the genuine substance of love that resides in our hearts. I love you, Alex, and I’m honored to celebrate this anniversary with you!

I’ll check in later this week with some fall decor around the house (i.e., if you’ve had enough of the mushy stuff, we’ll return to our regularly scheduled programming).