Ethiopian cabbage and potatoes

Over the summer my husband and I received most of our produce from the local CSA we joined. It was an interesting experience, but the jury is still out on whether we'll join again next year or buy weekly from the Farmer's Market.

One of the vegetables we received in abundant supply was cabbage. Oh, the cabbage. Now, I like cabbage, I do, but 3-4 meals worth per week for 3-4 weeks - well, that was a LOT of cabbage.

Luckily, my favorite recipe website (besides this one of course) came through with this recipe for me. And it is awesome. Positively my favorite way to eat cabbage now.

However, I must warn you, this does not fall in the category of Quick & Easy. Not at all. The dish itself is not difficult to make but it is time consuming. It's worth it though because the taste is unparalleled in the world of cabbage recipes.

If you have a Cuisinart, you'll definitely want to use it.

Here's what you'll need:


1/4 cup olive oil
4 carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
5 potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
(note: it is important to cut the potatoes small; if they are too big they'll take too long to cook)

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Cook the carrots and onion in the hot oil about 5 minutes.



Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, and cabbage and cook another 15 to 20 minutes.


Add the potatoes; cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are soft, 20 to 30 minutes. (I usually add a little bit of water to the pan to help the potatoes cook faster.)

This makes an excellent side dish or, as was often the case here, a delicious meal all by itself.

Sweet potato and black bean burritos

I have been eyeballing this recipe on allrecipes for awhile but could never quite muster up the courage to give it a try. I don't know why - with over a thousand reviews and 4.5 stars, it had to be good.

This weekend, with a handful of leftover sweet potatoes in the house and a love for anything made with black beans, I finally tried it.

Boy am I glad I did. Yes, sweet potatoes and black beans seem like an odd combination, but it works. It really does.

(The original recipe calls for kidney beans, but many commenters used black beans and raved, so that's what I did. Remember, I love black beans.)

With sweet potatoes being one of those super foods, it's always nice to have a new way to enjoy their awesomeness. This is a vegetarian dish that can be made vegan by leaving out the cheese, which is what we did. Although I can see how shredded cheese would have have been an excellent and yummy addition.

This recipe made a HUGE amount. Next time I make it, and there WILL be a next time, I intend to halve the recipe.

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 onion, chopped (or less - I never use as much onion as a recipe calls for)
4 cloves garlic, minced (I did use all the garlic)
6 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups water (approximately - you may use less)
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp prepared mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper (or more, whatever you like)
3 tbsp soy sauce

4 cups mashed sweet potatoes

Flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium skillet saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.

Add the black beans and mash (I ordered a potato masher after making this - would have been much easier). I didn't mash mine completely smooth.

Gradually stir in the water. I used the full 2 cups but next time might use less. Judge based on how runny you'd like your bean mixture. Stir until warm.

Remove from heat and stir in cumin, chili powder, mustard, cayenne and soy sauce.



Spread sweet potatoes and bean mixture down the middle of warmed flour tortilla. Fold like a burrito. (Top with cheddar cheese if you desire.) Makes approximately 12 burritos.

Bake in oven for 12 minutes and serve.

I have never made burritos before so mine weren't the prettiest. Next time (that would be tonight as we have more sweet potatoes and black beans) I will do better.

Farewell to summer dinner (with grilled veggie kebobs and garlic bread with fresh tomato and mozzarella)

My in-laws visited us this weekend and I wanted to make a "farewell to summer" dinner using some local produce.  So on Saturday, Betty and I took my mother-in-law to a nearby farm where I bought corn on the cob, zucchini, yellow squash, an onion, mushrooms, red potatoes, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.  All would find their way into that evening's dinner.

I wanted to make veggie kebobs on the grill and submitting this recipe seems like cheating here because my friend and fellow cook Kristen already posted a similar dish back in May.  (See her post Grilled chicken shish kebob.)

Grilled Vegetable Kebobs

I didn't really measure anything with this one.  Basically, I used two zucchini and two yellow squash, approximately a pound of small red potatoes, half of an Empire sweet onion, and approximately a dozen (maybe less) white mushrooms. 

I boiled the potatoes for 10 minutes while cutting the onion, squash, zucchini and mushrooms into chunks and marinating it for about 20 minutes with Italian dressing.  (I threw the potatoes - some of which I kept whole, others which I halved or quartered - in during the last 10 minutes of marination.)

I didn't measure the amount of dressing either, but if I had to do this again, which is very possible, I would cut down the amount of dressing I used. (Nobody said anything, but I thought the kebobs were slighty too tangy.)

Then I threaded the vegetables onto metal skewers.  (Even when I soak the bamboo skewers, they tend to catch on fire.  I spent most of my summer looking for metal skewers and finally found them at a different farm, also nearby.)

The Husband grilled the kebobs for about 10 minutes, turning once.  This made 8 kebobs.

Along with this, we grilled hot dogs (for the kids and in-laws) and veggie burgers for us. I also boiled corn on the cob. Finally, I changed my mind from preparing a caprese salad and instead enhanced some store-bought garlic bread by adding slices of fresh mozzarella and fresh tomato.

I left one side of the garlic bread plain because several folks at our table aren't fans of tomatoes.  Cooked it in the oven for 7 minutes and then let it cool, cutting each of the sides into smaller pieces and arranging on a serving platter.  (No pictures of that ... they disappeared too quickly.)

Dessert was a selection of homemade ice creams from another nearby farm - vanilla, chocolate, peach, and coffee. 

All in all, a delicious ending to a wonderful summer.

Quick braised chicken with rosemary and new potatoes

I love borrowing cookbooks from the library. (I've been known to read them like novels, especially as some light bedtime reading.) One of the books I currently have out is The Deen Bros. Take It Easy: Quick and Affordable Meals the Whole Family Will Love by Jamie and Bobby Deen, sons of Paula. 

Like their mom, the Deen brothers are food celebrities in their own right. The premise of their cookbook is that, while their mother's food is delicious and the centerpiece of their family life and livelihoods, their schedules don't often allow for the slow Southern way of cooking. Jamie and Bobby Deen strive to give their readers - and their mama's fans - the same down home goodness in less than 45 minutes of preparation.

Jamie and Bobby live up to expectations in Take It Easy. There's something for everyone in this book - yes, even the vegetarian! - although many of the recipes draw (or should that be drawl? :) on their Southern heritage. Recipes abound for meat, poultry, fish, pasta dishes, crockpot meals, main-course salads, kid-friendly foods (Jamie has a 3 year old, so he knows toddlers' picky tastebuds) and of course, desserts.  All the photographs are beautiful and written in such a style that you just want to sit down at the table with the Deen family for dinner and listen to them talk.

Here's one of the recipes from the book that the kids and I enjoyed on a night that The Husband was working late (he doesn't eat meat, so I usually make a chicken dish on those evenings).

Quick Braised Chicken with Rosemary and New Potatoes

Ingredients:
3 pounds chicken legs, cut into thighs and drumsticks (or just use one or the other)
2 Teaspoons salt, plus additional for seasoning
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning
1 pound small new red potatoes, cut into eighths
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and rosemary.

3. Place the chicken in a large broiler-proof baking pan and season with additional salt and pepper. Add the potatoes to the pan. Pour the rosemary mixture over the chicken and potatoes and toss to coat.

(My note: you will notice that I forgot the potatoes, and didn't have any new potatoes on hand.  Fortunately, I had some canned potatoes in the pantry. Not ideal, but better than nothing.)

4. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and transfer to the broiler. Broil, 4 inches from the heat, for about 10 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pricked with a fork. Serve hot, with pan juices spooned on top. (my note: this needed a little more cooking time in my oven ... at the 45 minute mark, it seemed more done).

The chicken in the other pan was used as my lunch and the kids' dinner the next day. It was easier to cook the entire package of chicken legs instead of freezing the ones I didn't use.

The kids and I enjoyed this very much. It was really simple and will be a good dinner to make whenever chicken legs happen to be on sale.

Feta- and jalapeno-stuffed, bacon-wrapped pork loin with scalloped potatoes

I know there's been a lot of pork around here lately, but it's what I have scheduled to give you today, so...here's some more pork. Lots of it, actually. As Homer Simpson would say, it is indeed a wonderful, magical animal.

You'll need a nice pork loin, some feta, some pickled, diced jalapenos, and some good bacon. Slice the loin almost completely through lengthwise, but leave the two halves just attached. Mix together until well combined about a third of a cup of feta cheese with about a quarter of a cup of jalapenos (adjust this to your spicy, adventurous tastes). Put this mixture into the pork loin groove, filling it from end to end. Then take the bacon--I end up using about six slices--and tightly wrap it around the loin. The final result looks unfortunately like a large, meaty caterpillar, but I promise, it's good.

We don't grill much because it's hot here, so we just do this one in the oven. I cover it with foil or a good lid and have it at about 425-450 F until the meat thermometer confirms it's at a temperature suitable for pork (about ~160-170 degrees internally)--maybe about an hour, depending on the heft of the loin. Once it's hit that temperature goal, I remove the foil or lid and let it crisp a bit because the bacon's better that way.

I served this up last time with scalloped potatoes that I baked at the same time. To make these, I sliced small, peeled Yukon golds into 1/8 inch slices and layered them in a buttered baking dish as follows: potatoes, salt, pepper, bit o' olive oil, grated cheese (your choice; I like gruyere when I have it) until I was out of potatoes. Then, I mixed in a separate bowl about a half cup to a cup of whole cream or half 'n' half with another half cup or so of the grated cheese and pour on top. Your amount will vary with how much you're making. My goal is to get the liquid at least halfway up the depth of the potatoes. Cover with foil or a good lid and bake until potatoes are tender. Remove foil or lid and let the cheese that's on top get a nice golden-brown color.

Slice the loin, spoon out the potatoes, make a good salad to go with it...and you're done. The feta with the jalapenos, bacon, and tender loin is simply a taste sensation.

Nanny's Potato-Frankfurter Soup

(Minor brag: The cloth the recipe's sitting on? Is a blackwork Star of David challah cover that I made some years ago. It's one of my favorite stitchery pieces ever.)

This is a recipe my mother sent me for our family cookbook (you know, the one I've written about before, but never actually put together? yeah, that one...). I'd never made it before. I'm not sure I'd ever looked at it before. Because if I had, I'd have noticed that little "Jack's mom's recipe" up there in the left-hand corner. Jack's mom having been my father's mother, my Nanny, who died about a decade ago, maybe a little more. My mother and my father having been divorced when I was 11, after being separated from the time I was 8. So, yeah. I'd have raised an eyebrow at that one.

In any case, it was absolutely perfect for the night I made it, an unseasonably cool--oh, who am I kidding? it was FREEZING by LA standards--April night. And it was also a breath of fresh air. Most of what I cook these days, the new stuff at least, is ethnic and spicy, sprinkled liberally with cayenne or garam masala and almost never EVER without garlic or ginger. This was potatoes and hot dogs (does anyone call them frankfurters any more?), and very little else.

We all loved it.

Nanny's Potato-Frankfurter Soup [with my changes in bracketed italics]

5 to 6 cups of water [I used chicken broth, which I think is sort of an essential change if you want the soup to have any real taste; I also upped it to about 8 cups, because that was how much broth I had frozen in the two plastic bags in my freezer]

3 to 4 potatoes [I used white potatoes, rather than the russets I'm sure Nanny used, and I upped the number to (I think) 6]

2 to 3 tablespoons flour [Apparently, Nanny wasn't big on certainty!]

Salt to taste [I used kosher salt.]

2 to 3 tablespoons chicken fat [I actually had chicken fat; I skimmed it off the frozen broth, which was from the last time I made chicken soup with matzo balls. But if I didn't have chicken fat, I'd have probably used whichever neutral oil I had around.]

1/2 small onion, diced [I used one medium onion]

4 frankfurters [Since I'd bought the jumbo franks, I did only use four, but there was plenty.]

Bread [Not in Nanny's recipe, but this soup almost literally called out for warm, crusty french bread to go with it.]


As for the instructions...Well, Nanny was no more precise about these than she was about her measurements. So, again, I'll give you her instructions, with my modifications/additions in italicized brackets.

1. Place potatoes in water. [First of all, I placed them in the defrosted chicken broth. Secondly, I chopped them into nice big chunks. Because they were thin-skinned white potatoes, I didn't peel them first, but you might want to peel yours, depending on what kind you use.]

2. Let water boil. [I salted the chicken broth a little here.]

3. Combine chicken fat and flour; let heat over low flame and get brown. [I did this in a separate, small iron skillet. The flour never did get especially brown, but it did combine nicely with the fat to form a paste. In retrospect, I'd have upped the amount of fat and flour, since I'd upped the amounts of everything else. I assume the point is for it to slightly thicken the broth/water, but it didn't do much of anything. At least, I didn't notice it doing anything.]

4. Brown onions. [I did this in the same skillet after removing the fat/flour combo; I added a tiny bit of canola oil, since the chicken fat had been all soaked up by the flour in the previous step.]

5. Put paste and onions into water with salt. [I actually put the paste in when I removed it from the skillet so I could brown the onions, then put the onions in the chicken broth when they were done.]

6. Let cook for one hour.

7. Cut frankfurters in half and put into soup. [I cut them in half and then sliced them so that there were half-moons of hot dog throughout the soup.]

8. On small flame, let cook another 20 minutes. Taste.

That last bit I did without a single change from the original instructions. It was really, truly, comfort foodingly good. Baroy's already requested it make a return when and if the temps dip again. I second that emotion.

(That's just a wooden spoon over there to the right, by the way. Not some mutant, mottled hot dog.)

Guilt-free cream of potato soup

Looks like I'm the last one here. Thanks for saving me the seat next to the other Melissa. Yes, let the confusion begin! You can call me Melissa H. I, too, was invited by Niksmom and am thrilled to be part of this dinner party. I also join the ranks of having a child on the autistic spectrum (Asperger's), as well as Bipolar Disorder Type 1. When he isn't keeping me busy, I am a runner and also enjoy health & fitness, in general. You can find me at I Don't Need Excuses. (For the most part, that's true. :-D)

I'm also a pescetarian, which basically means that I eat seafood, dairy and eggs, but no meat. I am also pretty health-conscious, and try to balance out my meals with a healthy protein. This means that a lot of my dishes end up being inspired by the meat-filled comfort foods of my youth. This one is no exception!

I could probably eat soup every day. It doesn't matter that I live in the Sunshine State. To me, soup tastes just as good in 95 degree weather, as it does during the chilly months! I had a delicious recipe for a cream of potato soup that probably had close to a billion calories per serving, most of it from carbohydrate or fat. I knew that there had to be a way to add protein and eliminate fat, without sacrificing taste. That's how this yummy recipe was born! I promise that you won't miss the fat. It is so simple, but the flavors are divine.

- Ingredients -

6 red potatoes, peeled and diced

3 c fat free cottage cheese

1/2 c fat free sour cream

4 c vegetable broth (or water and bouillon cubes)

1 c white wine (optional, but really adds to the flavor)

dried dill

- Directions -

Bring the broth, dill and potatoes to a boil. Simmer until tender. Remove from heat. Using a stick blender, blend the 3 cups of cottage cheese until smooth. (note: you can use a regular blender or food processor if you don't have a stick blender) Add the cottage cheese, sour cream and white wine to the potatoes and broth. Blend with a stick blender (or add small amounts to a regular blender - be careful because it will be hot!) until smooth and creamy. If too thick, add some water to desired consistency. Makes 6 servings.

This soup gives you a complete protein and carbohydrate serving and, believe me, you won't be able to tell the difference between a cream-filled soup and this! I like to top it with some chopped scallions or chives, fake (soy) bacon bits and a tiny bit of shredded cheddar cheese. Serve this with a crisp salad (and my husband can't resist a crusty bread on the side) and you have a filling and healthy meal.

On a side note, if you don't have a stick blender? GET ONE!! I'll wait. Tap...tap... tap...

No, really. Go buy yourself a stick blender. It has to be the best tool that I have in my kitchen. I think I purchased it, along with some nifty side gadgets, for a mere thirty bucks at WalMart. It is well worth the investment. Oh, and you'll most probably see it used quite often in my recipes, too!

That's it for my stick blender and me... until next time!

Scalloped potatoes with ham

Once again, my cooking impetus consists of what's sitting around in my kitchen at the turning point of usable/not usable. This time, it was some beautiful small Yukon gold potatoes and uncured sliced applewood-smoked ham. Why, I thought, I'll make scalloped potatoes with ham.

Scalloped potatoes are tasty and pretty, and their only drawback is the bit o' work required to peel and thinly slice them. So, that's what you do first.

I had about 12 small potatoes, just a bit larger than fingerlings. The pan was an 8-x-8 pyrex, oiled with olive oil. That's important, because I've learned from experience that insufficient oiling leads to much sticking of potatoes.

Put a layer of the sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan and sprinkle with a bit of olive oil and some salt and pepper. On this, sprinkle some grated cheese--I used a colby/jack combo because my children would be eating this, too, but I'd've used Gruyere where it only for me. I cut up the ham, about eight pieces sliced on the one setting at the deli, into centimeter pieces and sprinkled a bit of ham on this layer, too.

Continuing layering potatoes, salt, pepper, olive oil, cheese and ham until you run out of it all.

Finally, I mixed together 3/4 cup of chicken broth and 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and poured it over the top.

A sprinkling of cheese to cover the top, a covering with foil (important!), and this went into an oven preheated to 350 F for about 1.5 hours.

It smelled divine as it baked and emerged as a tasty hammy-cheesy potato dish that even my children would eat. We had this with green peas and buttered sourdough.

You can dress this up with a bit of flavor expansion by adding some canned, chopped poblano pepper to it and using jack cheese.

Oven roasted rosemary potatoes

I wish I had some interesting story to tell you about how I first tried these at so-and-so's restaurant (I did not) or how my mother used to make these every Sunday (she did not).  Alas, I've got nothing for you.  Just some yummy potatoes which are so easy to make (no matter how you do them) and are so versatile that you can substitute just about any seasoning you want to complement any meal or to satisfy any taste.

Here's how I made them (this week):

Ingredients:
6 medium red potatoes
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
olive oil
sea salt

The 18-minute version:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash potatoes and cut into chunks approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches large.

Using a mortar and pestle or a small burr grinder, grind up the rosemary just enough to release the oils and flavor.

Place potatoes into a microwaveable bowl or casserole.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Add rosemary and sea salt, to taste, and stir the potatoes to spread the mixture evenly.

Cover dish with plastic wrap and microwave on high for approximately 8 minutes until almost completely cooked. Potatoes are cooked when they can be pierced with a fork.

Transfer potatoes to a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet.  Brown in oven for 10 minutes or until golden crust begins to form on the potatoes.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!

The 45-minute version

Preheat oven to 400F. Wash potatoes and cut into chunks approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches large.


Using a mortar and pestle or a small burr grinder, grind up the rosemary just enough to release the oils and flavor. Add rosemary and sea salt, to taste, and stir the potatoes to spread the mixture evenly.


Put the potatoes, oilve oil, rosemary and sea salt (to taste) in a plastic food storage bag.  Seal it and shake to coat evenly.

Transfer potatoes to a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until golden crust begins to form on the potatoes.  They are done when the potatoes can be pierced with a fork.

Serve piping hot and enjoy!
 
Footnote:
Now, you may be asking yourself why I would go to the trouble of microwaving the potatoes when I can just roast them in the oven.  Two reasons, actually.  First, I don't always have the time to get the oven ready with enough lead time for preheating and cooking for 45 minutes.  I can set the oven to preheat while I'm mixing and microwaving and then toss it all into the oven to brown away while I am giving Nik his dinner.  Second, I like my potatoes a bit moister than I think they come out when cooked in the oven for so long.
 
Another plus to the shorter method is that they can be cooked ahead of time —say the night before I want to serve them— and baked/browned in the oven the next day.  If I cook them completely and then have to store them in the fridge, they get kind of mushy and I end up having to re-brown them anyway.

Let's Talk Latkes

The first night of Hanukkah is...yikes!...tomorrow. Friday, December 11th. Did I mention YIKES?

I mean, sure, I'm not ready present-wise. And I don't have enough candles to get us through more than a day or two. (Especially since we light a minimum of three menorahs: one is mine and Baroy's, one is Em's, one is N's.) But, really, that yikes is about latkes. Specifically, the fact that I don't know when I'm going to be able to make them. And IT IS NOT HANUKKAH until I have eaten myself sick on latkes. Latkes that I have made myself. With applesauce that I have made myself.

(Yes. It's all about me.)

But, hey. The fact that I'm so overwhelmed by life that I haven't managed to schedule the making of latkes, much less done any actual making of latkes...that shouldn't impact you guys. Or at least not beyond the lack of cool latke-related photos on this post. (Sorry.)

And so, let's talk latkes.

Now, making latkes? Ridiculously easy. There are fancy latke recipes out there (relatively speaking), but me, I'm a simple kind of gal. In fact, you can't even really call this a recipe; what follows is really a list of obvious ingredients, and some tips on how to make the process of latke-izing as painless (and delicious) as possible.

Latkes =
potatoes
onion
egg
flour
salt
pepper (optional)
oil

OK. So. First, let's talk potatoes. I am almost embarrassed to admit that, until a year or so ago, it never occurred to me that there was an easier way to do latkes than the spend-seventeen-hour-peeling-russets routine. Now? I'm all about the Yukon golds, or just plain old white potatoes. Because, dude! You don't have to peel! The skins on these potatoes are so thin, you can just grate them into the batter along with the potatoes themselves (after cleaning well, of course). It cuts the latke-making time down to almost nothing! Trust me. It's totally worth it.

Now, let's talk proportions. My mom taught me to make latkes, and she told me to use a more-or-less four-to-one ratio of potatoes to onions. But the potatoes she used were huge russets, whereas the potatoes I use, well, we just talked about that. So I just sort of eye it; I probably use about one small onion (or half of a larger one) for every six to eight potatoes I put through the food processor.

On to the actual making. First, wash the potatoes. Next, grate them. What I do is put a bunch of potatoes and the onion through the grater apparatus on my food processor, then put aside about half of the coarsely grated mixture into a collander, so the liquid can drip off and the batter will be less runny. I take the other half and put it through the food processor again, using the blender blade (if that's what it's called, the blade that sits on the bottom of the mixing bowl) to turn that half of the batch almost into a puree.

Once that's done, mix the two halves of the potato-onion batter together in a large bowl, adding in one already-beaten egg.

Next, add enough flour to firm up the batter, and then season with kosher salt (I prefer kosher salt for cooking) and pepper (if you like to give your latkes a little kick) to taste.

As you're doing these last couple of steps, you'll want heat a quarter-inch or so of oil (the more neutral the oil, the better; I prefer canola) in one or more skillets. When the oil is hot, drop the batter in by large spoonfuls; turn the latkes once, when the edges start to brown, adding more oil as needed.

Remove cooked latkes from skillet and place on a plate or platter lined with at least two layers of paper towel; cover each single layer of latkes with another layer or two of paper towels, to soak up excess oil. Serve hot, or freeze in single layers on cookie sheets lined with wax paper; once the latkes are frozen, they can be put into plastic bags and stored pretty much indefinitely. (God, I wish I'd done this a few weeks ago. I'd be all ready now!) When you're ready to serve them, pop them into the oven on the same cookie sheets at 300 degrees or so, until warm and crisp.

And that's pretty much it. Or, rather, that's almost it.

If you know anything about latkes, you know what I'm going to ask: Applesauce, sour cream, or both? You already know my answer. (And no, it's not "both." One does not adulterate the perfection that is homemade applesauce...not even with the creamy near-perfection of sour cream.) But you might (I shudder to think) have a different opinion. And so I ask...When it comes to latke accompaniment, what's your pleasure?

And to all who celebrate, via latkes, presents, or prayers: Happy Hanukkah. May your days and nights be a feast of lights.