Potato Parsnip Latkes

It's that time of year again, I even remembered with days to spare!

This year my farm box doesn't have leeks yet, but I do have parsnips for the first time. I've never cooked a parsnip before, but assumed they'd go great in latkes. While the flavor was fantastic, they turn a bit creamier than I'd like in a crispy latke; good enough I recommend trying it. Maybe someone has advice on how to keep the crispiness?

• 2 medium parsnips (2 cups worth once julienned)
  
• a few handfuls worth of potato, I used 4-5 small ones (also 2 cups julienned)
• 1 carrot, shredded
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tbsp barley flour (use all AP if you don't have barley)
  
• 2 Tbsp AP flour
• peanut or other high-heat oil

1. Thoroughly scrub parsnips and potatoes
2. Peel parsnips. I almost never peel my potatoes, but that's a personal choice.
3. Julienne parsnips and potatoes and toss them in a large bowl together
4. Lightly salt the vegetables to release moisture, then press it from them with a dish or paper towel (you don't want lint in the latkes!)
5. Mix in shredded carrot, it's mostly there for color.
   
6. Toss flours with the vegetables. Barley flour enhances the sweet earthiness of the parsnip with nuttiness, but using all AP would be fine
7. whisk eggs and lemon zest, stir into julienned vegetables
8. preheat oven to 375 degrees
9. heat oil in large cast iron skillet to high
10. when oil is quite hot drop mixture into oil one heaping teaspoon at a time, careful not to crowd skillet
11. brown latke on each side, approximately 1-2 minutes per side, then remove to foil lined baking sheets
12. when baking sheets are full, move to oven and bake 20-25 minutes
13. remove and serve immediately with plain yogurt and apple sauce
    

As a side I served spinach salad with a dressing made of 1 Tbsp red bell pepper and ancho chili
jam, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Deviled Eggs 2010

For the Thanksgiving deviled eggs this year I used a flavor combination I have been very much into lately. It brightens up the cool days, but doesn't seem as seasonally incongruous as say a strawberry balsamic would (not to mention how strange that would be in deviled eggs...) Mostly I've been using these ingredients together as a salad dressing or quick pasta sauce, but imagine they'd also be fantastic on fish.

At any rate, these are the deviled eggs. No pictures; they were eaten up before I remembered my camera.

The amount of each of these ingredients will vary depending on the size and tastes of your group, as always, proportions are to taste.

• enough eggs for your group, one whole egg per person is a good estimate
  
• extra virgin olive oil
  
• capers, as many as you'd like
  
• garlic, minced
  
• lemon zest, one lemon's worth
  
• mayonnaise (only for the deviled egg version)
  
• optional- a small amount of anchovies/anchovy paste, I would have used this if no vegetarians were present, but they were
• eggs, more than you need as some will break in the process
  
• paprika, to garnish
  

1. if your eggs are less than four days old leave them out at least overnight prior to boiling. This makes them much easier to peel than very fresh eggs.
2. boil eggs and let cool completely
3. with a super sharp knife cut eggs lengthwise, put whites in one bowl and yolks in another
4. rinse whites clean, then return to bowl
5. in large bowl, beat together eggs and appropriate amount of mayonnaise until fluffy (a few Tbsp should do it.) I used my kitchen aid this year. It was awesome.
6. beat in a Tbsp or two of olive oil, just enough to impart the flavor nicely
7. beat in capers, several cloves minced garlic, lemon zest and anchovy if using. I love capers, so used 4-5 Tbsp for one and a half dozen eggs, I would have used even more if I'd known they'd go over so well.
8. scoop all the yolk mixture into a zip-lock or pastry bag
   
9. cut off the corner of the bag and pipe a yolk-sized mound of yolk mixture in to each white half
10. garnish with paprika and serve, if I'd been thinking ahead or fancy I'd have garnished with additional lemon zest and a caper