I just spent the past week in Paris, which is quite possibly my favorite city in the world. I definitely warmed up my appetite for Thanksgiving this week.
My favorite thing about Paris is of course the food. It is pretty hard to have a bad meal there. Although, a true Parisian might disagree, but my experience has always been that the food anywhere you go there is either good, great, or exceptional. I had tons of recommendations from friends and fellow bloggers, and although they led me to many wonderful places, I realized that there was so much good food to discover, you almost didn't need many recommendations. It is sometimes more fun to discover places by chance.
Even though I always enjoy the food in Paris or any country I visit, I do not typically eat the way that I did the last week. Croissants for breakfast, french onion soup and french fries for lunch … and seeking out a pastry and espresso in-between each meal. You will not find kale on any menu in Paris, and part of me likes it that way. I enjoy being places very different from where I live, but now I am ready to get back to my (much healthier) routine .... well ..... after Thanksgiving, of course.
I am sure that potatoes and brussels sprouts will find their way to your table this Thanksgiving and probably a few more times before the end of the year. Originally, I was thinking of making some kind of hash recipe for a side dish that included both sprouts and potatoes, however, it's been a while since I've had a latke and when I brought out all of these ingredient to make a hash, the latke light bulb went off.
Maybe it was also my subconscience telling me to post this recipe this week. By complete chance, I also realized that it is Hanukkah this week, which I do not celebrate, but my friends who do might just be eating latkes. This dish is the perfect hybrid dish for the hybrid holiday this year.
If you're not celebrating anything this week, you can also enjoy these for lunch or dinner maybe with some greens, or over a salad. Or, you can do what I did, and eat these for breakfast with a poached egg on top, since for me, anytime is a fine time for a brussel sprout latke.
Yes. I am sharing two salads with you in a row.
You see, there is something I have to tell you ... salads are my thing. My speciality. My jam.
I know, It is not exactly the most exciting thing in the world.
Some people are really good at making awesome, fancy things like creme brulee or pot pie. I am really good at making salads.
I always wanted to be really good at making one thing. You know, so Bobby Flay would come knocking on my door to do a throwdown. Being the veggie lover that I am, I guess it was natural that salads became my thing. I'm ready for my salad throwdown Bobby. Bring it.
You might be thinking, what's so special about making salads? Isn't making salads really easy. Well, yes, it is. But anyone who is really good at making one thing puts a lot of love into making that one thing.
I put a lot of love into my salads.
I love to make my own dressing, I love to incorporate a good balance of ingredients, I love to use only what's fresh and seasonal, and I love to add unexpected things.
It's all about the love and the ingredients.
As always, whenever I post a salad recipe, I like to think of it more as a guideline or an inspiration for your own salad creations. If you've never used sautéed fennel in a salad, maybe you will try it sometime. If you've only had ginger dressing at a japanese restaurant, maybe now you'll be tempted to make your own at home.
Or maybe you will try this just as I made it. I sure hope you do.
The other day I had lunch with my dear friend, Laura. We had tacos here. They were awesome.
Our waitress insisted that we order a side of brussels sprouts with the tacos. I am never one to turn down brussles sprouts. The brussles sprouts were awesome.
When I was eating the tacos, I wished that the brussels sprouts were in the tacos. So the next day I made myself some brussles sprout tacos. Brussels sprout tacos are AWESOME.
The End.
