Holiday cheer is in the air. In a few short days, Christmas will finally be here. In between longer work days, more professional development classes, and holiday preparations, I was able to take a break to attend my work holiday party on Friday. Decembers at work are my favorite time for inspiration. My colleagues would bring in a wide range of holiday treats unique to their family in the weeks leading up to Christmas and share it with the office. Last year, one of my colleagues brought in some holiday bark to share with our office. Her version of holiday bark featured just white chocolate and pretzels. The bark was very simple, but made for a tasty treat. After tasting her version of holiday bark, I was inspired to make my own version of holiday bark featuring crunchy pretzels, salty pistachios, tart cranberries, and creamy white chocolate to gift to my family over the holidays last year. This year, one of my colleagues led a hot chocolate kit sale. Each kit was filled with a hot chocolate mix, a candy cane, marshmallows, and chocolate candies. I purchased some kits, attached some holiday cards, and sent a kit with a card to each of my colleagues. I made a mental note of the idea for my own holiday celebrations. There were also endless gatherings and celebrations happening throughout the building over the last few weeks. Just last week, my office had a luncheon. This week, our center had another holiday luncheon. For both gatherings, I brought my crunchy vegetable pasta to share with others. It’s one of the easiest sides to pull together and is definitely a crowd favorite. When Friday night rolled around, I headed to my work holiday party for a couple hours. The party was held at a beautiful performing arts space and featured comforting food, music, and prizes. There was even a photo booth set up in the corner of the event space. My colleagues and I squeezed into the photo booth and took a couple photos towards the end of the night. By 9:00 p.m., I was ready to retire back home for the evening. My work holiday party was the last holiday party celebrating with others before my family’s holiday party on Christmas day. Thankfully, I started my Christmas shopping early this year and only had a few more items to pick up to finish up all of my gift shopping. Kevin and I spent this weekend finishing up our holiday preparations before the holiday rush next week. In between the cleaning and prepping, I made some cabbage and potato latkes with a side of everything sour cream and homemade apple sauce. Latkes are a type of potato pancake enjoyed in many households throughout the year, but especially during the holidays. My version features thinly sliced red cabbage, shredded potatoes, diced onion, and dried garlic. I used red cabbage because it not only lends a beautiful reddish-purple hue to the latkes, it also adds a wonderful textural element to the latkes. To serve alongside the latkes, I prepared a side of sour cream seasoned with my own blend of everything seasoning and a side of homemade apple sauce cooked down with some brown sugar. The latkes were generously seasoned with salt and pepper and fried to crispy, carb, goodness. The crispy, savory latkes paired nicely with a tangy sour cream dip, and a sweet homemade apple sauce. My cabbage and potato latkes with everything sour cream, and homemade apple sauce made for the perfect lunch for two. With our bellies full, Kevin and I could finally head out to finish running all of our remaining holiday errands in anticipation for next week’s holiday festivities.
For the cabbage and potato latkes:
· 2 russet potatoes, skins cleaned and peeled, potatoes shredded
· 6-8 cabbage leaves, thinly sliced
· ½ large onion, diced
· 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
· ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
· 2 large eggs
· 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
· ¼ cup vegetable oil, for frying
For the everything sour cream:
· ½ cup sour cream
· ½ teaspoon dried minced onion
· ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic
· ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
· ¼ teaspoon poppy seeds
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the homemade apple sauce:
· 3 Gala apples, skins peeled, core removed, and apples diced
· 1 Granny Smith apple, skins peeled, core removed, and apple diced
· ¼ cup light brown sugar
· ¼ cup water
Directions:
1) Use paper towels or a kitchen towel to pat the shredded potatoes dry. In a large bowl, combine the shredded potatoes, sliced cabbage, diced onion, dried minced garlic, kosher salt, and pepper. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Toss in the all-purpose flour. Stir to combine all ingredients together.
2) Heat a skillet on medium high heat. Add in ¼ cup of vegetable oil. Once hot, use the ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop out the latke mixture and drop the mixture into the oil. Use the back of the measuring cup to flatten the latke. Continue this process with two more scoops of latke mixture. Fry the latkes three pieces at a time for about 5-7 minutes, until the latkes achieve a deep golden-brown color. Transfer the fried latkes to a plate.
3) To make the everything sour cream, combine the sour cream, dried minced onion, dried minced garlic, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, and freshly cracked black pepper in a bowl. I only had about ½ cup of sour cream left in a container, so I mixed all of the seasonings directly into the container. Scoop the mixture into a small bowl for serving.
4) To make the homemade apple sauce, heat a small Dutch oven pot or a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the diced apples, and light brown sugar. Cook until apples are softened, about 15-20 minutes. Add in the water. Use an immersion blender to blend all of the ingredients together until you achieve a sauce-like consistency. Scoop the apple sauce into a small bowl for serving.
5) Serve the cabbage and potato latkes with the everything sour cream, and homemade apple sauce on the side.
Takeaways: Drying the shredded potatoes with paper towels or a kitchen towel is key to making crispy latkes. The first time I made a plain potato version of latkes without drying the potatoes resulted in less crispy latkes with a softer center. Latkes can be customized with other crunchy shredded vegetables combined with the shredded potatoes. For my next experiment, I may make some carrot and potato latkes. The two sauces are a must for me. The everything sour cream adds a wonderful tang, while the apple sauce adds a delightful sweetness to the latkes. Together, the latkes and sauces were the perfect complement.