I celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. We usually gather at their home in Richmond… because they keep kosher it's easier to cook there rather than kasher my kitchen and cook our usual banquet for 12 people. And my dining room is too small.
The restrictions of the Jewish dietary laws mean that we have to choose between a dairy meal and a meat meal. Personally, I would go for dairy. I don't mind giving up the turkey for the sake of all the cheese, cream and butter that goes into our family's traditional buffet: Sweet Corn Tamales with Salsa, Bread Pudding with Creme Anglaise, and my favorite: Wild Rice Pancakes.
But I'm alone. Everyone else votes for turkey. So we use soy milk in place of cream and milk, omit the added fat when butter is suggested, and delete the tamales altogether. To be sure, the meal is much lighter than most.
On the occasion of my sister's visit last week, I decided to take advantage of the fact that we would have a dairy meal. I made the full-on dairy version of my wild rice pancakes, and served them with a topping of sour cream and smoked salmon.
Wild Rice Pancakes
3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 TBS fresh dill
1 egg + 1 yolk, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whole butter, melted
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1/2 cup onions chopped
1 – 4 oz. box of wild rice, cooked and drained
plain (canola) oil for cooking
1. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté onions, mushrooms, carrots and celery in butter. Stir occasionally, and cook until vegetables are soft. Remove from heat and add to wild rice. Stir in dill.
2. Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center
3. Pour eggs and milk into well and incorporate wet ingredients into dry.
4. Add just enough batter the rice mix to bind the rice. Do not want rice to be "swimming" in batter.
5. Fry pancakes (1/2 tbs. batter for canapé size) in plain oil until dark, golden brown.
Top each pancake with a small spoon of creme fraiche or sour cream and a small spoon of caviar, a slice of smoked salmon, or fresh salmon.
Herb Sour Cream
1 cup sour cream
3 tbs. chopped fresh basil
3 tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1. mix everything together. garnish pancakes with this mixture.