Reminds me of when I was in Alabama visiting relatives and picked up a laminated Rachel Ray book on "E-Z Desserts." There was a 5-minute recipe for "brownies a la mode" which began with: "Open a box of Entenmann's brownies..."
I mean, ice cream on store bought brownies is technically brownies a la mode... but if it's for anything more serious than a workplace mandatory fun potluck, you're not getting invited to another one.
Right?! And the TJ's ones are pretty awesome baked, as someone who's WAY too afraid of accidentally setting myself/the house on fire using frying oil! This is just a travesty.
What in the actual mother-loving hell is this???? A recipe for latkes by someone who has never eaten latkes in their life and wouldn't know a latke if it bit them on the ass.
They have reminded me of my late m-i-l who never met a cooking short cut she didn’t like. She was infamous for doing entire holiday meals out of the “quick and easy” dishes from Sunset Magazine or Good Housekeeping that are intended to be a supplement to the main entree.
Oh, Good Housekeeping. It's never a good idea to emulate Bon Appetit's foray into Hamantaschen discourse.
On a side note - those "hash browns" in the picture look like chicken nuggets and I have never seen such a thing in my life. Are they grocery shopping in an alternate dimension?
I believe that you have seen these. They obviously exist. I object that they exist.
There is no need for potato products made in factories to have irregular shapes. Doing so eliminates one of the big advantages over not processing your own potatoes - uniform form factors are difficult at home.
Hey, they understood the assignment. I don't eat them now, as I don't think they maintained pre-COVID quality and the prices have gone too high - but for a long time those hash browns were a worthy typological example, which is not true of a lot of McD menu items.
That also looks like an air fryer, which I consider doubly offensive. This ain't about using less oil, people. Like come on, learn two sentences of information first before you start riffing.
When you say frozen hash browns, are you talking about the ones that are pre-formed into shapes or the ones that are just a bag full of shredded potatoes with a little salt and pepper?
It's been many years since I had the opportunity to have actual Latkes (with applesauce if I'm remembering right) but even I know the fast difference between ACTUAL Latkes and hashbrowns ...
This is a travesty. A core feature of latkes is the internal integrity from the egg mixture, which you can't achieve if you start with frozen hash browns!
Yeah they usually are, oil-fried foods are popular during Hanukkah to symbolize the miracle of the oil that lasted 8 days. (At least based on my exposure to it through someone else, anyone is welcome to correct me.)
I never thought about it, but it's a valid point. I'll have to remember that the next time someone needs Hanukkah explained to them (especially the food part).
I know other cultures are much more often appropriated and their food abused. But you can get latkes in a box as a mix (which is not great, but it’s not hash browns).
Those TJ's latkes aren't the most amazing, but they're definitely do the job if you're looking to scratch the latke itch without firing up the food processor. Slap some sour cream on them, and you're good to go.
Comments
I'll see myself out
Which they make! And sell at Trader Joe’s! There’s no reason you need to do this extra level travesty.
Latkes One Way - tots dipped in ketchup
My daughter
On a side note - those "hash browns" in the picture look like chicken nuggets and I have never seen such a thing in my life. Are they grocery shopping in an alternate dimension?
If they were homemade, that's good in person but would, incredibly, make them even more inappropriate for this usage, as that is not a shortcut.
Behold, tater tots:
There is no need for potato products made in factories to have irregular shapes. Doing so eliminates one of the big advantages over not processing your own potatoes - uniform form factors are difficult at home.
This? This is a D-minus at best.
(Just dated a Jewish guy and learned how to make a lot of the holiday foods.)
It's a lot of work, though!
Oil.. that’s it.
i thought they meant like. The frozen pre-shredded, but then I realized the photo was the finished product