Pickle & Preserve

Molly Yeh's Quintessential Late-Night Food

by:
January 30, 2017

Just as some parents of little ones are required to check for monsters in the closet, my mom was required to check for pickles on my burgers. Despite always ordering a very plain cheeseburger, an itsy bitsy pickle occasionally managed to wiggle its way on there and terrify me. Like, spider on my face in the middle of the night terrifying. And no, I don’t really know why.

Photo by Molly Yeh

Luckily I’ve since gotten over my fear and embraced the pickle and thrown parties in its honor, and not just because they were cool in Brooklyn (okay maybe that was exactly why). And it’s a darn good thing I warmed up to pickles, because cheesy fried pickles at the Toasted Frog in downtown Grand Forks are the quintessential late-night food around here. Just like Steak ’n Shake was quintessential in Glenview, just like pizza was in New York.

When the Ladies of Grand Forks Brunch Club convenes during the week, it’s not breakfast for dinner, it’s gin and tonics and pickles wrapped in Havarti cheese and egg roll skins and fried and then dunked in Sriracha ranch. They’re so good. The chewy egg roll skin is what makes them addictive, while the crunchy sour pickle inside kind of creates the illusion that you’re being health-conscious by eating a vegetable.

This recipe is excerpted from Molly's book, Molly on the Range.

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  • Judy Milhans Piesler
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    Carly Hendrickson
molly yeh recently moved from brooklyn to a farm outside of grand forks, north dakota, where her husband is a fifth generation farmer. she writes the blog my name is yeh.

3 Comments

Judy M. September 27, 2020
I have made these for my husband, and for company! There a great hit! #lovetoentertain
 
catherine M. February 6, 2017
I've made these before -- love them! A true North Dakotan treat.
 
Carly H. January 30, 2017
Molly! I just got your cookbook and recognized this photo immediately! Love everything about your stories and recipes. Everything I've attempted to make has turned out delicioso! Thank you so much for sharing your world and amazing creations. :)