Potato Pancakes
This recipe is attributed to "Dad Johnson" which would be my grandfather, my dad's dad. He was a Swedish immigrant who's original last name was Yohanssen (sp?) but it was changed for him at Ellis Island so that the record keepers didn't have to work too hard writing a foreign name. At least that's the story as it was told to me when I was a kid. It's a story I have often reflected upon even 40+ years later.
I peeled the potatoes before grating. I had a fairly large potato, maybe 7" long, and after grating enough I still had a couple of inches left over un-grated. I left them for more than a few minutes. Maybe more like 30. The potatoes got a little discolored but it wasn't a problem for the recipe. I was surprised at the dark brown color of the liquid that came out; especially since I had peeled them. I pressed on the potato shreds to get any last bit of water out but I wasn't overly concerned because the recipe did not state to squeeze them.
It's a simple recipe that doesn't require much in the way of ingredients.
For the "fat" in the skillet I used Plant Butter (still using up my free-after-rebate box).
The mixture had a bit of liquid to it, which is understandable considering the potatoes aren't going to soak up much of the egg and 1 1/2 tsp. flour is not a lot to soak up 2 eggs plus 1 tsp cream.
I blobbed some into the pan and then used the back of the spoon to spread it into a circular format approximately 2 1/2 " across. The liquid spread out but stayed attached - it didn't seem quite right but I don't know what to have done about it.
The first flip was a little tricky.
After they second side cooked I flipped them back to the original side for a bit longer because the second side was a bit golden but the first wasn't.
I really wasn't happy with the edge-spread on these things that was the liquid that ran off and then started to fry.
After two rounds of frying I was almost out of butter. I poured off what was left in the skillet into a small dish for serving instead of melting additional butter because typically my family doesn't use the extra sauces that are served with a dish.
The taste was nice. I served these in place of frozen hash brown patties at Easter Sunday brunch. The melted butter didn't add that much too it. Besides, they seemed so butter-laden that I felt like it was just asking for a heart attack to pour on anymore - and who wants a hear attack on Easter? My husband said they were under-cooked. They weren't raw but I do think they would've benefit from cooking a little longer to be even more crispy and golden.
I love the fragile look to this recipe - the curled and slightly yellowing edges. This must be my mother's handwriting - although it's not quite the same as I remember from the notes she would write to my school. I used to tease her because she had a standard phraseology, "Please excuse Jill Johnson from school as she has a doctor's appointment." The "as she has" always seemed like such a weird word choice.
In this recipe her lettering changes - the "s" at the end of "Pancakes" is different from the "s" at the end of "teaspoons or eggs". The "t" that starts "teasp salt" is different than the "t" that starts "teaspoons flour" - let alone the contrast between "teasp" and "teaspoons". And why was she using "teasp" anyway instead of her more common "tsp"? This recipe could keep a handwriting analyst busy for as long as it takes a potato to grow.
I believe these are probably much cheaper than pre-made hashbrowns and I will make them again - but fry them longer.
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