Potato Cakes (aka Latkes)

I watched Kelsey's Essentials on Cooking Channel when she made these, they looked so amazing I decided to make them tonight to go with the chicken fried steak.  There's a German recipe for potato pancakes that uses mashed potatoes, but those aren't so much our taste.We like the crispyness of these potato cakes!

I used two Ukon Gold potatoes for this recipe.  You can increase the ingredients to meet your needs.  Peel then grate the potatoes with your favorite type grater, then rinse them in cold water a few times to remove the excess starch.

After a few rinses, drain the potatoes in a strainer over the bowl.  Press out as much of the water as possible.  Pressing with a paper towel helps dry them out.

While the potatoes are draining and drying. Mince some scallions including green tops and grate some onion to add to the grated potatoes.

Next beat one egg and have the rest of the ingredients ready--flour, salt & pepper.  Add the egg to the potato, onion, and scallion mixture and mix it up.

Dust some flour over this mixture to absorb some of the moisture from the eggs and potatoes.  Not too much flour, add a little at a time or the flour will over power the other ingredients and you will have a flour cake instead of a potato cake!

Heat about a half inch of oil in a skillet and drop the potato mixture by spoonfuls into the hot oil.  Fry the potato cakes on one side until they are golden brown, turn and brown the other side.  Don't crowd the pan or they won't brown properly.

Drain the potato cakes on a paper plate with paper towel and salt them right away while they are hot.

Finish frying all the potato cakes in the same manner, then place them on a rack which will be placed in the oven to keep them warm.  The rack allows the heat of the oven to circulate so the potato cakes will stay crispy.

Now for dessert-- a couple of carrot cake cupcakes left over from Thanksgiving!  MMMM.