For our Holiday Dinner: Latkes

I will augment this post with pictures from Nicole's camera in a bit.

Knowing I would be making latkes for dinner, I crammed a bag this morning with the important bits: a few pounds of potatoes, three onions, canister of matzo meal, three eggs, and what was left of our bottle of canola oil. I also tucked along Dave's trusty How to Cook Like a Jewish Mother, just in case I suddenly lost the ability to make them. Fortunately, it didn't come to that.

So, how to make latkes. Grate about two or three pounds of potatoes, sparing your knuckles and nails as much as possible. Grate a few onions. Cry a lot, because grating onions hurts. Mix onions and potatoes with a few beaten eggs, a few handfuls of matzo meal, and lots of salt and pepper. Schmutz that around with your hands until it is good and mixed, and can be squeezed into a coherent pancake. If you can't make a pancake, add another egg and some more matzo meal and try again.

Pour oil into a pan up to about 3/4 inch deep. Heat it up until a potato shred dropped in bubbles, but not TOO much-- if it spits and fizzes and runs around the pan, the oil is too hot. It should just fizz a little. Then, pick up handfuls of potato mush, wad them into pancakes (you should be squeezing liquid out to do this) and slide them gently into the hot oil. BE CAREFUL NOT TO SPLASH. Leave them be for a minute or two, then flip them over GENTLY. The bottom should be golden. Let them fry another minute or two, until the other side is golden. Drain briefly on paper towels. Serve warm with applesauce and sour cream.

YUM. I give it all the Picards, but I'm partial. How did everyone else like them?