FOODIE FRIDAY: Potato Cakes

My grandma used to make potato cakes all the time and I remember my older sister absolutely loving them.  I never really cared too much about them.  Then, one day a few months ago I had some left over mashed potatoes and thought 'hmmm....I bet the hubs would like some potato cakes' and called my mom to get the recipe.

I knew it was simple...but I didn't realize it was THIS simple!  I customized my cakes a wee bit more than my grandma would have...but, she wasn't married to a Puerto Rican who LOVES seasoning!

Here's how I did it...

What you need:
Left over mashed potatoes (I don't know why but not freshly made ones...this is how she always got rid of left overs!)
Flour
Salt and Pepper
Other add-ins (onions, Parmesan cheese, seasoning, garlic, bacon)
Cooking oil
Pan for frying
(Some people also use an egg, I didn't this time...you can if you like)

What to do:
Mix the left over potatoes with some flour...to give them a little bit more of a dough like texture rather than just mashed potatoes.

I think I personally add in a lot of flour compared to my mom.  So, do what feels right for you!

Next I add in all of the 'add-ins'!  I used plain grated Parmesan cheese and...

the best seasoning EVER!  I am not a huge seasoning fan but this stuff is awesome.  I put this on pretty much EVERYTHING.  From country fried steak to steaks to potato cakes!

Once all of the ingredients are mixed well, form into pancake like shapes.  I make mine a little thicker than my mom does...and I heard all about it when I made them for my family one time.

Pour a small amount of oil into a frying pan and heat up.  Once the grease is hot, lay the potato cakes in the oil to fry.

Turn over to brown both side of the cake

Take the cake out of the oil and place on paper towels to soak up extra grease.  Sprinkle with some salt.

I'm not a huge fan of greasy foods...so my next potato cake experiment will be to see how they do baked!  I'll keep you posted on that endeavor!

You may call these latkes....and that's perfectly fine with me.  We grew up calling them potato cakes and that's how I refer to them.  No matter what you call them, the fact remains...they're quite tasty!