Subject: Pan fried mash potato cakes question
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

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From: tomkanpa at aol.comic (TOM KAN PA)
Date: 21 Oct 2003 19:52:40 GMT
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OK, I've tried adding an egg, not adding an egg, rolling them in flour, not rolling them in flour, and every time I try to make leftover mashed potato pancakes, they crumble apart.

What's the secret???

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From: Janet Bostwick (nospam at cableone.net)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 14:32:25 -0600
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I've never measured because my mother didn't, but this will work for, say, a heaping handful of mashed potatoes. Grate some bread for crumbs--I use just one heel from a loaf. Stir the bread crumbs, mashed potatoes and one egg together. Add whatever seasonings you like or finely minced onion. You should be just barely able to shape the mixture into balls with the hands. Heat your skillet to medium--Teflon coated works, cast iron is best. Add oil to the skillet, maybe one-eighth inch. When the oil is hot, roughly shape the mixture into a ball and place in skillet. The mixture isn't going to be stiff, but it doesn't slump either. The hot oil makes a crust that helps it hold its shape. You can turn the patties in one of two ways. You can turn them over like hamburger patties or you can make a one-third turn at a time which results in a pyramid shape(more crust). Until the crust is formed all over, they will require gentle handling or they will smush. Good Luck

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From: N (nadam at austin.rr.com)
Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2003 00:38:07 GMT
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Add the egg and a little flour. Also a little milk or water if needed to be creamy. Be sure to fry in enough oil so they won't stick. My mom made these all the time and called them potato patties. One of my favorites.

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From: Julianne (juli882nospam at cox.net)
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2003 20:55:40 -0500
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One Saturday morning when I was bone tired and in desperate need of groceries, my son and his friends were at my house expecting breakfast. I looked in the fridge and in the cupboards and had precious little on hand. Having determined that there was nothing I would rather do than go to the store, I made do. I took some mashed potatoes that were in the fridge and added some milk and microwaved until just warm. Then, I added some dried biscuit mix and stirred until I had a fairly dry batter that easily broke apart. I fried such batter in canola oil. To this day, my son and his friends ask for fried potato biscuits when they come to my house. I am all to happy to comply, although, I do substitute mashed potato flakes on occasion (they're teenagers - they don't care!).