(Jewish Pancakes) submitted by Elder Lapin

"When my Great grandfather immigrated to the United States, right after World War I, he departed a land of tyranny with nothing but the shirt on his back. He carried with him 2 things: A hope and dream of freedom and a potato pancake recipe! Potato Latkes (lawt-ka) are a traditional Jewish delight that I grew up eating each Passover season. This particular Jewish dish, unlike many others is not symbolic of anything (at least I don’t think so). So it's okay to try different methods. In fact, this recipe is a little more detailed than I’m used to. I hope you enjoy these latkes."

~Elder Lapin

Pick an all-purpose starchy baking potato like the russet for the best latkes—the extra starch will help bind the mixture.

It’s traditional to use matzoh meal, rather than bread crumbs or flour, in potato latkes. If you wish to substitute, ¼ cup flour or ½ cup breadcrumbs should do the trick—just watch the mixture carefully to make sure you’ve added enough flour to bind the potatoes together.

Preheat oven to &*& degrees. Grate the potatoes in a food processor, using the shredding blade (or grate by hand if you prefer.) Grate the onions separately and reserve them.

For crispy potato pancakes, use the potatoes’ natural starch as follows: place the potatoes in a clean, thing dishcloth. Over a small bowl, wring the cloth with the potatoes our, letting the liquid collect in the bowl. Reserve the liquid. Allow the liquid to settle for a few minutes, then discard the water, reserving the starch that collects in the bottom of the bowl. Place the drained potatoes in a medium bowl. Add the onions, eggs, matzo meal, flour, salt, pepper, and the reserved potato starch, and mix will.

Heat oil over medium flame in a heavy skillet. The oil should be about one inch deep. Use about ¼ cup potato mixture for each pancake. Let cook until golden on one side (about six minutes), then flip and continue cooking on the other side. As soon as one batch is fried, place them on cookie sheets and keep warm in the preheated oven. Drain pancakes on paper towels or brown paper shopping bags and serve immediately. If you must hold the latkes, be forewarned; they don’t keep long! Fortunately, latkes freeze very well. Cook them according to the recipe, then allow them to cool to room temperature. Wrap well and freeze until needed, then reheat at &*& degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

1. For fluffier, more cake-like pancakes, and ¾ teaspoon baking powder to the potato mixture along with the eggs, matzo meal, and seasonings. Omit the potato starch for maximum puffiness.
2. To add a new twist to your latkes, substitute ½ pound of a second root vegetable, such as parsnip, carrots, or celery root, for a quarter of the potatoes.

submitted by Sœur Jones

Combine beaten egg, oil, and milk. Pour on top of dry ingredients and mix well. Get the frying pan greasy and hot, but not so hot that you burn it, and make your pancakes.

submitted by Elder Aulenbach

Mix everything together and fry on a crêpe pan until they are done.

submitted by Elder Aulenbach

Add milk and water to flour and beat until clumps are gone. Beat in egg. Add more water if needed to thin-out batter.

submitted by Sœur Yardley

Combine everything except milk and water. Add enough water to give it pancake dough consistency, then add enough milk to give it crêpe consistency. Beat well to get rid of lumps. If you still have lumps, you can either strain it or deal with it. If it is too sticky add more oil. If it is too thick add water.

submitted by Elder Aulenbach

Combine dry ingredients. Add milk, mix with a fork or whisk. It might seem kind of hard to mix, but that’s OK, just give it all you’ve got. You can beat eggs separately or just drop them in as they are, either works.

Drop in the thick batter on a preheated and oiled/buttered pan, enough to almost fill the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon (unless you don’t like cinnamon).

When pancake starts to bubble and underside starts to brown, blip it. (when working with pancakes this size, it is easier to flip using the frying pan isself, as opposed to a spatula, flipper, turner or whatever you call it. It takes some time to perfect, so don’t be afraid to take a risk. Be brave!)

Serve with butter, jam, molasses, syrup, Nutella & bananas, or anything else you want. Good luck eating more than one!

submitted by Elder Aulenbach

This is from Elder Bennet, my trainer. This isn’t really a German recipe it is just a name given by Americans.

In really hot oven, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a round dish, then take it out and spread it around so the pan is well greased. Pour in batter and bake it until it turns a nice brown colour and rises. It will shrink, so don’t be disappointed when it does.

submitted by Sœur Jones

Mix it all up and make it like pancakes. Enjoy

submitted by Sœur Jones

Mix the egg with the oil and milk and add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones. Make them up like the dang good pancakes that they are!

submitted by Elder Lapin

My great-great great grandmother, Ida Halvorsdatter brought this recipe wither her from Norway when she came here in the 1860s to work as a cook for the Wheeler family in Concorde. There she met and married Jens Mekkelsen, who had come from Norway to manage the Wheeler Farm.

Beat egg whites until stiff, set aside. Bead egg yolks until thick. Add melted butter, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add milk and flour and beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites. Pour onto very hot buttered griddle.