A couple of times each year Mom would fly up here to Minnesota from Illinois to spend time with her only granddaughter we had (unfairly) moved 600 miles away from her. She had two grandsons back in Illinois whom she couldn't have loved more, but our daughter was her only female grandchild.
Mom was a great cook, so I always coerced her into spending time in my kitchen on her visits. Like so many cooks of her generation, she didn't have a written recipe for many of her creations. So the night she whipped up her delicious Potato Patties, I insisted she write down the instructions for me.
This is the recipe card on which she jotted down her simple instructions for me somewhere between thirty and thirty-five years ago.
I've got several recipes in my stuffed-full recipe box with my mom's lovely handwriting on them. I know someday they will have a place in my daughter's kitchen, perhaps with some recipes in my own handwriting.
Have some leftover mashed potatoes in your refridge needing to be used up? This recipe is simple and delicious.
Potato Patties
1-1/2 to 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
2 eggs
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Salt and Pepper
Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
Drop by spoonfuls (size of your choice)
into skillet of bacon grease, butter or
combination of both.
Fry until golden brown on one side,
flip and cook on other side.
The batter last night made four 3" round patties with enough batter left for another four for breakfast this morning with our eggs. (I tossed in some fresh frozen chives last night for a bit of color.)
I don't think Mom ever minded when I asked her to do some cooking when she was here because she always had a little "helper" standing on a chair beside her. Apparently, that helper assimilated her grandma's culinary expertise because she's a good cook now, too.
27 comments:
I was going to say that your mom sure had nice handwriting - that's a dying art, I'm afraid. It is so nice to have these bits and pieces of loved ones around - I'm always so happy to run across one of my mom's handwritten recipe cards. Good cooking sure runs in your family!
I am sure that recipe card is a valued treasure in your house! I have quite a few hand written recipe cards from my grandmother. Some of her favorites are stained from spilling ingredients on them. But those are my favorite of all. And those potato pancakes sure do look good!!
Susan - Ha! YOU'RE the one who is the good cook what with all those gor-met-ish recipes you regularly come up with! If a recipe calls for more than one pan (I think it's because I hate doing dishes so much), I tend to veer away from it!
Yes, Mom did have lovely handwriting. And so did my dad which I always thought was unusual for a member of the male species.
Liz - I know it's strange, but when I see my mom's handwriting, it's like she's still with us. Maybe some things are permanent.
How lovely for you to have this written by her own hand. and such a lovely thing to pass on to your daughter.
Rosezeeta.
Rosezeeta - It is the "little things" that mean a lot, isn't it? :o)
What a lovely memory. Makes me want to find my grandmother's recipe for fried apple pies. They weren't light & fluffy pie dough but rather dense. They browned on the edges like your potato patties. One of my cousin's has got to have it.
Such a wonderful memory. And my mom made those too!
Gosh, I haven't thought about those in years......I'm going to have to smack hubby's paws next time he tries to devour ALL the mashed potatoes. I'll need some for leftovers!!!
Yummm - I make these with a bit different recipe - but I"ll try your mom's recipe now. Every time I see you apple plates I think I'm going to start looking for some but they are so dear in Washington - so many apples grown here, guess that makes them a favorite.
You have a TREASURE in your mother's hand-written recipe!!! Love potato patties!
Mama Pea,
OMG, those potato patties look yummy!
I'm so happy you have recipes written by your mom close at heart for cooking and passing down to your on to your daughter.
I would love to have several of my mom's hand written recipes and in time I know I will.
DFW - I've heard of fried apple pies but have never actually seen one . . . not even a picture. Get hold of that family recipe before it disappears!
Sue - I can just see the look on your hubby's face when you cut him off on the bowl of mashed potatoes! All men love mashed potatoes, don't they?
JoAnn - The Apple pattern of Franciscan ware is available but, oh my, are they pricey. Each time I need to replace a piece of my set, I practically have to go get a small loan at the Credit Union!
Lisa - I do, indeed!
This morning when I made the rest of the Potato Patties for breakfast, my husband commented, "I love potatoes with breakfast!" (Guess I've been depriving the boy too much!)
Sandy - I'm fortunate to have several recipes in my stash written in my mom's hand. Some in really tough shape, but I'll never toss them!
What a GREAT gift! And thanks for sharing your story. Makes me wanna go out and make my Mom write HER favorite recipes for me.
Carolyn - Although I've got several recipe cards in my box handwritten by my mom, my daughter has her whole recipe box! Someday I'm going to borrow it from her and sit and go through the whole thing copying out the gems I want.
What beautiful handwriting your mother had. I think I'd laminate the recipe or frame it and write out another copy for myself just so I could keep the original as a keepsake. But then I'm kinda weird like that and would be devastated if somehow the original recipe card got stuff spilled all over it.
Those recipes are keepers for sure. I hope I can pass some to my kids as well. Thanks for the recipe too. That plate of food is making me hungry.
Sparkless - I've got several recipes in my box in my mom's handwriting . . . but I will admit most of them aren't in nearly as good shape as this one is. You have a good idea though. Fortunately, I've got lots of handwritten letters from my mom from the time we moved up here (1973) and her death in 1997.
Kristina - You are such a fabulous, innovative cook that I'm positive your kids will want copies of ALL your recipes.
It's usually your pictures of your food fixings that make ME hungry!
What a special memory of your mom. I love handwritten recipe cards. They're the best. Sometimes when I'm doing dishes I get a smell that reminds me of doing dishes with my grandma when I was young. Makes me feel like she's with me. I love that too.
My daughter just started a cooking blog with recipes she's collecting from family members while they are still with us. We have recipes from her great grandparents that we treasure. She wants to make sure her younger siblings and cousins will have them too so she posts them on her blog. Cookingwithcarlee.blogspot.com.
I have a wooden recipe box that my grandfather made and painted for my grandmother and it is full of recipe cards in her hand-writing. I treasure it because it is piece of our family's history, but now I want to get it out and start trying out some of those recipes too...
mommaro - They say that smells bring back our strongest memories. I found that kinda fascinating when I first read it.
How great that your daughter has started her blog featuring your family's recipes. What a treasure that will be to so many to have!
Jen - Oh, my! Your grandmother's handmade recipe box (full of her recipes!) is truly a treasure. I'm sure it will bring back a lot of memories for you when you start going through the various recipes.
Post a Comment