By Halloween week. Josie is going as a cowgirl, which requires boots she already owns, a hat we borrowed from Gayle's closet (Larry's hat, a straw Stetson he wore to church picnics, and seeing it on Josie's head was like seeing a ghost wear a costume, which is appropriate for Halloween in a way I did not intend). Tyler is going as a football player, which is not a costume, it is just Tyler in pads, but he insists it counts and I will not argue because the alternative is a trip to Walmart for a costume and I would rather eat my own truck tire than navigate the Walmart Halloween aisle with a twelve-year-old boy.
Justin and Amber are too old for trick-or-treating and too young for parties, which puts them in the Halloween dead zone — old enough to be bored by candy, not old enough to be invited to the things older kids do. They are staying home to hand out candy, which means they will eat half the candy and hand out the other half, and the math is fine because I bought extra, because the math is always fine when you buy extra.
I hauled a load to Sioux Falls Monday through Wednesday. South Dakota in late October is already winter — the wind comes down from the Dakotas with nothing to stop it, no mountains, no trees, just the flat earth offering itself up to the cold, and the cold takes it. The slow cooker had potato soup — potatoes, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, chives. Thick, warm, the kind of soup that fights the cold and wins.
I carved pumpkins with the kids Friday night. Dave helped — he is the one who handles the knives because Josie with a pumpkin carving knife is a liability I am not prepared to underwrite. Four pumpkins on the porch, lit with candles, glowing orange against the dark. Josie's is a cat. Tyler's is a face. Justin's is something he says is a skull but looks like a potato. Amber's is elegant and precise and looks like it was carved by a professional. The four pumpkins are the four children: enthusiastic, solid, intense, careful. I stood on the porch and looked at them — the pumpkins, the children — and thought: this is enough. This is always enough.
That slow cooker of potato soup got me through South Dakota in late October, and when I came home to pumpkins and kids and a borrowed Stetson, potatoes felt like the only right answer for the rest of the week, too. Mom’s Potato Pancakes are the stovetop cousin of that soup — same warmth, same simplicity, same sense that the cold outside doesn’t stand a chance. I made a batch the afternoon of Halloween, and we ate them standing at the kitchen counter before the kids put their costumes on, which is exactly the kind of ordinary moment that turns out to be the one you remember.
Mom's Potato Pancakes
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and grated
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided, for frying
- Sour cream and chopped chives, for serving
Instructions
- Drain the potatoes. Place the grated potatoes and onion together in a clean kitchen towel or several layers of cheesecloth. Twist tightly and squeeze out as much liquid as possible — this step is what makes the pancakes crispy rather than soggy.
- Mix the batter. Transfer the drained potato-onion mixture to a large bowl. Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir until evenly combined.
- Heat the oil. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy skillet (cast iron works best) over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.
- Form and fry the pancakes. Working in batches, scoop about 1/4 cup of the potato mixture per pancake into the skillet and flatten gently with a spatula to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cook 3—4 minutes per side until deep golden brown and cooked through. Do not crowd the pan. Add remaining oil between batches as needed.
- Drain and serve. Transfer finished pancakes to a wire rack or paper-towel-lined plate. Serve hot with sour cream and a scatter of fresh chives.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 210 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg