Home Made Hash Browns

     C'mon, there's just about nothing in them -- oh, I added a little pepper, dehydrated onion, chives and a dash of salt, but really, all it takes is potatoes, an old-fashioned kitchen grater* and some manner of cooking "grease:" oil, butter, bacon fat, lard, duck fat (!) or perhaps a modern synthetic (do they still sell olestra? I never took to it).   Shred the potatoes coarsely into a bowl, drain it if you'd like (less liquid makes for slightly faster cooking and a crunchier texture). Form into patties, mash flat and fry in a lightly greased skillet until golden brown, or darker if you prefer, turning as needed (the thicker they are, the more times you'll flip them).  I sprinkle a tiny bit of flour on the top before the first turning, I guess for luck.

     I shredded and drained a couple of left-over Russets that were in danger of going soft and fried them up four patties at a time.  My four are still in the skillet; Tam says hers were plenty tasty.  (Update: and mine are done and mostly eaten.  Not bad, I must say.)
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* The one I use is so primitive -- a sheet of stainless steel bent over a thick wire formed into a rectangle that serves as a handle at the short ends, the sheet stamped with coarse, medium and fine graters plus a simple slicer -- that I can't even find an example in Wikipedia or at Amazon.  It's inexpensive and works well enough, if you mind what you're about.  Whatever you use, all of these graters trace back to a 16th-Century cheese grater, invented by a fellow who presumably figured there were better things to do than finely chop hard cheese by hand with a knife.  Box graters are an upgrade and can be had for under ten dollars.