Potato Shortcut

      It will come as no surprise to longtime readers of this blog that I like potatoes.  I like 'em bake d and French fried, I like 'em diced and in wedges, I like 'em mashed and as hash browns.  I like 'em spiral-cut and broiled.  I like potato chips, both home-cooked and store-bought.  I like latkes and I like potato pancakes.

     Many of these require some amount of preparation.  Potato pancakes, the kind I make, start with leftover mashed potatoes and here's the thing: much as like potatoes, I try to limit my intake.  I only make mashed potatoes once or twice a year, and I make them from scratch.

     But grocers sell instant mashed potatoes, and they've gotten better and better.  Used to be, you only kept them around for a Sunday-dinner stopgap, when you'd run out of fresh or the supply had unexpectedly turned, but these days, they're pretty hard to tell from fresh.  The texture's right and the flavor's good; not great, mine are better, but it'll do.

     And if you have mashed potatoes, you can make potato pancakes.  There's nothing too odd in the instant version so--  Will they work?

     Readers, I give you Exhibit A:

     This is the second batch of three, after I'd upped the temperature a bit.  They brown fine, and they taste just fine, too, a nice accompaniment for a strip of bacon and a fried egg.  I put ketchup on mine and they're good.  Sure, they're not quite the same as scratch (and I didn't add a beaten egg to this batch, which would help), but they'll do.

     You make the potatoes per the package directions, then slap a half to two-thirds of a cup blob on a hot, lightly-greased skillet or griddle, give it enough time to brown a bit, slip a spatula under, flip it, mash it down, and leave it to brown.  Flip it again and do the other side, and there you go.  Time and temperature interact and you'll have to find your way, and as mentioned above, if you let the potatoes cool a little and add a well-beaten egg, it will help them hold together and add to the flavor.