Potato cakes - BATTER

[ChrisGreaves]

For as long as I can remember potato cakes were a staple of events for us; especially it was my chosen Last Supper before catching the dreaded midnight-plus train back to Perth and residential school. I believe my mother was pretty torn up about that, too.
So for 50+ years I have mixed the mixture in her Lancashire-style:
Equal volumes of cold boiled potato and plain flour, mashed and mixed, rolled flat to ½ cm thick, cut out with cookie-cutters (or the cylinder from a salmon tim) and fried to brown on both sides in a film of beef dripping.
Wash the saucepan, cutting board, rolling pin, cookie cutter, ...

Gone; ended.

The Toronto Star’s recipe section had a recipe that makes a BATTER:
Equal volumes cold potato, flour, milk, mashed and mixed to a batter.
Spooned (tablespoon) into a layer of vegetable oil; fried to brown.
Lighter, fluffier and (dare I say it) tastier.
Sprinkled with a dash of old-fashioned salt; but don’t tell my doctor!
Wash the saucepan and the tablespoon.

[HansV]

Sounds like comfort food...

[ChrisGreaves]

Sounds like comfort food...

Uh-huh! I had that kind of Mum!

[Rudi]

I cannot say I have ever self prepared this. I gave had potato patties that were purchased as a packaged item (and they were lightly crumbed too). They were quite nice to eat but I have never thought of frying potatoes as patties/cakes. I should give it a try.

So what do you eat it with (or how?) Is it dished up as patties on the side of a plate, or do you eat it on buns as you would a burger?

[DaveA]

They are a side dish, which can be eaten in place of any other potato.

[Rudi]

TX.
As long as they don't substitute my fries for these patty potatoes.
I like my fries on the side!!

[ChrisGreaves]

So what do you eat it with (or how?) Is it dished up as patties on the side of a plate, or do you eat it on buns as you would a burger?

Ignore the advice from "Uninformed" of Renton, WA; he really doesn't have a clue!
We ate them with a lick of butter and a sprinkling of salt, and as Hans says, they are a comfort food, especially good to stoke the (stomach) fires after a long walk in the rain/snow or before a midnight trip by train away from Mummy and back to the evil high-school hostel for 3 months.

If my doctor is reading this I want him to know that I would not dream of putting butter and salt, or even butter or salt, on them nowadays. And I certainly wouldn't hang on to beef dripping, clarifying it to use as a frying medium for my potato cakes.
No Sir!

P.S. to Dr Fried; as you know I have sworn off potatoes until I have lost 20 pounds. My original post was a hypothetical instance only.
Memo to self: What was I thinking of when I chose a GP with a name like "Fried"?

P.P.S. Some people would think of potato cakes as perogies without a filling, which gives me a chance to trot out my old line about a girl I was once dating and we went to a Hungarian place on Dundas Street and she asked me if I thought it would be alright if she ordered perogies and I said that that was her perogative.

[ChrisGreaves]

As long as they don't substitute my fries for these patty potatoes.

Dear "confused" of Cape Town.
Did you mean to write "As long as they don't substitute these patty potatoes for my fries."?
Or perhaps "As long as they don't use these patty potatoes as a substitute for my fries."
Or even "As long as they don't use these patty potatoes as substitutes for my fries."

I only ask because I am coaching a young Spanish lady in Conversational English nowadays and we meet over supper ...

[DaveA]

I may be "Uninformed", but I have made and eaten a few of these myself.
We used left over mashed potatoes after a big Thanks Giving meal, or any other meal that to many potatoes were cooked up.

Yes, we used them as side dishes, but I know of others that have had them for just snacks.

Yes, more the salt, pepper and even gravy on them add flavor.

[ChrisGreaves]

I may be "Uninformed", but I have made and eaten a few of these myself.

Liar! You've probably eaten more than I have!

We used left over mashed potatoes ...

Now there we part ways, Dave.
Our left-over cold potatoes became bubble-and-squeak for breakfast the next morning.
More beef-dripping-fried goodies ...
Why don't we have a :potatocake: smiley?

[HansV]

Did you mean to write "As long as they don't substitute these patty potatoes for my fries."?
Or perhaps "As long as they don't use these patty potatoes as a substitute for my fries."
Or even "As long as they don't use these patty potatoes as substitutes for my fries."

What a lot of patty questions...

[ChrisGreaves]

What a lot of patty questions...

Well you see, Hans, what with it being Rudi and all, I thought he'd have the correct answer down pat!

[Rudi]

Who's Pat?

[DaveA]

Check out http://www.thefreedictionary.com/down+pat" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rudi]

I got the batter down! Yeah, dude!

[ChrisGreaves]

Who's Pat?

Gimme a couple of minutes to segue into com-pat-edible ...