Easy, eh?

Well in theory, yes – but in real life, coaxing whipped potatoes into crispy cakes takes a little doing, and yesterday, I finally got it done. Let’s take a look:

My ice cream scoop is a seasoned veteran and does not shirk potato duty. Summer will be back before you know it, and that means Mr. Scoop up there is training for Dulce de Leche season. So the more work, the better.

Scoop and press into little velvety pancakes. Palm-sized carbs, I heart you.

Set up two small bowls: one with an egg-milk mixture and one with seasoned bread crumbs. Dip the potato cake in the egg mixture, then coat both sides in bread crumbs.

I had some Panko bread crumbs in the pantry – the Japanese breading that makes tempura magic – and decided it was just right for potato cakes. It was.

Time to fry! Do not be afraid. Butter is your friend.

Drain their browned goodness on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and ground pepper, and serve.

Crispy on the outside, steamy soft on the inside. What finally solved this was giving mashed potatoes the crabcake treatment, and they came out Panko perfect. If I were French I’d add some greens, a nice vinaigrette, a glass of red wine and call it dinner. But I’m in the middle of the Midwest on a sky blue day – so I’ll just call it lunch. And a very fine lunch, at that.