During the month of December, we’re sharing some of our favorite recipes from our family members. Our love for food and cooking comes from our roots, and we’re doing our best to document our favorite passed down recipes. A staple in our home that was passed down from my grandma are these Potato Pancakes.

I get a tear in my eye just thinking about this recipe. Looking back on some of my greatest memories as a kid, you realize that you take a lot of little things for granted – a lot of little things that become bigger and bigger with each passing year. I would eat meals with my family regularly, and my family would spend a lot of time at my mom’s parents, also enjoying meals together – many of which were recipes that had been made for generations and something you didn’t think would just not be there anymore one day. As time passed and my grandparents became older, we would see less and less of the old German recipes that we were so accustomed to, but never thought anything of growing up. Hand-written recipes got tucked away in drawers not to see the light of day for years and years.

This recipe I hold very near and dear to my heart. When we make it, I can close my eyes and transport back to being a little kid, sitting around my grandparent’s kitchen table. I can still hear my grandma’s distinct laugh. I can feel the love that permeated throughout our family, that feeling that grows with each passing day that I know I will never lose. These potato pancakes, though so simple, are a lifeline to a time that has passed that I can never have back, but that I will never forget. I love you Grandma, always.

-Sean