I was never close to any of my grandparents. My mother’s parents were cold & distant. My father’s dad died before I was born and his mom lives in Iowa. I did see her roughly once a year. I enjoyed visiting her every time. I got to play games, have tea time twice a day (with cookies of course), and eat fried potatoes at every dinner (lunch is what most people call it). At my grandmother’s house it was: breakfast, dinner, supper. And dinner meant fried potatoes.

I grew up eating this miraculous food and remember asking at one point how she got them to taste so good. She replied simply, lard. I never thought to ask for the recipe. Not until my trips to Iowa have more or less stopped.

With getting older and moving further away, it is harder to find the time to make trips at the 4th of July or during New Year’s. The last time I was at my grandmother’s was when she was 100 years old (she is now 102) at New Year’s. A majority of my aunts & uncles were there as well. In a traditional German New Year’s fashion we had specken dicken and of course…fried potatoes.

For those of you (most likely all of you) who do not know what Specken Dicken is, I shall enlighten you. It is an anise flavored pancake with Metwurst sausage in it (it sounds weird but it is delicious). At my grandmother’s house it is served with fried potatoes and red jello, although no one knows why it is served with the red jello.

This year I had the grand idea to ask my dad for the recipe. He then contacted my aunt who gave me the recipe that is at least 75 years old. I made it for New Year’s Day and it was fantastic. My fishing guide loved the whole thing, but he especially liked the fried potatoes and said I could make them whenever I wanted.

While I will not divulge the recipe as it is an old family one, I will share a photo.