Can you get a big electric skillet at a yard sale or something?

Or are you using a cast iron pan? They are less bithered by heat fluctuations,

Are you overcrowding? Too many at a time lowers the oil temperature too much. too many in at once also does that, Your oil should be 375F to fry at 350F. Let the heat recover between batches.

As to recipes, regular latkes are good, but Andrew Zimmern's Killer Potato Latkes are the best! Most people use grated or ground/mashed/riced/rasped. His uses both, from different types of potatoes. Worth the effort.

The entertaining part is easy. Granny's stood over the stove getting greasy in their tiny kitchens and missed the fun. Latkes love being rewarmed in the oven. I make them way ahead and freeze them. They go in a big storage container, single high—no sticking together!--on parchment cut to fit the box, layered up. That is, single layer of latkes per sheet, sheets of latkes on parchment stacked to the top of the container. Each layer lifted out on the parchment onto the baking sheet, paper and all, for rewarming. About 10 minutes in a fully heated 350F oven. The same method works if just holding in the fridge a few hours. I make the potato, sweet potato and red onion, and zucchini latkes when I'm having the mobs over, and make apple sauce and pear sauce. The latkes are great. i think they're even better out of the oven than straight out of the pan.

But I had a total frying fail the other day when my stove element didn't work right and my zucchini latkes were just an oily mess of nothingness that had yo be thrown away. The stove/pan thing is essential to happy latke making. Best of luckto you with that.

I use the cuisinart with russets in 2 stages; first the large grate blade followed by the regular chopping blade pulsed on on off. i like the texture when it has a mixture of grated potatoes with those more finely chopped. Then I let the potatoes sit for a few minutes to let the liquid settle before being poured out. ideally it would be best to use a ricer or linen dishtowel to squeeze out more. liquid, but I'm usually too lazy. Add in an egg and a small scoop of matzoh meal per every 3-4 potatoes, salt and pepper to taste. i do not add onion, though many do. i usually have 2 pans going; one is cast iron, the other an old Farberware skillet. i only put in about 1/4” of oil, replace as needed. And dont crowd.

Interesting notion to combine 2 ‘shapes‘ of grated potato or to use part mashed.

Homemade applesauce is no big deal and is so much better.

I freely admit to being a heathen b/c i like the option of ketchup as a condiment

Good luck finding a reliable heat source.

LOL! Lisa, if it's good enough for French fries....

I have a fabulous set of cast iron frying pans and a griddle. But does not really solve the pulsing problem. Frying is the one thing where consistent temperature is important. I would have to find a really old electric one because my new one pulses too. I never use it for that reason. Same with the dang waffle makers, but I found an older one of those at a second hand store, looked barely used.

I get the part about the person on fryer duty missing some of the meal, but I manage to put them in the oven and they are not that much worse for the wear. I usually make one big batch, serve it, and then cook the seconds while folks are eating the firsts . . . . so I end up being able to eat with my guests about half the meal. Now that I have hubs, he does the dishes so I am there for desert.

I was pondering maybe using both grated and pulsed potatoes. The pulsed ones give the texture closest to my grandmother's latkes, she grated by hand with the fine side of the grater, but I like the idea of some shredded bits in there too . . . I have hand grated them and the results were not oh so much better than the food processor ones, IMHO.

I always make my own applesauce. The store bought stuff I can't tolerate anymore, and the jars are too big, they go bad on me. So I can it up in the 1/2 pint jars.

My suggestion was; get a good electric griddle. I have one and would replace in a minute if it broke. It is not used often but when it's needed........

What's the brand and how old is it? I had a Farberware one, maybe 15 years old but hardly used, like once and a while for pancakes, that was it. I gave it away, it was crappy, which surprised me since Farberware used to be such a premier brand. It too pulsed something awful. I also traded in my new Cuisinart waffle maker for an older, used Toastmaster model at the thrift store.

Mine is about 20 years old and is from Macy’s and is a West Bend. It gets used only once or twice a year now, but has seen regular use for many years in the past. It it simple and heats-up by an external eletric source that is plugged into the unit.

For reheating, the airfryer is great! There's already oil, so you don't have to spray them and you get nice crispy edges! I love a crunch in a potato!

Can't answer your question, but I decided about 10 years ago, if we want deep fried anything, we'll go out! I swear I can smell it in the house 3 days later and we have a really good fan. The exception is that when we are camping/fishing, we have a propane ring and DH can fish fry to his heart's content!

Hate that pulsing electric stove....and fry pan! Do it outside over the propane....wear a coat! Better than greasy latkes!

We always joke, "Latkes, the gift that keeps on giving/smelling." We eventually get the smell out, but it does take a while . . .

At some point we are going with gas, (the house is rigged for it and we have gas heat) but I'll have to wait til my dad dies, he gets apoplectic when we change the slightest thing at the house, and going with a gas stove and real ventilation (to the outside, not just over the stove to the rest of the house . . . ) would freak him totally out. He is paranoid about "holes in the roof." We make changes, but usually ones we can get finished before he visits again. Redoing the stove and oven will require quite a bit of remodeling. Hubs can do it, but my dad will make it awful and uncomfortable. He is mentally ill, has an anxiety disorder he refuses treatment for, which makes him obsess and be negative about even the tiniest detail. He repeats the same worrisome complaints over and over and over and over again. He would be intolerable if we changed the kitchen in his former house . . . I mean we could do it but would have to steel ourselves against his nit picking. Constant nit picking is a sign of an anxiety disorder if anyone is not aware . . . Ironically, one of his other anxiety attack obsessions is the smell of things frying . . . or any cooking smells,. He says they make him nauseous. But he's also hypersensitive to temperature issues so if I open a door or window to air things out, that's a problem too, it's going to ruin the heating system, he can't stay the house is too cold, etc. There's no real reason or logic to his worries, whatever is going on, he swears it's going to be a disaster. Whatever we buy, we paid to much, whatever we do wasn't necessary, whatever I cook was too much work and he's not hungry, whatever I clean or organize I missed a spot or forgot something else in another part of the house, if and appliance dies it will be impossible to replace. . . and on and on. Also ironically, the stovetop and oven are on their last legs . . .

Sorry to rant. No sense in treatment advice, I've tried every trick in the book for decades. Until he becomes a danger to himself and others, I can't force anything on him. But he is in constant misery, it's hard to be around.

Sending a hug your way, and a wish for a good way to make your latkes. I wonder if you could get a countertop unit that will work better than the last legs stove and hide when your dad is there, but I get it about the problem that's the least messy the least you do about it.

I have actually thought about getting a convection burner for the efficient heat transfer but not for frying. The only time the stove is really, really super annoying is when I have to make pancakes or latkes. I don't fry anything else other than latkes in a lot of oil. Don't even like fried chicken. Tonight I made crepes and my cast iron griddle worked fine on the stove for that. Not enough time and thickness for the pulsing to be an issue I guess . . . I guess from now on I will have to stick to thin pancakes and use my butane burner for latkes. If I could find an electric fry pan that didn't pulse that would be nice for the latkes. Our ancient one my folks got as a wedding gift was great, but that one went away long long ago . . .

https://www.ebay.com/p/1205546137?iid=175043386553

Ha ha P, you found my Farberware electric skillet. That's the one I gave away because it also pulsed and didn't heat high enough! I think we had this discussion a while back, some of this is current related, one can only go so high with modern tech and stuff tends to wear out fast.

So I did a Hanukkah dinner last night, and it was a very weird but nice experience. Uncharacteristically, but thankfully, my Dad raved and raved about the meal. Said my Aunt would have been proud, (she was our family's best cook and famous for her skill) and even said it was better than my Bubbe or Mom ever made. He thanked me profusely and said it was the best Hanukkah meal he had ever had. I think the change was due to his anxiety abating, at least for now. The spells come and go.

I have to say it was one of my best menus. I made baked salmon fillets with home made fennel relish mixed with mayo as a sauce/topping. That was outstanding. I also made a composed salad with rainbow roasted beets marinated in an orange, olive, scallion and orange juice olive oil dressing, served over a mixed greens salad topped with goat cheese and sunflower seeds. Should have been walnuts but I couldn't find them . . . Home made applesauce, sour cream and latkes. The latkes were awful IMHO and they took forever to fry. It was miserable damp cold weather and I did not want to fuss with cooking on the outdoor grill and then schlepping the food around into the dining area, plus it would have gotten cold almost instantly and it was a schlep to the oven. So I just used the stove. UGH. It just couldn't hold the heat, so the latkes got very greasy and took forever. I could only get three at a time to cook with anything resembling the temperature they would need. I used a mix of russet and yellow potatoes, which I did like the flavor of. Again, uncharacteristically, Dad raved about them. They were probably about average in tolerability, but the fact that they took so long was not a plus. Latkes don't do well sitting around. I had indigestion all night. We finished off the meal with tea and pumpkin cheesecake. I just had tea.

Congrats on making your father happy! Greasy latkes might be just like a childhood memory for him. i hated them as a child (Mother didn't make them. She made borekes), becausethe ones I was served were so greasy-heavy. My grandfather and his brother famously fought over burnt blintzes that were supposed to stay in the kitchen—burnt just like their mama used to make. I've never experienced the pulsing. I just thought the eBay pan looked sufficiently old. My only suggestion is cast iron, which doesn't react fast, At least you were able to manage something that worked for making it feel festive.

Can you share fennel relish? that sounds really interesting, as does the rest of your menu,

It's just cucumber relish from the Ball Blue Book of Canning except instead of just mustard and celery seed, I added fennel seed. This is the recipe I used, except subbing 2 TBLSP fennel seeds for some of the seed stuff. Could have subbed fennel for the celery but fennel is expensive here. https://www.bernardin.ca/recipes/en/cucumber-relish.htm?Lang=EN-US

Mixed with mayo, smeared over fish and then topped with a little more relish. Looked beautiful too, all the colors of the peppers against the white mayo. But you could not use the mayo if you are worried about fats. I don't like a lot of fat but my father does . . .

I used to use the broiler when I wanted crispy potato fritters. The electric stove just doesn't cut it. I know they're not quite the same as latkes but I would put it on broil and lower the oven rack and check frequently for done-ness. With the induction stove I have now I have no worries about the heat so it stays stovetop.

Thanks for the info! i thought you meant pickled fennel! It does sound like it would be good instead of celery in your link. since I don't can, I don't have to worry about substitutions. I think I have fennel in my next farm box. I may try it!

That recipe has way too much sugar and vinegar than is needed for a fresh relish. You could use it as a starting riff, but it makes a ton and a lot of unnecessary quantity if not canning. I tried out the recipe with the fennel sub by making a batch of fridge pickles using the spice mixture in a brine, they were fab. If I was doing it fresh, I would use white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar, not apple cider or plain white vinegar. Way less of both sugar and vinegar would be needed for a fresh relish. I hate fussing with food, so I like to use pre-prepared stuff. No way am I going to make a relish ahead of time and then let it marinate before dinner. I'm going to pull out one I already made and canned, or a store bought one. I know the fresh ones are fab and the key to gourmet cooking, but just not my bag.

Thanks for all the good advice!

I don't have a lot of storage, and canning one or two jars that I might be tempted to "save for special" rather than use right away seems like a ridiculous reason to learn to can. I don't think fresh in pickles and relishes is key at all! The fridge-stored zucchini pickles I make don't age well, but they're good for at least a week before they start going soft and fading color. They're best after a day or two, for the flavors to develop. I think fancy dancy cooks make and use quick pickles because they don't can and want what they want when they want it, rather than any superiority to just made. Or...if you want fresh produce to taste kind of pickle-y without really getting pickled, yeah, okay, make it a la minute, but I don't think the flavor will be as good.

If I receive a big enough fennel to be worthwhile, I really want to try it. I have peppers. :)

What I meant was, you can make "fresh" as in not cooked or canned, relishes and store them in the fridge for quite a while. Depending on the recipe, some keep for months. But yes, it all depends. Same with a quick relish, it all depends. I've had some great ones but most not made by me . . . I can't afford most of the expensive ingredients like fresh herbs and out of season (for my northern location) vegetables. I have them in the summer but not the rest of the time. That's why CA has such fabulous cuisine, the extended growing seasons! Indian food features ratias which are quick relishes, but I'm not a huge Indian food fan either. I have had some great ones of those too though. Just depends.

Today I was fiddling with my spice shelf, and I remembered that I had THREE seeds in the relish spice mix, mustard, fennel and CORIANDER. I saw the bag of coriander on the shelf. I think that was the key to the good flavor, the mix. They went well together and none was overpowering. Also adding that I would not normally mix the relish with mayo or if I did use mayo, it would be a very small dab. But dad HAS to have his "tarter sauce" with fish so this time it was for him.

Boy I wish I was entertaining for the holidays, this would be great with deviled eggs . . .

You could just invite one couple over for an egg party. :)

We eat them a lot, but I will miss the opportunity to be the star of the party with my gourmet deviled eggs. (She says jokingly). You are all sworn to secrecy if I ever become a famous deviled egg caterer.

Coming late to this, and of course, Hanukkah is way over, but...

I do use russet potatoes. I use my Kitchen Aid shredding attachment to shred the potatoes and onions, and have them fall into the KA bowl which I fill about 1/3 of the way up with ice water before doing the shredding. This keeps the potatoes from turning brown. Once I'm done with all the shredding, I pour the whole bowl into a colander and then squeeze the potatoes hard to get rid of as much water as possible.

Then mix with egg, matzo meal, and salt.

This works for me.

When I have leftovers, which I always do because I way overestimate the amount needed, I refrigerate or freeze. To reheat, I just put in a pan with no added oil and heat on the cooktop. They come out crispy that way, so easy to make ahead and reheat if needed... I just never do!