I am in between schools. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in psychology last year, and I am getting ready to continue my education with a graduate degree. In a few months, I will start applying, but I have a lot of program options to slough through first.
Psychology is a very diverse professional field. I could pursue a high level Ph.D. in clinical pychology or opt for the less research intensive doctorate of psychology (Psy.D.). There are also programs that offer practitioner certification on a compressed timeline, such as a two-year degree in Mental Heath Counseling (M.A.) or the more specialized certification in Marriage and Family Therapy (M.F.T.). I could also switch into an entirely different field and pursue in a degree in social work (M.S.W.).
There a number of practical priorities that are affecting my decision on which degree to pursue (which school will be the next obstacle), but also I’m just trying to weigh how I feel about this career track. Because, as I think and weight out these options I also can’t help but think about a million others — not in psychology at all! I guess that’s what happens when you leave school, and the entire world opens up to you.
For example, I was watching Fareed Zakaria: GPS, my favorite CNN show, and I thought, it would be cool to go into public policy. I was watching HGTV, and I thought, it would be cool to be a interior designer! I was watching Nikita, and I thought, it would be cool to be a globe-trotting government agent on a mission to save the world!!
Then, I was making potato pancakes, and I thought, maybe I should just be a professional potato pancake taste tester.
I adapted the following recipe from my Good Housekeeping Cookbook’s recipe for Potato Latkes, but I added a little bit more flour and a splash of milk, omitted the chopped parsley because I was out, and shaped them into much bigger pancakes. They were delicious and a hit with my husband for Sunday brunch…but there are a lot of pancake recipes out there. There are so many brunch options to explore. I can think of a million! Ah but, that’s the good thing about making a career in the kitchen — anyone can do it, any day of the week, no degree needed.
That doesn’t mean choosing a recipe is an easy decision, but I’m pretty happy with this one! They turned out more hash-browny than pancakey, which was fine for our very late brunch. I didn’t have apple sauce or sour cream to serve with them, so I opted for maple syrup and jam with sliced apple on the side.
Potato Pancakes
olive oil for frying
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled shredded (I used 8 medium potatoes and yielded about 4 cups)
1 medium onion, grated
1 large egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (omitted)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Heat small amount of oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Combine potatoes and onion in a colander. Squeeze to press out as much liquid as possible, then combine potato mixture with egg, flour, milk, lemon juice, baking powder, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
Drop desired amount of potato batter into skillet and flatten to form a pancake. Cook until underside is golden, 3-5 minutes. Turn and cook until second side is golden brown and crisp, 3-5 minutes longer. Repeat until all batter is used. The batter will lose moisture quickly, so be sure to stir the batter in between batches.
Serve pancakes with apple sauce, sour cream, maple syrup, or your favorite jam.
Raisin Questions 
Carolyn
December 6, 2011
I am not one to usually respond to post but this was the first food blog that I read to make my jaw drop. I understand that cooking is not your career but your wrong when you make a statement as bold as this one .. “that’s the good thing about making a career in the kitchen – anyone can do it, any day of the week, no degree needed.” First not anyone can have a cooking career, especially a successful one. It takes certain personal characteristics to make a career out of cooking. Like hard work (not everyone has it) passion for food and peoples well being, multi-tasker, math skills, leadership qualities, organized…I can go on but I think you got the point. You could debunk my statement by saying anyone can learn the those things but the one thing you can’t teach someone that a cook has to have is genuine hospitality. Second yes cooking can be done any day of the week or anytime of the day but that’s not a good thing, most cooks are working during the times people are celebrating. For instance holidays, birthdays, festivals, weekends and nights, I would imagine anyone and everyone but cooks rather spend the time with friends and family. The end of your statement is true, you don’t need a degree and there are very successful chefs that don’t. But to get into a kitchen to start a cooking career its easier when you have credentials. Not many chefs will take a chance on someone who doesn’t know the basics. I am very passionate about food and my own cooking career and felt offended by your statement, I hope you were generalizing and didn’t mean it literal. I’ve seen many people not make it in the kitchen and I felt I needed to voice my opinion.
For some advice on your potato pancakes, I don’t know how big your market would be for taste testing but I know the market for selling them is big and getting bigger. Also if you don’t want your potato pancakes to be like hash browns add some mash potato to the mixture (along with your shredded). The mash potatoes will act as a binder then you can omit the baking powder and some flour. If you deep fry or pan fry ( oil in pan should be half way up the sides of the pancake) and add the mash potatoes your pancake will be crispy on the outside creamy on the inside. Good Eats! Thank you for your time Carolyn
Jennifer
December 7, 2011
Hi Carolyn, Thanks for reading and deciding to comment! I agree with you that becoming a professional chef is not for everyone! I know that from experience, considering the difficult road I have traveled in trying to learn how to cook for simply me and my husband. What I meant in the statement above is more about learning how to prepare real food at home. I do believe that everyone can take a step away from Lean Cuisine and learn to cook for themselves if they put their mind to it, but I’m not claiming it’s likely to be gourmet, or hold up to professional chef standards! Everyone does have to eat, and I was being more facetious than anything there, as in “I eat food like it’s my job!” 🙂