Many of history’s greatest inventions were mistakes or at least afterthoughts. Supper club menus can also benefit from a mistake or afterthought.

Did you know that the invention of potato chip was the result of a chef’s rage over a customer’s complaint? This must be the only example in the history of the world where rage benefited the person involved.

In 1853, in a New York restaurant, when a customer complained that the fried potatoes were too soggy and thick, and repeatedly sent them back to the waiter, the chef- George Crum- got so fed up, that he took the request for a thinner potato quite literally- he cut the potatoes into very thin slices, fried them, and covered them in salt. And, Voila! The most favorite snack in the world was born!

I have a similar, but different story. Years ago we had my son Brian’s friends over for dinner. His buddy Rishi is a vegetarian and loves all forms of potatoes. I took advantage of having some left over Potato Mousseline. This is a French dish that combines potato, butter, cream and a little garlic. (You can’t go wrong with these ingredients.) The classic dish is basically a casserole of mashed potatoes served with a topping of cheese. In this case I formed the leftover potatoes into patties and fried them up with butter creating a nice crust. And, Voila!

Rishi raved about them, but as he is such an appreciative eater I didn’t think much of it. A few months later he started asking me to make the “potato pancakes” again. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about. It took me a while to connect the leftover potato Mousseline patties to Potato Pancakes. With a little practice I have been able to replicate Rishi’s Potato Pancakes that have become legendary, at least to Rishi.

Check out the recipes for Rishi’s Potato Pancakes and Potatoes Mousseline.

I have plans to dress up Rishi’s Potato Pancakes for a supper club menu. What I will do is use a 2 inch cylinder to shape the patties. I will refrigerate the shaped patties for at least an hour to help them set and then fry them to get a crust. These can be made in advance, transferred to a baking sheet and then warmed up 20 minutes before serving in a 300-degree oven.

Steph & Rishi’s wedding. (He isn’t thinking about potato pancakes)

(The three  buddies at Rishi’s wedding: Brian Kenny, Eric Brown and Rishi Bhula)

(The fun crew at Steph & Rishi wedding. I had to promise potato pancakes to Rishi to get him to smile…Susan Kenny, Steph Bhula, Paul Kenny, Rishi Bhula, Lauren Kenny, Whitney Brown, Brian Kenny and Eric Brown the blur)

And Voila! A supper club menu benefits from my mistake of making too much Potato Mousseline and the afterthought to call them potato pancakes. While I doubt Rishi’s Potato Pancakes will become as famous as the potato chip, they make a great side dish.

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