Potato Latkes

So this year, Arielle is 4 years old and very aware of the differences and similarities in life and more specifically her family. She has in the past addressed color.. skin color that is and now has expressed an interest in learning about religion, in this case Catholicism and Judaism. Since she had been attending the Montessori school in our town, she has become more curious and very  opinionated about issues, it kind of scares me sometimes when I see how thorough her thought process is and the way she qualifies and differentiates things, its quite sophisticated. Anyway, we decide that's its no longer acceptable to be "nothing" and have decided to instead teach her background, her black, white, Judaism and Catholicism. She was Baptized over a year ago at the age of 2 1/2 but she really just thought it was like a birthday party! This year we included Santa, the Reindeer's and his counterpart Rosie the elf, lit a Menorah,  ate Latkes, baked holiday cookies, stayed up past midnight to open gift (tradition from my childhood) and had a big Christmas dinner. Although it has been a whirlwind its been good and I love it. I wish we could have included more of the husbands family for Arielle's sake but I have no control over what others chose to do. All in all, I think everyone came out happier and a few pounds heavier! The recipe is from the husband so please reserve your comments..they were good though!

Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes peeled
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots ( or yellow onion)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons flour (or more) or matzo meal (during Passover)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Grate the potatoes in a food processor or using a manual grater.
2.  Line a sieve with cheesecloth and transfer potatoes to the sieve. Set sieve over a bowl, twist cheesecloth into a pouch, squeezing out some moisture. 
3. Add shallots (or onion), eggs, flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper. 
4. Return drained potatoes to this mixture and toss to combine.
5. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking pan with paper towels. 
6. In a large skillet heat 1/4 inch of oil over medium high heat until hot. 
7. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of potato mixture and cook for 3 to 4 minutes a side; latkes should be golden and crisp on both sides. 
8. Eat right away or keep warm in oven. 
9. Serve with applesauce.