The Festival of Cellulites

A big shout-out to all the members of The Tribe! Here's a quintessential Channukah recipe. As an aside, my Mom sometimes makes these with sweet potatoes, which are pretty damn awesome.
Enjoy! And thanks to my Mom in advance for my ever-expanding Holiday Ass.

1 pound potatoes
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil

Accompaniments: sour cream and applesauce

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees (F)
Peel potatoes and coarsely grate by hand, transferring to a large bowl of cold water as grated. Soak potatoes 1 to 2 minutes after last batch is added to water, then drain well in a colander.

Spread grated potatoes and onion on a kitchen towel and roll up, jelly-roll style. Twist towel lightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and stir in egg and salt.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking. Working in batches of 4 latkes, spoon 2 tablespoons potato mixture per latke into skillet, spreading into 3-inch rounds with a fork. Reduce heat to moderate and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes. Turn latkes over and cook until undersides are browned, about 5 minutes more. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt. Add more oil to skillet as needed. Keep latkes warm on a wire rack set up in a shallow baking pan in oven.