Grandma's Summer Squash (courtesy of Aunt Diane)

Grandma and Uncle Rich

This has been one of my favorite summer recipes; I’ve been using it for years and thought I had a written recipe, but apparently it was so easy I simply kept making it.  Diane

This requires a large frying pan. 

Ingredients:

Summer Squash (zucchini or yellow):  8-10 small (approx.. 8” long) or large that equals about 4 cups.

1-2 really large onions, depending on how much you love onions.

Croutons or 2 slices of bread and butter for sautéing – I do the second unless in a real hurry.

Shredded mozzarella cheese – maybe a handful – depends on how much you like mozzarella

Salt and coarse ground pepper (or regular if you don’t have coarse ground pepper).

Prepare 8-10 small zucchini or yellow squash or a mix of the two:

Rinse and pat dry and cut in ½” slices.  If using larger squash use about 4 cups.  Basically you can adjust the proportions for any amount – lots of onion for lots of squashJ

Prepare:

Using medium heat:

Slice a large yellow or white onion and slowly sauté in 2 Tablespoons of oil until soft.  Stir often.

Add the squash and continue to sauté until soft.  Continue stirring often.  Cook until most of the liquid from the squash has evaporated.

Make your own croutons while the squash is cooking (yummy because of the butter) or use storebought croutons.  To make your own – cut 2 slices of bread into cubes of 1” or smaller.  Melt ¼ stick of butter in a separate frying pan over low heat, add the bread, stir it so the butter coats most of the sides.  Toast slowly in the pan until brown. Add more butter if needed – it adds to the flavor of the dish.

Add salt and coarse ground pepper to taste – remember the cheese and the croutons will add salt.

To serve:  Put in a large bowl, top with the shredded mozzarella and croutons.

Julia's Bar Snacks

Here’s something I make for almost all dinner parties. (It's nice to have something to put out for nibbles while you're putting on the finished touches in the kitchen.) Frankie's Spuntino, an Italian resto in NYC, serves radishes (my fave) as a bar snack, and this is how I imagine you'd prepare them (and how I do!): Take a bunch of radishes, clean and quarter them. Take some olive oil (3 tablespoons?) and some minced garlic and some chopped-up herbs (Italian parsley, dill, oregano) and toss them all together, along with some good coarse salt. Eat!

Another yummy bar snack: popcorn with Japanese seasoning togarashi on top. (You can find it in Asian markets.) Just pop the corn in mainly vegetable oil with a smidge of sesame oil, then dress it in some melted butter you've sizzled minced garlic in, and then toss again with the togarashi. Done! Much more interesting than salt and margarine!

Mummie's Scones

2 c. sifted flour

2 tbsp sugar

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1/3 c. butter

1 egg beaten

¾ milk

Preheat oven to 425º.  Silt together flour, sugar, baking, and salt.  Chop with Butter.  Add egg and milk.  Stir quickly and lightly only until no flower shoes.  Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead gently about 15 times.  Cut dough in half.  Shape both halves into a ball.  Press down until it’s about ½ inch thick.  Cut into wedges like pie.  Place on greased cookie sheet without letting sides touch.  Bake about 12 minutes. 

Serve with tea and butter and jam and Remmington Steele.

Polly’s Cauliflower Fritters

Veggie, simple and unexpectedly delicious. Just remember: Never put used oil down sink (in plastic container or bag and in fridge, but obviously don't pour it in a container when still hot!) and do the old paper towel dab trick to get excess oil off fritters. Happy eating!

Ingredients

1 small cauliflower

1 cup flour

3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley plus a bit extra for garnish

1 garlic clove crushed

2 shallots finely chopped

4 eggs

1.5 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

3 cups oil

Lime Sauce: 

2 cups greek yoghurt

2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

grated zest of 1 lime

2 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1. Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.   Chill.

2.  To prepare the cauliflower, trim off any leaves and cut into small florets.  Add them to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft.  Drain into a colander.

3.  While cauliflower is cooking, put the flower, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together well to make a batter.  When the mixture is smooth add the cauliflower.  Mix to break down cauliflower into the batter. 

4.  Pour the sunflower oil into a wide pan to a depth of 1.5 cm and heat up  When it's very hot, carefully spoon in generous portions  of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tablespoons per fritter.  Fry in small batches,  they should take 3-4 minutes on each side.  Remove from the pan and drain well on a few layers of kitchen paper.  Serve with the sauce on the side.

Aunt Diane's Baked Goat Cheese

A great, and easy, appetizer!

Slice 12 oz. Chèvre in 1 ½ inch pieces and lay in medium-sized baking dish (any shape)
Whisk: ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 garlic cloves – minced

Drizzle oil mixture over cheese Top with 1/3-1/2 cup finely chopped pecans Bake at 250’ for 20 minutes. Serve with crackers or anything else that sounds good. It reheats nicely in the microwave.