Zucchini Fritters

While perusing recipes and trying to find new ways to cope with the seasonal zucchini overabundance from my mom's garden  I came across this recipe for Zucchini Fritters from Once Upon a Chef, to see the original post, click here. 

 Few notes on the ingredients: I used one SUPER sized zucchini after halving it and scooping out the seeds and overly pithy center. I also used cornstarch instead of flour. I also was VERY generous in my usage of dill and scallion and it didn't take away anything from the fritter, so feel free to be generous in your usage.

They are incredible and are definitely going to be an August staple in my kitchen


Ingredients: 
2. medium zucchini shredded
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 large scallions
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 med. garlic clove, minced or finely chopped
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup cornstarch (or flour)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus some more if needed

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Shred your zucchini (I used my food processor to expedite) mix with salt and transfer to a fine-mesh strainer to drain. Allow the zucchini to sit for at least ten minutes. 

I then took the zucchini and wrung it out in a paper towel, the volume of the zucchini shrunk by half after I got all of the water out. 

Beat the eggs, mix in the zucchini, scallions, dill, feta, garlic, and black pepper. 

Add the corn starch (or flour) and baking powder and mix until it is incorporated. 

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Be sure to watch that the oil doesn't become too hot. Drop 2 tablespoon-sized portions into the pan and gently press down into fritters. 

Pan fry until golden brown about 3 minutes per side. 

Transfer the fritters to a paper towel-lined plate. 

Note that your fritters, once cooked may still be "bendy" when you transfer them to the plate. Allowing the fritters to rest for at least a minute or two will help them to firm up before serving. 

I served ours with store-bought tzatziki sauce on the side. 

If anyone knows a good tzatziki recipe, please send it my way I've been on the hunt for a good homemade option. 

xoxox

Caprese salad with kale pesto

Tomato.

Zucchini.

Eggplant.

Get ready for a whole host of recipes focused on these three delicious veggies. If you're like the majority of people with summer gardens, you'll tend to have more of these than you know what to do with.

While the stars of this dish are clearly the mozzarella and tomato, I wanted to try something a little different and I found this awesome Kale pesto recipe that was absolutely delicious! 

Kale pesto (originally from Epicurious):

2 cups torn kale leaves - remove the stems

1 cup basil leaves (pack them in there) 

1 tsp. salt 

1/4 Cup olive oil 

1/4 Cup toasted walnuts 

4 cloves of garlic 

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese 

Directions: 

- add all the leaves and salt to a food processor and pulse until the leaves are chopped into small pieces 

- drizzle in the olive oil as the processor is running 

- add the walnuts, garlic, and process until it’s all incorporated  

- add the cheese and pulse until combined 

Use the pesto as you like! 

When I use it on pasta I also like to top it off with a tiny bit of lemon zest or hot pepper depending on my mood 

xoxox

Appetizers: I'm putting out, but how much?

Appetizers don't need to be complicated. The cheese board I prepared has drunken goat cheese, Boursin cheese, gluten-free crackers, sliced honey crisp apples with a little bit of rosemary for just a pop of color. 

I normally decide how many appetizers I will be serving based on the number of guests I am having. One of the consequences of growing up in a large family is that I have a disproportionate understanding of how much food is actually needed for a group of adults who are not seven ravenous brothers. For example, I had a group of friends over one night for dinner and I was making my grandmother's raviolis.. unsupervised. 

I was a little nervous about how they would come out so I decided to make a back up dinner incase they didn't hold together, seems practical no? Two full sheets of lasagna, and a successful entré into the ravioli world later, my friend Jake was walking out with a full sheet of lasagna to take home. 

This made me establish some portion rules for myself. 

Appetizers: estimate that the longer they're waiting, the more they'll eat but start with about 5-7 bites per guest, per hour for individual hors d'oeuvres. 

Again, you need to be flexible based on what you're serving, so if you're serving chips and dip and you're expecting 6-7 people it's worth it to buy the second bag of chips because they're easier to snack on.  For a group of ten people I usually have three appetizer options. 

Dinner: if it's just the boys coming over for our sibling dinners [#FeedingtheFrat] then I estimate one and a half pieces of protein per person. You can get more technical and say with a more general guest list you should have 6-8 oz of protein per guest, but I just usually eyeball it. 

For the accompanying side dishes, i.e. vegetables, grains, and starches it depends on who you're eating with. Our family tends to try to avoid starchy carbs, so I try to serve more vegetables, usually about a "palm's worth" of cooked veggies per person. 

Desserts: Don't go crazy. While everyone loves dessert, unless there is something that you know is going to be fought after and hoarded (Grandma's zeppoles or my Apple Cake) you typically won't need a back up unless it is a celebration/holiday of some kind.

Alcohol/Beverages: whatever drink you're serving, a good guideline for a beverage estimate is two drinks, per guest, per hour. 

Even with these guidelines, you know your guests best. 

Always round-up your food estimates, if you're not sure. It's better to have leftovers for lunch than to not have enough food but if at anytime you feel like you're running the risk of not having enough- order a pizza. 

Pizza solves everything. 

Some of my favorite go-to Appetizer recipes: 

Zach's refried bean dip

Guacamole 

Shishito Peppers 

Empanadas 

Flat Bread

Shishito Peppers

I had Shishito peppers for the first time this summer at a cocktail party in the Hamptons.

Mostly sweet, the sign warning against the occasional spicy pepper resulted in a Russian roulette-esque game among the guests that was a great icebreaker. 

I've been trying to clean up my diet, so, when I saw them at the market I knew they'd make the perfect snack!

1 Teaspoon coconut oil

Shishito Peppers (2 cups)

Himalayan Salt

Wash your peppers, leave the stems on, pat dry. 

The stems will serve as a handle to eat the rest of the pepper. 

If you plan on serving them at a party, be sure to have a container for the discarded stems. 

Heat your pan to a medium heat and add your coconut oil. 

Do not allow your oil to start smoking! 

If your oil is smoking your pan is way too hot. 

Add your washed shishito peppers, sauté over medium heat tossing them every so often until they develop a nice char. 

The smaller the batch of peppers the faster they will cook. A large batch of peppers would require more oil and take longer to cook. 

Finish with some Himalayan sea salt and enjoy!

Taco Tuesday with Zach's Refried Bean Dip

Every other week I have my brothers over for dinner. They requested that we have tacos this week and I happily obliged. 

The boys love tacos. 

For one of them in particular, I'm looking at you L, I think tacos actually qualify as a food group. 

In order to make the meal a little special I made my mom's bean dip recipe, "Zach's refried bean dip."

This dip has been a staple in our house at almost every family party.
We never did learn who this Zach character is, but we owe him... big time.

It's not the most glamorous appetizer, but the ooey-gooey deliciousness cannot be denied. 

During dinner, the boys decided to add it to their tacos and a whole new level of scrumptiousness was discovered. 

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Zach's Refried Bean Dip: 

1 16 oz. can of refried beans

1 package of taco seasoning

1 8 oz. bar of Philadelphia cream cheese 

1 4 oz. can of diced jalapeños 

1 4 oz. can of chopped olives

1 8 oz. package of shredded Mexican cheese

[Optional: 1 8 oz. container of sour cream]

Mix all of the ingredients together. Pour into a baking pan, bake at 375° F until bubbling, usually about 45 minutes. I then like to broil it for a few minutes to get the top crispy. 

Serve with chips and enjoy! 

Or, as the boys did, add to your taco for an additional pop of flavor.