Link: The best way to cook sausage

Click on the image above to read a post by the great Kenji at Serious Eats about the best way to cook sausage. With my son's birthday party coming up in a week and a half, this couldn't be better timed for me.

-Katy

Baked squash blossoms

I've wanted to make squash blossoms ever since I found out they were a thing. I remember hearing Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls rave about people expecting her stuffed fried squash blossoms and thinking, "I don't know what that is, but it sounds delicious." I've seen recipes here and there on the food blogs I follow, and they always looked so pretty. I've just never actually been able to find squash blossoms. So when I saw them at the farmers market on Saturday at $2 for a dozen, I jumped at the chance to finally try them. I baked half of them last night, and sometime this week, I'm going to try a dessert recipe I found.

photo by storeyland

Ingredients
6 squash blossoms

Filling:
1/2 c ricotta cheese
1/4 c parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 T fresh basil, chiffonade
salt and pepper, to taste

Coating:
1 egg
1 T water
Panko bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut off the stem of the blooms if necessary.
2. Stir together all the filling ingredients with a fork until combined. Carefully spoon mixture into squash blossoms. How much you use will depend on the size of the blooms, but it will probably be around a tablespoon or two. Twist the tops of the petals together to close.
3. Whisk together the water and eggs and brush onto the outside of the blooms, coating all sides. Carefully roll the blooms in the panko crumbs and arrange on a greased baking pan.
4. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

-Katy

Sauteed squash

I improvised this recipe Tuesday afternoon when I was short a vegetable for my son's lunch, and it turned out really well. My son really ate it up, which makes me glad since his daddy doesn't like squash. I made this with yellow squash, but it should work with zucchini, pattypan, or any summer squash.

Ingredients
1 squash, cut into 1/8" slices
1/2 T butter
1/2 T olive oil
1/2 t dried thyme (fresh would be better)
a splash of red wine vinegar (I would have preferred lemon juice, but it's what I had)
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Heat a 10"-12" saute pan over medium high heat. Add butter, olive oil, squash, and a bit of salt and pepper. Stir or shake to get squash as close to a single layer as you can.
2. Leave it alone for at least 30 seconds. Toss to flip or use a spatula to flip if you aren't comfortable tossing it.
3. Repeat the process of leaving it alone and flipping until you get some nice brown spots on your squash.
4. Add thyme and vinegar or lemon juice. Stir, shake, or toss until the vinegar or lemon juice evaporates. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

-Katy

Ask a grown man

I may have found the best thing to ever originate from an online magazine for teen girls, Ask a Grown Man. Questions are submitted by teen girls and answered by grown male celebrities. I had forgotten how much teen girls are obsessed with boys. I would recommend starting with Paul Rudd.

-Katy

The first farmers market trip of the year

The farmers market in my town opened for the first weekend of the summer this Saturday, so my son and I went for a little field trip. I can't speak for him, but I had a blast. I got some local honey, a pint of blackberries for $2, green beans, tomatoes, and a massive head of cauliflower.

Seriously, look at the size of this thing.

To give you an idea of just how massive this cauliflower was. I took a picture when I put some in the toaster oven to roast. (I seriously love my new toaster oven. I can roast things without heating up the kitchen, which is great considering it's in the 90's most days.) I just tossed it in a little melted butter, salt, and pepper, set the toaster oven to 400 degrees and watched the cauliflower until it got some nice brown bits on it. What you see below isn't even a quarter of that head of cauliflower. And it was delicious by the way.

-Katy