Fried Squash Blossoms

One of the fun things about being a mom is the fact that you get to meet all sorts of other moms.  And in previous lives those moms had all sorts of fun and interesting jobs.  One of the moms that I've recently come to know used to be (and really, still is) a chef.  A couple of weeks ago, she told me what the squash blossoms you can sometimes find at farmers' markets are for.

Preparation Time: Maybe 20 minutes to stuff a dozen and another 10 to batter and fry.

Ingredients:
One dozen squash blossoms
some soft cheese or other filling
oil
egg
flour

Directions:

Waiting to be fried

Very carefully open the blossom, trying not to tear it.  Into the blossom, slide a couple of cheese slivers or some other stuffing.  Twist the blossom closed.  When you have all of your blossoms stuffed, start heating some oil in a pan, enough to fry the blossoms, not just saute them.  I used about half an inch.

In a small bowl whisk one egg with a tablespoon or two of water and place some flour in another bowl.  Individually dip each blossom in egg and then coat with flour.  Drop into the hot oil.  Once I got all of the blossoms into the oil I flipped them over (too cheap to use enough oil to cover them in the first place) and I took them out and placed them on a paper towel when they started to look crunchy.

Notes:
I'm sure these look prettier when done in a restaurant by a professional chef.  I've never actually fried anything before, so be nice ;).

I'm not sure where one finds squash blossoms.  We have them at our farmers' market for $2/dozen which Laura tells us is a really good price.

Even Cory liked them :)  Although next time I think I'll use goat cheese instead of Brie.  I always try to convince myself I like Brie and I usually fail.

Source: Laura
Servings: 4 or so

Due Tomorrow: Appetizers

Next Week's Topic:  Chocolate

Any votes for the following?  Any new topic ideas?  Are we getting bored with this whole recipe blog idea?  Or is the summer just busy?

Curried Chicken Salad

A friend of ours makes some fantastic curried chicken balls as appetizers.  It is more work making the little balls than I would like, so I've converted it into a chicken salad

Preparation Time: 10 minutes or so

Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 pkg cream cheese, softened
enough mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
2 tablespoons orange marmalade or apricot preserves
2 teaspoons (or more) curry powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon white pepper
3 cup chopped, shredded, or ground cooked chicken
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts or almonds

Directions:
Mix everything together and serve on a bed of lettuce or in a sandwich.  The actual amounts are very flexible and depend on how strong your curry is and your mayo to cream cheese preference.  I'm sure you could toss in sour cream or yogurt in place of one or both as well.

Source: Modified from Joan Fletcher

Due Today: Salads

Next Week's Topic:  Appetizers

Any votes for the following?