Seafood Cakes with Mustard Crema

Once again, this recipe is from my friend Dawn's seafood cooking party. The seafood cakes recipe is actually from a magazine called Cooking Light, but it's so delicious that it doesn't taste like "diet" food at all. I think a big part of that is probably owing to the fact that Matt, who was responsible for making this dish, bought fresh real crab meat from Whole Foods. An expensive but worthwhile investment since the crab meat is the star of the dish.

Dawn's six-burner semi-professional stove range browned the seafood cakes perfectly, as you will soon see below! The mustard crema sauce was really delicious (be sure to get coarse grain mustard and use fresh herbs). I think I'll be using that sauce on other seafood dishes as well. If you like sauce, I would double the sauce recipe.

Ingredients

* 1/3 cup light sour cream
* 6 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
* 1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
* 7 teaspoons canola oil, divided
* 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
* 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
* 8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp, chopped
* 8 ounces lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
* 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
* 1 large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Preparation

1. Combine sour cream, 2 tablespoons parsley, mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring with a whisk until blended. Set aside.

Here is Matt chopping all the ingredients:

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon canola oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add onion and celery; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

3. Combine shrimp and crab in a large bowl. Stir in onion mixture, remaining pepper, remaining 1/4 cup parsley, cheese, salt, egg whites, and egg; stir gently. Add panko; stir gently. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions; flatten to 1/2-inch-thick patties.

Like this:

4. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned.


Carefully turn over; cook 3 minutes or until done. Serve with sauce

Salmon Tartare a la The French Laundry

The first time I had these salmon tartare cornets was at The French Laundry. This is the second time I have made this dish and it is absolutely worth the effort! Technically it is not very difficult but requires some patience. It is definitely a wow dish for company.

In The French Laundry Cookbook, Thomas Keller suggests that you make the crackers into cornets and scoop salmon tartare in there to make it look like an ice cream cone. I had it that way at the French Laundry, and it was indeed adorable. It looks like this:



However, it is beyond my patience to make mini savory cones, so I made them into crackers instead. I found this blogger named Carol a few years back on her blog, French Laundry At Home, where she cooks through the French Laundry cookbook. You can check out how she made the salmon tartare cornets.

I believe she suffered some burns on her fingers when she was trying to form the crackers around the metal cornet mold, which further convinced me to skip that part of the recipe. I may be convinced to try it again if I can find silicone, not metal, molds. \

Some key points in the recipe that you should definitely follow and not skip (I'm serious!):
- Make sure to use the white pepper and all the seasonings as described.
- If you don't have lemon oil, it's ok - I used vegetable oil and some lemon juice at the very end right before serving. But you can find lemon oil or lemon infused olive oil at good grocers or at Rainbow (if you're in SF).
- Dice all the vegetables as tiny as you can.
- Soak the onions in water for as long as you can before adding to the creme fraiche.
- Assemble right before eating so the crackers do not get soggy.

My crackers turn out super buttery, which is mostly great, but they wanted to slip off the Silpat! For next time I am going to investigate whether I can use less butter.

Here goes the recipe:

Cornets

1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened but still cool to the touch
2 large egg whites, cold
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

Salmon Tartare
(makes about 3/4 cup)

4 ounces sushi grade salmon fillet (belly preferred), skin and any pin bones removed and very finely minced
3/4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon lemon oil
1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced chives
1 1/2 teaspoon finely minced shallots
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
small pinch of freshly ground white pepper, or to taste (do not skip)

Sweet Red Onion Creme Fraiche

1 tablespoon finely minced red onions
1/2 cup crème fraiche
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
freshly ground white pepper to taste
24 chive tips (about 1 inch long)


For the Cornets:
Thomas Keller's instructions:
In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth and mayonnaise-like in texture. Using a stiff spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps. Transfer the batter to a smaller container, as it will be easier to work with.

What I did:
Put everything in a small food processor and pulse until combined. Works just fine. I saw him do this on TV in some random clip he did before he reached his current fame.

And then:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make a 4-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan). Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even layer over the stencil. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. After baking the first batch of cornets, you will be able to judge the correct thickness. You may need a little more or less batter to adjust the thickness of the cornets.

About the stencil:
I just used an old folder and traced circles on it. I cut out the circles and taped up the sides.

There should not be any holes in the batter. Lift the stencil and repeat the process to make as many rounds as you have molds or to fill the Silpat, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the cornets. Sprinkle each cornet with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

Place the Silpat on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the batter is set and you see it rippling from the heat. The cornets may have browned in some areas, but they will not be evenly browned at this point.

If you are ambitious and want to make them into cornets (cones), follow these instructions:
Open the oven door and place the baking sheet on the door. This will help keep the cornets warm as you roll them and prevent them from becoming too stiff to roll. Flip a cornet over on the sheet pan, sesame seed side down and place 4-1/2 inch cornet mold at the bottom of the round. If you are right-handed, you will want the pointed end on your left and the open end on your right. The tip of the mold should touch the lower left edge (at about 7 o'clock on a clock face) of the cornet.

Fold the bottom of the cornet and around the mold; it should remain on the sheet pan as you roll. Leave the cornet wrapped around the mold and continue to roll the cornets around molds; as you proceed, arrange the rolled cornets, seams side down, on the sheet pan so they lean against each other, to prevent from rolling.

When all the cornets are rolled, return them to the oven shelf, close the door, and bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes to set the seams and color the cornets a golden brown. If the color is uneven, stand the cornets on end for a minute or so more, until the color is even. Remove the cornets from the oven and allow to cool just slightly, 30 seconds or so.

Gently remove the cornets from the molds and cool for several minutes on paper towels.

If you're not making cornets and you decided to make them into crackers like I did, just bake for about 6-8 minutes until golden brown, remove the batch onto a cookie rack. It will look kind of like this, not really pretty but it doesn't matter because the salmon will cover it up:



Then continue here:
Remove the Silpat from the baking sheet, wipe the excess butter from it, and allow it to cool down before spreading the next batch. Store the cornets for up to 2 days (for maximum flavor) in an airtight container.

For Salmon Tartare:
With a sharp knife, finely mince the salmon fillet (do not use a food processor, as it would damage the texture of the fish) and place it in a small bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the tartare for at least 30 minutes, or up to 12 hours.

For Sweet Red Onion Crème Fraiche:
Place the red onions in a small strainer and rinse them under cold water for several seconds. (Because I don't like onions, I actually soaked them in ice water for about two hours). Dry them on paper towels. In a small metal bowl, whisk the crème fraiche for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until it holds soft peaks when you lift the whisk. Fold in the chopped onions and season to taste with the salt and white pepper. Transfer the onion cream to a container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve of for up to 6 hours.

To Complete:
If you made the fancy cornets:
Fill just the top 1/2 inch of each cornet with onion cream, leaving the bottom of the cone empty. (This is easily done using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip or with the tip of a small knife.) Spoon about 1-1/2 teaspoons of the tartare over the onion cream and mold it into a dome resembling a scoop of ice cream. Lay a chive tip against one side of the tartare to garnish.

If you made the crackers like me:
Top each cracker with 1.5 teaspoons of the tartare, top with onion cream, lay a chive tip on the onion cream.

A closeup:


Eat immediately!

Lemon Squares by America's Best Test Kitchen

America's Best Test Kitchen is one of my trusted kitchen bibles. Just about every recipe I've tried there has worked out well, probably because the recipes have gone through so much testing!

My new favorite is their lemon squares. The lemon part is really custardy, and the crust is super easy to make. The only thing is that it is a bit tricky to build up the crust since it is so dry and crumbly when you blend it in the food processor (I have also tried the alternative method of grating frozen butter into the dry ingredients. Works wonderfully. Genius, really).

Ingredients
The Crust

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter -- (1 1/2 sticks) at
very cool room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces, plus extra for greasing pan

The Filling
4 large eggs — beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons finely grated zest — (from two large
lemons)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice — (from 3 to 4 large
lemons), strained
1/3 cup whole milk
1/8 teaspoon salt


Directions

1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and line with one sheet parchment or wax paper. Dot paper with butter, then lay second sheet crosswise over it.

2. Pulse flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor workbowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1-second bursts. Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into even, 1/4-inch layer over entire pan bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. (I had to bake for an additional 10 minutes to make sure the crust is really golden brown. Otherwise it will taste raw).

(If you do not have a food processor, combine the dry ingredients in a big bowl, grate frozen butter over the large hole setting of your grater over the dry ingredients, toss to combine with your fingers)

3. For the filling: Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar, and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon juice, zest, milk, and salt to blend well.

4. To finish the bars: Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to reblend; pour into warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Transfer to cutting board, fold paper down, and cut into serving-size bars, wiping knife or pizza cutter clean between cuts, as necessary. Sieve confectioners’ sugar over bars, if desired.

This is pretty good at room temperature and some say even better chilled!

Jambalaya by Tom!

We're really lucky to have a guest chef on Our Family Kitchen - Aaron's pops, Tom! The other day I was in the mood for something from the South and knew that the only person I should ask for a recipe was Tom.

For my first foray into Southern cooking, Tom suggested that I make a jambalaya. His recipe makes for a lot, and at first I was a little puzzled by the steps that were unfamiliar to me (cooking the shrimp in the rice? stewing the sauce for an hour? The enormous amount of onions used?). Well I should have known to never doubt Tom's recipe! I made the dish exactly as prescribed and it was just perfect. Here it goes:

Jambalaya by Tom (with my notes)

Ingredients

3 large onion, chopped

2 bell peppers, chopped

1 cup of oil

1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce

1 6-ounce can of tomato paste

1/2 cup of chopped green onion tops

1/2 cup of chpped parsley

2 cloves of garlic, minced

6 cups of water

5 teaspoons of salt

black pepper and cayenne pepper to your taste (remember you want it to be a little tingly, but not burning hot)

2 bay leaves

4 cups of raw rice (I used Basmati rice)

2 pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp (use 2 lb if you are only using shrimp. For mine I use 1 lb shrimp, 1 lb chicken, 1.5 lb andouille sausage)

Steps:

1. Saute onions and bell pepper in oil over low heat until onions are transparent; add tomato sauce and tomato paste and cook on low heat for one hour.

(Meanwhile I marinated 1 lb chicken thigh pieces in lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I browned the chicken pieces. I also browned the andouille sausage and sliced them)

2. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and bring to a boil; pour into a greased baking dish, cover and bake at 300 degrees F for one hour or until rice is cooked

3. The final product should not be wet; more of the consistency of mashed potatoes, if you get my drift.

4. If you're into white whines, a good Italian Orvietto goes well, but you can also serve it with hearty red wines (a good petite syrah like Spellbound is a good compliment).

5. Serve with a nice green salad, balsamic vinegrette dressing

Aaron Cooked for Me!

For my birthday this year, Aaron cooked dinner for me for the first time! It was very exciting! Here are the dishes he made:


Stuffed Mushrooms, Baby!


















Ingredients:

1 box of white button mushrooms
1/2 lb hot pork sausage
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces of cream cheese
1 whole egg yolk
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cups dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste


Preparations Instructions:

Preset oven to 350 degrees
Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on plate to cool.
Add onions and garlic to the same skillet, cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat.
Pour in wine to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate.
Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool.
In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese.
Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up.
Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving; the stuffed mushrooms taste better when not piping hot.



Spicey Orange Garlic Shrimp


















Ingredients:

2 dozen 26-30 per pound deveined shrimp
3/4 cup orange juice
2-4 cloves of garlic
3 tbsp regular salted butter
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

Instructions:

Thaw and peel the shrimp. Dry the peeled shrimp by draining them on a paper towel.

Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Add the garlic to 3/4 cup of orange juice. Use a nice high quality O.J. Measure out and add all of the spices to the orance juice as well.

In a large skillet over high heat melt 2 tbsp butter. Once butter has melted add your shrimp. Cook them for about 30-60 seconds and begin flipping them over starting with the ones you placed in the pan first so they don't get overdone. Cook for another 30-60 seconds. Remove the cooked shrimp from the pan, leaving the heat on high.

Once the butter and drippings begin to smoke ever so slightly add the spicy orange galic mixture to the pan and give it a good stir. Add the last tablespoon of butter to the sauce and after a few minutes of cooking and occasional stirring your sauce should be slightly thicker.

Return the shrimp to the pan and give them a nice toss to coat them in the sauce.

Fish Tacos!

Yesterday Javier, Eduardo, Aaron, and I got together for dinner. We made a very summer appropriate meal of fish tacos, chips and salsa, and mojitos! I wanted to share the fish taco recipe because it is so easy and healthy:

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup corn 1/2 cup diced red onion 1 cup peeled, chopped jicama 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped 1 lime, zested and juiced 2 tablespoons sour cream (I subbed mayo for sour cream because I don't like sour cream)

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 2 tablespoons salt (Dad you can eliminate this for your diet) 6 (4 ounce) fillets tilapia 2 tablespoons olive oil 12 corn or wheat tortillas, warmed

Instructions:

1. Preheat grill for high heat. (Javier doesn't have a grill, so preheated the oven to 350 degrees)

2. In a medium bowl, mix together corn, red onion, jicama, red bell pepper, and cilantro. Stir in lime juice and zest.

3. In a small bowl, combine cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, and salt. Brush each fillet with olive oil, and sprinkle with spices.

4. Arrange fillets on grill grate, and cook for 3 minutes per side. (Oven instructions: pop the fish into the oven for 5 minutes on each side. If you like the grill affect, you can broil it on high for 1 minute each side.) For each fiery fish taco, top two corn tortillas with fish, sour cream, and corn salsa.

Fish Roe Fried Rice!

Ingredients:

2 cups of white rice

2 eggs

2 filets of tilapia

kosher salt

black pepper

white pepper

cornstarch

1 small box of sweet fish roe

olive oil

Steam rice in rice cooker or cook over stove. Heat a little bit of oil on the wok on high heat until hot. Put in rice and spread in thin layer. leave foor 3 minutes. flip the rice and leave for another 3 minutes. Take out rice and put in a big bowl.

Cut up tilapia into bite size pieces. In a bowl, mix cornstarch, kosher salt, white and black pepper together. Coat tilapia with this mixture. Put in a good bit of oil in the wok and heat on medium high heat. Drop the tilapia pieces into the wok. Pan fry until golden brown. Take out and drain onto some paper towels.

Scramble two eggs and half the fish roe in a bowl. Heat up wok with a bit more oil. Put the egg mixture in. When the bottom of the egg hardens a little bit, put in the rice. Stir it all up! Add a bit more salt. Now put the fish back in and stir it all up for 5 minutes.

Put the entire fried rice back into the big bowl and make a small well in the middle. Put the remaining roe into the wok and fry until cooked. Put all roe into the well.

Easy peasy!

Cauliflower Bread Thingy from Italy!

Remember this post?Well I finally decided to make it!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 quart half-and-half
1 head cauliflower (2 pounds), cut into 1-inch-wide florets
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
3 ciabatta rolls
small bit of butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring half-and-half with cauliflower, covered directly with a round of parchment paper, just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer cauliflower with a slotted spoon to a blender and blend with 1/4 cup cooking liquid until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids), then add salt and pepper. Reheat over low heat, stirring occasionally for 4 minutes.
Slice the ciabatta in half like you would an English muffin. Butter the insides of each piece. Set on a cookie sheet. Stick in the oven on high broil until the top is golden. Take out of oven, spoon puree over the ciabatta. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over puree. Put back in oven and set broil to high. Take out when golden and toasty!

Blue was very helpful in waiting with me right by the oven!

Indian Grilled Chicken Marinated in Milk & Yogurt

This was a contest winner! Not by me, of course, but still, a winner!
All pictures courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.

You can take out the salt and pepper and it would be very healthy. You can even eliminate the milk, Nandita says, but it's 2% so that shouldn't be a big deal. Yogurt is so good for you. Also, if you think grilling outside is unhealthy (mom and dad) you can make this in the oven.

Recipe once again from the Pioneer Woman. Go here for more pics!


Indian Grilled Chicken Marinated in Milk/yogurt

Chicken pieces (whatever kind your family eats)- must have the bone and skin still on.
Plain yogurt
2% Milk
Garam Masala spice
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Marinate chicken OVERNIGHT in a mixture of all ingredients.

Heat grill to around 300-400 degrees.
Place chicken skin down on grill and bake for until internal temp is 140.
Flip chicken over and continue to bake until chicken has reached 165 F for at least 4 minutes.
Remove from grill and let it “rest” for at least 3 minutes.

Let me know how it turns out! I made it today with jsut some chicken thighs and it was deLIcious!

Summer Tomato Pasta Salad

Here is a salad you can do totally without sodium, just take out the parmesan cheese and olives. You can substitute small cubes of mozzarella cheese, but really, you don't even need it! It is delicious on its own!
Recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Go there for lots and lots of more mouth-watering pictures!
All pictures courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.


Sundried Tomato Pasta Salad
adapted from Ina Garten

Dressing (makes more than enough; spoon leftovers over a block of cream cheese and serve with crackers)
1 7-oz jar sundried tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
pepper

Salad
16 ounces corkscrew pasta
1 jar Kalamata or assorted olives
1 pint rip cherry tomatoes, halved
Several (10 to 15) basil leaves, chopped or julienne
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare dressing by blending sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar until tomatoes are chopped. Blend while drizzling in olive oil; continue blending until mixed together.
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water until no longer hot. Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta, add olives, and toss together. Add remaining ingredients, tossing together and adding more dressing until the salad is coated to your liking. Serve on a big platter with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Hollow stem vegetables with fermented tofu

This is a very basic recipe, but to do it well, it has to be done right. Combined with my parents' and relatives' secrets, and my own experiments, here is what I've found works best.
Ingredients:

1 bunch of hollow stemmed vegetable (sometimes called Chinese water spinach or Ong-Choy) Make sure the bunch is very fresh, with no wilted leaves.
4–5 cubes of fermented tofu (see pic below):

(Made in Taiwan. See?)
5 tbs olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
salt
white pepper
a small sprinkle of Hondashi:Separate the stems from the leaves. Cut the stems into 1 inch sections. Soak stems and leaves in two different bowls for 1 hour. Wash and strain both, then pat dry with paper towels.

Mash and cut garlic into chunks. Heat the olive oil in a wok, and throw in the garlic until the oil is very very hot, but make sure to not burn the garlic. Throw in the stems. Stir and coat the stems in the oil. Cook for 3 minutes until the stems turn a bright green color. Add 2 cubes of the fermented tofu and stir until veggies are coated in deliciousness.

Throw in the leaves and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add remaining fermented tofu. Stir until everything is fully coated. Just before you take it out of the wok, add salt, white pepper, and hondashi. Stir to fully flavor.

SO DELICIOUS!!

Baby octopus and tomatos stir fry, Taiwanese style

Ingredients:
1.5 lb baby octopus or squid
2 tbs sesame oil
cornstarch
salt
white pepper
A LOT of freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, mashed and cut into chunks

1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbs sugar
3 tbs olive oil
1 medium tomato, cut in half then sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 tsp chili pepper flakes

Massage salt, black and white pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar into baby octopus. Let it marinade for 30 minutes. Heat up oil in wok and throw in garlic until it sizzles. Next throw in the tomatoes and chili pepper flakes. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Coat marinaded octopus with cornstarch, and throw it in the wok. Stir fry for 8-10 minutes. Serve over rice, with a side dish of hollow vegetables with fermented bean curd (recipe to come!).

Zucchini and Squash Fritteres

These are so good and easy to make. Use a large grater to grate one squash and one zucchini. Coat lightly in flour. Add one egg (or egg white if you want to be healthy) and mix it all up. Add salt and pepper, and any spice you wish to taste. Heat up olive oil and pan fry, about 3-4 minutes each side until golden crispy. Thanks to Nicole for this recipe!

All Season Bean Salad

Julia Child's recipe, with some modifications from yours truly.

Beans take well to salad dressings, herbs, peppers, onions, and garlic, but be sure to warm the beans before dressing them so they will absorb these added flavors.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups of warm home-cooked beans, or canned beans such as cannellini (I used edamame beans, white corn (both frozen), and canned navy beans.)

3 Tbs finely minced onions or scallions

1 large clove of garlic, puréed and then mashed with 1/4 teaspoon salt

Half of a large lemon

2 Tbs or so good olive oil or salad oil
Herbs, such as fresh or dried thyme, oregano, and sage (I used sage. It's important to use fresh herbs in this recipe. Makes a world of difference.)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Additional elements, such as one or a combination of: strips of red or green bell pepper or pimiento; hard-boiled eggs; rounds of red onion; sardines, tuna, and/or salami; spinach leaves or salad greens (I used bits of pancetta to make it a full meal!)

Preparation:
Flavoring the beans. Toss the warm beans in a big bowl with the onions or scallions, garlic, several tablespoons of oil, herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing several times, and correcting the seasoning.

Serving. Build an elaborate composition with eggs, sardines, and so forth, or use a simple decoration of spinach leaves, strips of red pepper or pimiento, and onion rings. I used pancetta and it was delicious! I served this on the side of zuchinni and squash fritters (recipe to come!)