For the love of squash blossoms!

Seven to eight years ago, I couldn't find my way around a kitchen. In fact, one of my very first gifts from my boyfriend (now husband) on Valentine's Day was a chef knife. Apparently it was a challenge to chop vegetables or other items with a butter knife (who knew?)! 

Suffice to say my husband did all the cooking for the first 4 years of our marriage. His travel schedule (nearly every Monday-Thursday) put a kink in that equation. I couldn't possibly raise a healthy daughter by grazing the kitchen for whatever I could find. So, I put on my apron, sharpened my chef knife and starting making magic in the kitchen.

As you can imagine, many meals ended up in the trash. I know my husband was way more supportive than he needed to be - suffering his way - bite after bite with one of my culinary masterpieces (aka disasters).  He never complained, made subtle suggestions, and came up with a great restaurant we could go to instead (as I scraped the food into the trash bin). 

Being the type of person I am, I loved the challenge of mastering the kitchen.  And four years later - I do all the cooking, I make homemade ice cream and can bake!  Ta-dah! 

I love exploring in the kitchen, trying new things and replicating some of my favorite dishes enjoyed at dining establishments (my honey walnut shrimp is near perfection) .

Do not be shocked if I wake up one morning with the desire (and drive) to go to culinary school! 

I am always asked to share my recipe.  So, in addition to my event planning madness theme, I am going to use this very platform to share these recipes with you.  Since my only followers (at this point) are friends and loved one's - it gives me great joy to share some of these adventures with them.

My first recipe to share:

Battered Squash Blossoms
I will not take any credit for this one.  I will give all the credit to my lovely Joseph Candeloro!  I was staying at his home in San Fransisco for the weekend (work activities) and we were too tired (and lazy) to go out and grab a bite after a long day. He is quite talented in the kitchen - and is Italian.  Um, helloooo!  He opened the fridge and pulled out this box of beautiful flowers.  I had never heard of eating squash blossoms.  A common dish in Italy, Fiori di Zucca, I was sold.  He whipped up a batter....deep fried these heavenly blossoms and served them with mozzarella di bufala.

 Hook.  Line.  Sinker!  I was on a mission (with success) to find my own oasis of squash blossoms! 

I went to the Sacramento Farmer's Market and under the bridge I found them!  First table!  Hallelujah! 

I brought them home and was a little overwhelmed with the cleaning process. It wasn't just a matter of cleaning them, I had to evict various leggy creatures from their home.  I don't do crawly things very well.  Once cleaned and trimmed I was ready. 

The Batter.
Easy.  Flour, water, seltzer, and salt.  That is it!  I am not going to give you specific measurements because I don't know what they are.  I simply took a two cups of flour and added a little bit of water and a lot of seltzer to get a thin consistency.  The carbonation in the seltzer (I learned from Joseph) allows the batter to be light and fluffy. 

The Goods.
I filled a large pan with oil and brought it to a high temperature. I then dipped each blossom into the batter and cooked it until golden in the hot oil. 

Once fried, I drained them on paper towels and served them warm! 

My 10 month old - LOVED IT.
My 5 year old - LOVED IT.
My non veggie eating husband - LOVED IT. 

Needless to say we will be eating a lot of squash blossoms while they are in season (limited time). 

There are many recipes out there on the various ways they can be enjoyed.  This weekend I am going to make a ricotta mixture with fresh herbs and stuff the blossoms with it.  I promise to let you know how it turns out.