Runaway Birds

Another delicious dish I learned in Italy. The sage leaves make the chicken look like it has wings and might run away!

6 chicken breasts halves, pounded thin

6 slices prosciutto

6 slices pecorino cheese

6 slices pancetta

18 sage leaves

2 large, thin scrambled egg omelets cut in 6 pieces

2 T butter

3 T oil

String

Layer the following on top of the chicken breast:

Sage leaf

Piece of omelet

Slice of prosciutto

Slice of cheese

Roll up and wrap with a slice of pancetta.

Tie with string, tucking another sage leaf on each side of the rolled up bird.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet and fry birds until cooked through. The outside should be a deep brown and crispy.

To serve, remove the string and cut in half.

Salmon Cakes

I'm a huge fan of crab cakes -- what Maryland-born woman wouldn't be -- but I decided to give salmon cakes a try. They will never replace crab cakes but I am very happy with them as an alternative when crabs are scarce.


I served this batch of salmon cakes with remoulade and a spinach salad of pine nuts, black olives, orzo, and radicchio. 

Salmon Cakes


1/2 lb fresh salmon
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1 T mayo
Squirt of Dijon mustard
A handful of plain breadcrumbs
1 t capers
Dash of Worcestershire
A couple shakes of Texas Pete's hot sauce (Tabasco is fine)
Your favorite chopped herbs - I used tarragon and chives
Pulse salmon in food processor until chopped
Combine the remaining ingredients and stir.
Add chopped salmon.
Shape into cakes.
Heat a pan and add vegetable oil.
When hot, saute cakes until brown.

Confetti Muffins

The abundance of summer veggies has me racing for creative uses before they go bad. These muffins were inspired by the mountain of zucchini and yellow squash in the CSA basket today.

Fruit/veggie mix:
In a medium bowl, shred one medium zucchini and one medium yellow squash. Add a handful of shredded carrots. Toss in 1/3 can crushed pineapple, one peach, some golden raisins, and dried cranberries.

Wet ingredients:
In a large bowl combine a stick of butter, 1/4 cup veg oil, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Beat well.

Dry ingredients:
In a medium bowl, combine 3 cups flour, 3/4 T baking powder, 3/4 T baking soda, 1 t salt.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a little at a time.

Fold in fruit/veggie mix.

Pour into greased or lined muffin tins and/or loaf pans. I made 12 muffins and 1 loaf from this.

Squash Blossoms, part two ... and three ...

Yum. This time, I stuffed the blossoms with ricotta, parmesean, an egg, a little flour, and salt and pepper.

I poached them in 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken broth for about 6 minutes. Water only is fine.

While they are poaching, heat butter in a small pan and add fresh sage leaves.

When the blossoms are done, remove to a plate and top with sage butter.

part three ...

Made these again but this time before topping with sage butter, I fried them quickly to a crispy, golden brown. Then topped with sage butter ... heaven.