Hot days and long summer nights are here! We will get down to business this week with my delicious fried squash recipe! And I definitely cannot enjoy fresh fried squash from the garden without my own unique dipping sauce! This is heaven on a plate, readers! Second, a recipe that uses your freshly canned tomatoes—no meat in this one—so it’s quite simple to prepare, but very, very rich! And my final recipe is my own recipe for an orange-based cake that is out of this world. It’s called Sunkist Cake, and it has a hint of orange and a sweet lemon taste that will send your taste buds into oblivion! Enjoy, readers!
Brock’s Fresh Fried Squash
Note: Of course, nothing beats fresh squash from the garden, but if you don’t have it, you can just purchase some in the grocery store or at a fresh farmer’s market and fry these babies up like you would homemade french fries! I love fried squash! It’s one of my favorite foods!
6-7 large yellow squash
Cold buttermilk
2 tsp. lemon pepper
All-purpose flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola or vegetable oil
Wash and clean off squash. Squash from the garden are the best. Cut ends off squash. Cut squash lengthwise as you would french fries. Pour buttermilk over squash, and allow squash to soak in cold buttermilk for about 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon pepper. Mix around squash with hands to coat squash in buttermilk and lemon pepper before drenching in flour. Prepare oil for frying. Drench squash in flour until well-coated. Drop prepared squash in hot oil. Do not stir around until squash start to fry nicely. Fry squash until golden brown. Season with lots of salt and a small amount of pepper. This goes very nicely with a dipping sauce, which I have included next.
Dipping Sauce for Fried Squash
Note: This is my favorite sauce for just about anything fried! I whip up a large batch and store it in a plastic container in the refrigerator anytime we have fried squash, homemade french fries, fried green tomatoes or hush puppies! It’s smooth, tangy and VERY good!!!
1 cup mayonnaise (Blue Plate is preferred)
1 Tbsp. Heinz ketchup
1 Tbsp. mustard
Dash freshly ground black pepper
Half tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all together very well with a fork or spoon until smooth and store in a closed plastic container in refrigerator until ready to use.
Deep South Cheesy Fiesta Tomato Casserole
Note: Since tomatoes are widely consumed in the southern part of the United States during the hottest months of the year, I have chosen a fabulous recipe that actually has no meat in it. It’s a very easy casserole to prepare, and it shows its Mexican side just a bit! It uses canned tomatoes (freshly canned are the best) and lots and lots of cheese. This is a fabulous one to try!
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
1 stick butter
16 oz. canned tomatoes (fresh are best)
1 pkg. Mexican style Sloppy Joe seasoning mix
1 small can green chilies, drained and chopped
12 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 cup nacho cheese Doritos, crumbled (not crushed)
6 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Topping: 1 cup nacho cheese Doritos, crumbled (not crushed)
Sauté onion in butter, and then add tomatoes, seasoning mix and green chilies. Simmer, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes. Do not burn mixture. In a greased 13x9x2 casserole dish, layer ingredients in the following order: half of sautéed mixture, one cup crumbled Doritos (do not crush but break into pieces), cheddar cheese, remaining sautéed mixture, Monterey Jack cheese. Evenly spread cup of sour cream over casserole. Sprinkle another cup of cheddar cheese over sour cream. Evenly top with another cup of Doritos. Bake at 325 degrees lightly covered with foil for about 40 minutes until topping is golden brown and casserole is hot and bubbly.
Brock’s Sunkist Cake
Note: I tell you this was totally a cake that I invented. There must have been a “food” spirit in the air telling me to use orange Sunkist soda in a lemon cake mix instead of water. Well, I did, and a delicious cake was born. This cake is delicious, readers!
1 Duncan Hines orange supreme cake mix
3 extra large eggs
One and one third cups Sunkist soda (orange)
One third cup oil
1 reg. box orange Jell-O (not pudding)
Put all ingredients into mixing bowl and mix with electric mixer on medium high speed for about 3-4 minutes. Pour into a well-greased and floured Bundt cake pan. Use Crisco shortening to grease and self-rising flour to flour the pan. Bake for about 37-40 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven to cool and turn out on to a cake plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Editor’s Note: Brock Wetherly Rogers is an educator, food writer, an overseas traveler, musician, and culinary and pastry arts specialist. Please e-mail him with comments at brockrogers1@gmail.com.
