I had intended to write about how to make Squash Latkes/Fritters/Pancakes today.
I spent Sunday grating and pressing and drying squash. I collected fresh thyme and chives from the garden and mixed batter on Monday.
Clay painstakingly formed the patties, stuffed with excellent goat cheese. We set up the electric griddle in order to cook the batch uniformly (and quickly).
And wow, were they terrible.
- I grated the squash too coarsely, so couldn’t get a crisp cook all the way through.
- The batter – with its specific ratios of flour, egg, leavening, and seasoning to squash – was too thin to form a nice crust around the vegetables.
- They were blander than bland, and I like squash!
Dinner at the Country House 
Once upon a time, the gas in our building was out for ten months. I missed baking, and when our gas was restored, I said I would make something with what I had in the house. I preheated the oven and put together a new recipe, a spicy sugar cookie with black pepper, cayenne and lime zest. The batter felt great and tasted fantastic. I put them on the cookie sheet, set the timer, waited, then opened the oven… to discover that the last time we had used the oven, it had been set to broil. I’ve never tried the recipe again in protest.
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Oh my word – this makes me feel so awful for you! And so grateful that the broiler setting on our oven is part of the main temperature control, since I can absolutely see myself making this mistake.
(Next time you come to visit, I’ll try to make a glaze with those flavors, for a pound cake, and see if we can replace some of the negative connotations!)
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