Zucchini Appetizer (“From the Kitchen of Sandy”)

This is a timeless recipe. It has been in my family for nearly 50 years. In the beginning, this dish was always present at our family bridal and baby showers ( actually, we only started having baby showers recently as Italians didn’t believe in them, and probably still don’t , but we changed with the new generations). Then all the new brides and mothers-to-be would request a copy of the recipe, and it soon became an hors d’oeuvres favorite at dinner parties. This recipe continues to be distributed any time it is served, and has expanded its reach to hundreds of friends and family. I just served it the other night, and I couldn’t believe that everyone wanted the recipe, especially once they knew how easy it is to make.

My first memory of this scrumptious dish was at my own bridal shower in 1973. My cousin Sandy made it, and she was kind enough to give me the recipe on that very date. I still have the original recipe card she gave me on that day, as you will see. As a bride-to-be (and later as a new bride), Sandy was my “Martha Stewart.” She was my role model in so many ways, but especially in the kitchen and entertaining. I was in awe of her when she was a new bride, 9 years before I married. All her recipes seemed so chic and modern to me. I loved to watch her prepare her home for dinner parties as she always made it look so elegant. While I loved everything my mom cooked, Sandy’s cooking was new and exciting. The recipes that she and her girlfriends shared, were fancy hors d’oeurvres and some of the best (and sophisticated) desserts I have ever eaten. Not that there is anything wrong with the old traditional Italian recipes, but when I first started out in my own kitchen, I wanted to be a “modern wife,” with culinary sophistication. I’m not sure if I achieved this, but I really tried, and Sandy was my inspiration.

My recipe collection is full of recipes “from the kitchen of Sandy, ” and I have made them all many times over the years. However, this “Zucchini Appetizer” is everyone’s all time favorite. I hadn’t made it in a very long time, as this has become a signature dish for my daughter, Beth. She has taken over as the master of this recipe and makes it often. As a young girl she always requested that I make it for any gathering at all. Once she had a kitchen of her own, you were sure to see this appetizer at all her parties, and even at brunch (she stepped outside the box there, but what a great idea). You can see what I mean by “timeless,” can’t you? I expect to see this recipe circulating for many decades to come.

RECIPE: makes 2 dozen nice size squares, but you can make them much smaller and will double the recipe, but they will be more like “bites.”

3 cups thinly sliced unpeeled zucchini (can grate instead of slicing, but I prefer it sliced.)

1 Cup Bisquick

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

2 TBSP snipped parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano ( I use a pinch more)

dash of pepper

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, slightly beaten