Fried Cheese-Stuffed Squash Blossoms

For a special summer meal, offer this opener of bright squash blossoms plumped with herbed ricotta and pine-nut kernels, then fried in a light batter. Although it is possible to hold the flowers in a warm oven for a short period after frying, they are at their best fresh from the pan; so you might plan to serve them casually, as they are completed, while your guests have a drink.