5 Summerfest Inspired Recipes

Great music isn’t the only thing to enjoy at Summerfest. Now you can recreate some recipes from your favorite fest vendors. We've reached out to our Summerfest food vendors for recipes to share. Whether you're using one of these recipes below or experimenting with your own - don't forget to tag @summerfest when you share on social. We want to see what you've created even if it’s just putting some chives on those fries. Crank up the volume on your favorite playlist and get cooking!

Mille's Baked Sausage Casserole

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 8-10 Mille's Italian Sausage links
• 1lb. pasta of choice
• 1 large bottle of spaghetti sauce
• 16oz package shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2c Parmesan cheese
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 medium onion
• Vegetable oil to sauté green pepper and onion

Instructions: Cook Italian Sausage and then cut into chunks. Cook pasta and drain well. Slice green pepper in thin strips and sauté. Cut the onion in half and slice lengthwise in 1/4in strips and sauté. Cover bottom of 9x13in glass casserole dish with sauce. Spread pasta over sauce. Place sausage on top of pasta, followed by green pepper and onion. Cover the remainder of sauce and top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees approximately 25-30 minutes until hot and cheese has melted.

Fazio's Festival Kettle Corn at Home

Ingredients: 

• 1/4c vegetable oil
• 1/3c white sugar or brown sugar*
• 1/2c unpopped kernels

* if you use white sugar, it will taste like a popcorn ball. If you use brown sugar, it will taste like caramel corn.

Instructions: Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. An important tip is to drop in just a few kernels into the oil as soon as you turn on the heat. As soon as those kernels pop, you know the oil is at the right temperature. Then it's time to add all the kernels and the sugar. Shake the pan constantly. Approximately every 10 seconds, pick up the pot and shake it really hard then return to heat. Repeat this over and over until the popping noises slow. Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps OR lay popcorn on a baking sheet with parchment paper and break up large clumps. Sprinkle warm popcorn with salt and allow it to cool.

Pitch's/Miss Katie's Diner Tuna Melt (from Irene Cawthon, Miss Katie's chef for over 28 years)

Serves: 4-6 sandwiches depending on bread size

Ingredients:

• (2) six oz cans of chicken of the sea white tuna in water (drained well and flaked)
• 1 tablespoon each of red onion, celery, green and red pepper diced
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/2c mayonnaise
• 1/4 lemon juice squeezed
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• tt salt and white pepper
• vegetable oil to grill or fry sandwiches
• 8-12 pieces whole wheat 
• 8-12 pieces of Wisconsin cheddar cheese sliced

Instructions: Preferred to mix ingredients and sit overnight. Grill the Whole wheat bread with vegetable oil and Wisconsin Cheddar. To assemble, put a small amount of vegetable oil in a large frying pan or griddle to heat. For each sandwich, place cheddar cheese and a portion of filling on each piece of whole wheat and fry or grill open-faced for 3-5 minutes. Close sandwich and continue to grill or fry until cheese melts. Remove from heat, slice and serve. 

Pitch's/Miss Katie's Diner Beer Batter Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Serves: 6-8 appetizer servings

Ingredients for Chicken Strips:

• 12oz Blatz beer
• 2 eggs
• dash of salt
• 1 1/2c flour
• 2 drops egg-shade food color
• honey mustard dipping sauce (recipe below)
• 1lb chicken breast tenders
• vegetable oil for frying

Instructions: Combine beer, eggs, and salt in a bowl. Stir in flour, adding additional flour if needed. The batter should be the consistency of a thin cake batter. Add food color. Refrigerate batter 1-2 hours. Prepare honey mustard dipping sauce (recipe below). When ready to cook, preheat 1 1/2 to 2 inches oil in a deep pot or deep-fat fryer to 350 degrees. Remove batter from refrigerator and stir well. Coach chicken strips in batter, then gently set in oil with tongs so strips float. Do not immerse in oil. Fry chicken, turning once, until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side. Serve with honey mustard sauce. If there is additional batter left over, it may be kept refrigerated and reused within 4-5 days. 

Ingredients for Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce:

Serves: 1 1/4c of dipping sauce

• 1/4c Grey Poupon Dijon-style mustard
• 3/4c honey
• 1/4c Hellmann's mayonnaise

Instructions: Combine honey and mustard in a bowl. Using an electric mixture, mix on low speed, scraping bowl twice, until incorporated (about 5 minutes). Add mayonnaise and beat on low speed until mixture is of a dipping consistency and turns a light honey color. Dipping sauce keeps 2 weeks in the refrigerator. 

Pitch's/Miss Katie's Dinner Italian Style Red Potato Salad

Salad Ingredients:

• 1lb baby red potatoes (boiled in saltwater)
• 1/4lb green string beans (blanched in oil and saltwater)
• 10 radishes sliced
• 3 stalks celery peeled and chopped
• 1 bulb fennel sliced
• 1/2 red onion sliced thin
• 1/2 green onion sliced thin

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1c olive oil
• 1/4c white balsamic vinegar
• fresh parsley chopped 
• dried oregano
• fresh basil chopped
• salt and pepper

Instructions: Prepare the dressing by mixing ingredients together. Let it sit for one hour. Taste and adjust seasonings. Mix salad ingredients well. Add homemade dressing and let sit overnight. Refresh by shirring before serving.