More Kilted Kitchen and more Stuffed Stuff

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I like stuffing things.  Except poultry.  Next week you'll hear about Thanksgiving my way, and not stuffing turkeys (or chickens for that matter.

To start things off this week, here are some more things you'll find in the Kilted Kitchen:

Kitchen Sauces & other liquid flavorings

Liquid Smoke                                              Toasted Sesame Oil

Red & White Wine Vinegar                   White Balsamic Glaze

Soy Sauce (low sodium)                          Hoisin Sauce

Worchestershire                                        Romesco

Salsa Aperitivo                                            Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Sweet Baby Ray's Chipotle or original BBQ Sauce

Tapatio(tm), Tabasco(tm) or Sriracha Hot Sauce

There are lots of other ethnic specific sauces that come and go in my kitchen too.  Things like Aji Amarillo yellow pepper sauce from Peru, salty-sour Nuoc cham or Nam pla fish Sauce from Southeast Asia, Costa Rican Lizano (used on everything, like ketchup), Catalonia xató,  Bajan seasoning and Bajan Pepper sauce, and many, many more.

Stuffed Aubergine

Even eggplant haters love this dish! I've made this with a wide range of additions to the eggplant flesh, but this version was pretty darn good!

1 large Aubergine

1 can Tuna, drained

1 large stick Celery

1/2 can Diced Tomatoes, drained

1/2 Sweet Onion, diced

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 tsp Everglades Seasoning, to taste

3 oz mixed shredded Cheese

Halve the eggplant and hollow it out as shown in the photo, leaving about 1/4" around the edges:

 Set aside. 

 Chop the removed flesh and begin sauteeing it with some olive oil while you chop the other ingredients. Add 1/2 cup of water, and the onion and celery in turn. Cook for a few minutes until the onion starts to turn translucent. Then add the tomato, tuna and spice. Continue cooking until the eggplant is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.  Add the bread crumbs to tighten up the blend.

Over stuff the hollow eggplants with the mixture, top with shredded cheese, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes until the cheese is melty and browning.

Pilaf Stuffed Patty Pan

Of course this recipe will work with the more common, smaller patty pans; it will be just a bit more fiddley to assemble..

1 Giant Patty pan Squash (7-8" diameter).

1-2 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine)

1/2 to 1 cup 'pilaf' ingredients - cooked mushrooms, bell peppers, squash meat, spices, etc.

Slice the stem end top off the squash. Scoop out the seedy bits. Bake 10-30 minutes, cut side down so juices will drain, until tender but not soft. Alternatively, microwave a couple minutes to get to the same condition. Combine the cooked rice and and pilaf, and over-stuff the squash. Top with cheese or breadcrumbs if you wish. Bake the stuffed squash for abut 30 minutes until the squash is tender. Like zucchini and Italian yellow squash, you eat the skin of the patty pan along with the meat.

Slice into wedges, and serve.

South African Smoked Country Pork Ribs

If you love smoke flavor, like a bit of spice, and can get your hands on the Trader Joe's spice blend, this is the best thing you can do to these wonderful bits of pigginess!

Boneless Country Pork Ribs

Trader Joe's South African Smoke Spice(tm)

 Dust 'em and grill 'em!

Apple Yam Gratin

Based on a recipe in a recent issue of USA Weekend Sunday supplement.

1 large Honeycrisp or Ambrosia Apple

1 large fairly cylindrical Yam

1/2 cup Sweet Onion, sliced thin

1/3 cup Golden Raisins, minced

1/2 cup Apple nectar

1 clove Garlic, minced

1/2 cup Orange juice with pulp

1 tsp "Curry Powder" of your choice

1 tsp powdered Ginger, or 1 Tbsp fresh grated Ginger

Fillet the apple as I showed you here a week or so back. Cut the 'half moon' slices 1/8" thick. Peel the yam, halve it lengthwise and slice it into 1/8" thick half moons as well. Arrange alternating slices of apple and yam in a fan around a 9" pie pan. Stack additional slices of each in the center, to fill the pan.

Combine the juices, raisins, garlic, curry powder and ginger in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 6-8 minutes to combine the flavors. In a small skillet, sweat the onions until fragrant and translucent, but don't let them brown.

Place the onions in the center of the apple-yam fan, pour the juice overall and bake in a pre-heated 375F oven, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking an additional 20 minutes, until the yams are fork tender.

Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate to serve the next day.