plenty of celery

[Danimal]

I have a gallon bag of celery, sort of dated, cut crudite style. Suggestions on what to do with it? I only have a day or two left.

[islandbear]

THE most delicious "cucina della nonna", or "cucina povera"...meaning po' folks food, or grandma's cooking....read on....

Braise that celery with garlic and olive oil, then add a (can?) or so of chicken stock. Add a can of cannolini beans undrained. Take this mixture and spoon it over a left over halved loaf of bread, drizzle with more olive oil, Italian oil-cured olives, flaked or large gain salt, and LOTS of finely ground black pepper. It's a complete protein when your bread is whole wheat, and amazing!
PS A sprinkle of romano wouldn't hurt!!

[Ruthie789]

Cream of celery soup.

[angieburn]

take a look at "celery fricassee" recipes over the Internet...
I sometimes substitute pork for chicken.

[chefathome]

I dry the leaves in the oven until brittle, mix in some salt and voila! Celery salt.

[Puffin3]

Just don't use it in a stock. It adds a bitter note you won't be able to get rid off.

[Bacardi1]

That's odd - I always add some to stock, particularly the leaves, & have never had a "bitter note" present in the end result. Perhaps it depends on how much you add.

[eclecticsynergy]

Yah, the leaves seem to work better in stock than the ribs. Or lovage, which is sort of like stalkless celery.

For those stuffed celery ribs that coll suggested, you could up the flavor a bit by using smoked paprika. My family used to mix chopped green olives in with the cream cheese.

Also, there's the oldtime kids' favorite "Ants On A Log," peanut butter on celery topped with a row of raisins. You could do a more grownup version using cashew butter and golden raisins, or almond butter and dried currants.

[Bacardi1]

Naw - I always stick to my paternal grandmother's tradition of stuffing the ribs with softened blue cheese, which I adore.

[Harters]

Where I am in the world, celery is always a required ingredient when making stock.

[eclecticsynergy]

I think it has a lot to do with where & how the celery was grown. I sometimes get a batch of carrots with a bitter taste, too. This is especially pronounced when I make fresh carrot juice so I've learned to be cautious.

That said, unless I'm working from a specific recipe I almost always use celery in my soups.

[Harters]

Soup. Always soup. I buy celery just to make soup. It freezes well.

[chicgail]

The soup freezes well or the celery freezes well? I assume you mean the soup.

[rozz01]

I know I'm bumping this... but at 48 cents a bunch, I was wondering if anyone had any more ideas...

[Cherylptw]

I purposely buy celery when on sale to make a roasted mirepoix which I puree and keep in my fridge and or freezer. I use it in everything; soups, sauces, gravies, rice mixes...I brush it on meats and add it to other veggies when cooking. I use equal parts of peeled carrots, celery and it's leaves which has tons of flavor, and carrots. I cut everything up in 2-3 inch pieces and toss with a bit of olive oil then place on a baking paper or parchment lined baking sheet and roast in a 375F. degree oven for 10 minutes. I pull out the baking sheet and stir in 2-3 cloves of roughly chopped garlic (depending on how much you liike). Return veggies to oven for another 10 minutes or until fork tender.

Remove from oven and cool to room temp. Add the veggies and any pan juices to a food processor or blender. Drizzle in a couple tablespoons olive oil and process until smooth. Scrape puree into a covered container and refrigerate or freeze. You can season the puree with salt, pepper or whatever seasonings you like but because I like to be able to control the salt content in my dishes, I add the salt to each dish.

This makes a great base for a roasted veggie vinaigrette or stir a heaping tablespoon into mayo to spread on a sandwich or for a dip. So many possibilities!

[rozz01]

That sounds like a great idea!

[Cherylptw]

The mix is carrots, celery and onions (earlier post was a typo) add in the garlic halfway through cooking. I also forgot to mention that it lasts for weeks in the fridge with a bit of olive oil over the top

[pine time]

thanks, great idea. I have a bunch of celery (forgot I had a new stalk and bought yet another one, and we're not celery lovers), so roasting and freezing is a good idea.

Mr. P.T. calls celery "bamboo," -- obviously not a fan, so anything I can do to camouflage it helps.

[coll]

I was trying to remember what Mom used to serve as Thanksgiving appetizers: always pickled herring, SauceSea type shrimp cocktail and something else. Bingo! Celery stuffed with cream cheese and sprinkled with paprika. Usually my job to put together too. None of the above go over at all with DHs family though, just enjoying the memory.

[Kater]

Make a nice light cream of celery soup with chix stock, shallot, leek, celery, and some potato or celery root. Puree, season well and finish it with a little cream. You can serve hot or cold. chives are a nice garnish

[Pata_Negra]

2 firm favourites: chinese [style] beef celery. another is steamed mussels with celery, garlic, white wine. otherwise i just eat this refreshing, aromatic, crunchy veg raw or in chunky 'rustic' soups.

[salsailsa]

Ditto on the chinese beef and celery. Yum.

[lgss]

Throw some in homemade carrot juice and some in soup.

[bite bite]

Personally a big fan of celery stir fry. My dad does an awesome one --just wings it. Some recipes call for chinese celery - but regular works fine too. Here are two recipes that look tasty -- one shrimp, one plain:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spicy-shrimp-celery-and-cashew-stir-fry-recipe/index.html

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/vegetablesrecipes/r/chinese_celery.htm
* you can throw in cashews for protein if doing as a main instead of a side

Like the suggestion of celery soup as well -- lots of recipes out there -- here's one:
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/pureeacutedsoups/r/celerypuree.htm

Melissa Clark offers this intriguing recipe for Celery Pudding Cakes with Strawberry Rhubarb compote:
http://www.melissaclark.net/articles/...

[MidwesternerTT]

Here's an updated link for those Celery Pudding Cakes with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

http://www.melissaclark.net/blog/2006...

Thanks, all, for these celery solutions.

[weezycom]

chop it, blanch it in some salted water, freeze it for adding to soup stock later. Or if you have a juicer, juice it and then you can freeze the juice for making a cream of celery soup.

If you want to use it now, use it in a stuffing/dressing.

[janniecooks]

You could braise it as a side dish:

Braised Celery
Serves 4

Use some of the celery leaves, chopped, to garnish this dish, or save them for salads or for flavoring stocks, soups, sauces, and casseroles.

3 tablespoons butter
2 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery head, cut into short lengths
6 ounces (3/4 cup) chicken stock
1 each bay leaf and parsley sprig
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large heavy pan, then cook the bacon, onion and carrot until beginning to color.
2. Add the celery and cook over a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the stock, bay leaf, parsley sprig, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Cover and simmer gently for about 25 minutes, until the celery is tender and the liquid is reduced to a few tablespoons. Serve hot.

[BobB]

My wife likes to do a mixed braise of celery and fennel.

[janniecooks]

that would be a really nice combination!

[FoodFuser]

A pinch of coarsely ground fennel seed in the celery braise can give a parallel effect when you don't have the fresh fennel "bulb".

[Bacardi1]

Anyone but me find this a "blast from the past"?

Used to be every staid basic American restaurant had "Braised Celery" as one of their side vegetables. Then it fell out of favor & never returned.