Celery - Stuff it

[rworange]

The Chow recipe of the day that I got in my email was Ladybugs on a Raft which is celery filled with nut butters other than peanut and topped with dried cranberries instead of raisins
http://www.chow.com/recipes/27452-lad...

Now at first I thought this was taking the ad slogan for Chow/Chowhound being for "primitive cooks" to the basement level.

Then I thought about it. The post-holday diet season approaches, celery has very few calories and celery might be a good vehicle for filling with low calarie foods. It takes awhile to chew, slowing down the meal or snack.

Looking the web I saw stuffings such as hummus, cottage cheese, gucamole, etc There was one suggestion for a mixture of non-fat yogurt, sesame seeds and diced cucumber.

Some people did little additions to the classics such as cinnamon to peanut butter or soy sauce added to a cream cheese / peanut butter mixture.

I guess any filling for sandwiches such as egg salad, crab salad, tuna salad, etc could be used to fill celery cutting down on some of the breadk calaories.

I've always thought that celery hors d'ourves were a waste of a party or holiday snack ... indulge at times ... put that cream cheese or yellow cheese on a Ritz cracker ... go whole hog calorie-wise instead of stuffing some mean little celery stick.

Still, Some of the celery party stuffings sound good like
- cream cheese, sour cream, walnuts, green olives
-,apricots and ricotta
- smoked gouda and sun-dried tomatoes
- cream chieese, chopped dried beef, horseradish, black pepper, lemon juice
- fill with caviar and top with roquefort/cream cheese (not sure about this, but sounds intriguing)
- fois gras

So, how do you like to stuff it?

[few]

I cannot remember a holiday without my mom or grandma did not stuff crisp celery with a zippy/spicy blue cheese mixed with cream cheese, with a wee bit of yogurt to improve the spread into the cold crisp celery......laid out on the "celery" plate after having been artfully dusted with a rusty smoked paprika...nom nom nom

[rworange]

Ok, that's a great description, elevating the pretty much standard stuffed celery with creative writing. I especially loved "rusty smoked paprika". You could put this, using that descriptionon, on any upscale resturant menu and I'll bet celery would go trendy.

It almost makes up for the endless "stuff it with cream cheese" posts. When I get some celery, I'm going to start improvising. I just have to think there could be more to this than peanut butter or cream cheese ... not that there's anything wrong with that.

[boyzoma]

Back in the day, it was a combo plate of stuffed celery with Kraft Pimento, Kraft Old English or Peanut Butter spreads. That was a family standard regardless if it was a holiday or not.

[marthasway]

Pimento cheese, of course. Not the kind for sandwiches, but the kind in the little glass jars from Kraft. My mother and I were reminiscing over the holidays about the first time she had it at her intendeds' home 53 years ago; I now serve it on using my grandmother's relish tray, too.

[Firegoat]

Laughing cow light and creamy swiss or light garlic and herb creamy spreadable wedges.

[oana]

Omg, you guys are awesome. This thread will give me a whole new snack list for the next two months! :) lol :)

[al b. darned]

I'm sorry, but you can't improve on perfection. Everyone knows that little groove in the celery is made just for peanut butter. Creamy pb, only, thank you. Except for the little celeries in the middle of the bunch, which are eaten with just a little salt.

[mhofherr]

Stuffed with Kraft Roka Blue!!

[debbiel]

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday in my house growing up, and now in my home and my siblings' homes, included celery stuffed with a spread of cream cheese, chopped green olives with pimentos (from a cheap jar, none of the good olives from the deli we enjoy the rest of the year), and a bit of olive juice from the jar. We start eating it as we finish putting the meal together, eat a bit during the meal, and then it's always the last leftover to go, usually during a late night card playing session the same day.

[Whosyerkitty]

the old classic, cream cheese mixed with crushed pineapple and chopped walnuts, sprinkled with paprika. Very '50's, I think. A friend's mom in her late 60's-early '70's always makes it for Thanksgiving and I look forward to it. The kids love it.

[SmartCookie]

I was served celery stuffed with cream cheese and topped with pomegranate seeds; it was a nice contrast in flavors, and looked festive too.

[laliz]

The cream cheese and olives mixed w/olive juice as Debbliel described. EXACTLY. One year about 11 years ago, "they" (they being teen and adult children and nieces and nephews) were all just hanging around as I was prepping the "rest" of the TDay meal and I just made the celery as you describe above EXACTLY and they gobbled it up immediately. Never heard of it, but I told them it was what I had when I was young and they LOVED it.

Now it is a standard at all family get togethers.

[debbiel]

Welcome to the world of "authentic" stuffed celery. :) There would be riots if we didn't have it at a holiday. My sister hates green olives, so we make a version with black olives for her. And then mock her for it during every single bite.

Leftover green olive-pimento-olive juice-cream cheese spread is quite divine on melba toasts. If I remember correctly from my childhood. I'll make again this Sunday for our final holiday celebration to confirm.

[Shann]

My Grandmother's christmas table always included olives, pickles and celery with peanut butter, some with cream cheese, and some with my all time favorite Cheese Wiz. I still remember that fondly, even though its anything but chowhoundish.

[chefathome]

How about a shellfish mousseline? It is so light and a nice contrast to the earthiness and crunch of the celery.

[Sal Vanilla]

Yep - pimento cheese spread.

But also cream cheese mixed with herbs and onion - yum. I like plain old peanut butter, but I also put raisins on it for my niece and tell her they are ants. She enjoys savaging them.

[JungMann]

I used to indulge in celery sticks with a dab of SPAM spread and pimento cheese. The healthiness of the celery seemed to balance out the saltiness of the SPAM and cheese.

[AdamD]

bingo
pimento cheese is the first thing that came to mind

[Harters]

Celery is something that usually either gets cooked as a vegetable or served "as is" as an accompaniment for cheese. It's probably getting on for 20 years since we last stuffed a rib with cream cheese or a soft cheese like Boursin. I'm not tempted to start serving it again like that.