STRUT YOUR STUFFED

​STRUT YOUR STUFFED
 
There are stuffed shirts aplenty in this world.  Perhaps we only need to keep their mouths satisfactorily filled to mute their impact.  Stuffed foods on the other hand are a source of many delicious meals.  Any chef worth his salt views a culinary hole or a cavity simply as a recipe yet to be born.  Over the years, such cooks new and old have given us everything from ravioli and dumplings, to rice and tidbit-filled peppers, to meat pasties and chicken pot pies, and to cream puffs and filled doughnuts.

​When we have talked of stuffings in the past, we confined ourselves to the more commonplace of bread stuffings, grain stuffings and the occasional wild rice filled pumpkin.  In the next few weeks as ripening peaks, our markets will provide countless choices of stuff-ors and stuff-ees.  There may not be an unsuitable vegetable for one side of this equation or the other.  Think about the more elegant flavored combinations such as a brilliantly colored sweet pepper brimming with chopped shrimp, feta cheese and rice.  Or consider the ultra rudimentary snack of celery stuffed with crunchy peanut butter.  There are dinner courses like eggplant stuffed with ground meat, tomatoes, onions and herbs topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese or a light lunch of zucchini boats with chopped tomatoes and Swiss cheese for cargo.  It’s hard to make a mistake here other than the ultimate sin of overcooking.

In the summer spirit of keeping it simple, today’s recipe is a great deal more reward than effort: Sausage Stuffed Tomatoes.  Try thinking of your kitchen as your own personal playground.  Open your refrigerator and see what needs using as a starting point and see what intriguing combinations are available to you.  As always, have fun.