1 T butter, softened, plus 4 T butter ½ c finely chopped onions
2 pounds yams ½ c finely chopped celery
1½ c soft fresh bread crumbs made ½ tsp poultry seasoning
from French- or Italian-type white ¼ tsp salt
bread, pulverized in a blender ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ pound fresh pork sausage meat, the
breakfast-sausage variety
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Preheat the oven to 375°. With a pastry brush, spread the tablespoon of
softened butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a 1½-quart baking dish.
Set the dish aside.Drop the yams into enough boiling water to cover them completely and cook briskly, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until the yams are tender and show no resistance when pierced deeply with the point of a small, sharp knife. Drain the yams and peel them with a small, sharp knife. Purée the yams through a potato ricer set over a bowl, or place them in a bowl and mash them to a smooth purée with the back of a fork.
In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, melt the remaining 4 T of butter over moderate heat. Drop in the bread crumbs and, stirring frequently, fry until they are crisp and brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer the toasted bread crumbs to a bowl. Add the sausage meat to the fat remaining in the skillet and cook over moderate heat, mashing the meat frequently to break up any lumps that develop, until no trace of pink shows. With the slotted spoon, add the meat to the bowl of bread crumbs.
Pour off all but a thin film of fat from the skillet and add the onions and celery. Stirring from time to time, cook over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not brown. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the contents of the skillet over the sausage and crumbs.
Add the puréed yams, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and stir until all the ingredients are well blended. Taste for seasoning. Transfer the mixture to the buttered dish, spreading it evenly and smoothing the top with the spatula. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and crusty. Serve the yams and sausage at once, directly from the baking dish. Serves 6.
2 medium-sized eggplants (each 1 tsp crumbled dried thyme
about a pound) ½ tsp ground hot red pepper (cayenne)
1/3 c olive oil ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 T butter, cut into ½-inch bits, ½ tsp salt
plus 4 tsp butter, melted ½ pound lean smoked ham, finely ground
½ c finely chopped onions 2¼ c soft fresh crumbs made from
½ c finely chopped scallions, French- or Italian-type white
including 3 inches of the green bread, trimmed of all crusts, and
tops pulverized in a blender
1½ tsp finely chopped garlic ¼ c finely chopped fresh parsley,
1 c coarsely chopped drained preferably the flat-leaf Italian
canned tomatoes variety
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Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and, with a spoon, hollow out the
center of each half to make a boatlike shell about ¼-inch thick. Finely chop
the eggplant pulp and set it aside.In a heavy 12-inch skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Add the eggplant shells and turn them about with tongs or a spoon until they are moistened on all sides. Then cover the skillet tightly and cook over moderate heat for 5 or 6 minutes. Turn the shells over and continue to cook, still tightly covered, for 5 minutes longer, or until they are somewhat soft to the touch. Invert the shells on paper towels to drain briefly and arrange them cut-side up in a baking dish large enough to hold them snugly in one layer.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Drain off the oil remaining in the skillet, add the 8 T of butter bits and melt them over moderate heat. When the foam subsides, add the onions, scallions and garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not brown.
Add the reserved chopped eggplant pulp, the tomatoes, thyme, red and black pepper, and salt and, stirring frequently, cook briskly until most of the liquid in the pan evaporates and the mixture is thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in a spoon. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the ground ham, 2 c of the bread crumbs and the parsley. Taste for seasoning.
Spoon the filling into the eggplant shells, dividing it equally among them and mounding it slightly in the centers. Sprinkle each shell with 1 T of the remaining bread crumbs and dribble 1 tsp of the melted butter on top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, or until the shells are tender and the filling lightly browned. Arrange the ham-stuffed eggplant attractively on a large heated platter or individual plates and serve at once. Serves 4.
