I love browsing through hundred-year-old cookbooks and selecting recipes to make for this blog. Generally I choose recipes that I think I will enjoy. But, old cookbooks also contain some recipes that seem very unusual and that I don’t think that I will like. I tend to ignore those recipes, but occasionally I’m intrigued enough to give one a try – while not having very high expectations. The recipe that I’m sharing this week is one of those times.
I made Stuffed Celery. The recipe called for “fringing” celery pieces with a knife, putting in ice water for several hours, and then stuffing and putting two pieces together and standing on a plate. What seemed really unusual was that the stuffing contained butter, peanut butter, salt, cayenne (red) pepper, and chopped olives. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what this mixture might taste like, but definitely had my doubts that I’d like it.
The verdict: The Stuffed Celery looked very dramatic, though some of the pieces didn’t want to stay together or stand for very long. The stuffing mixture actually tasted okay (not incredible, but it was not terrible). It was definitely a case where something tasted better than it sounds.
Here’s the original recipe:
I’m not sure what olivettes are, but I interpreted it to mean olives. When I made this recipe I used stuffed green olives that I finely chopped.
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Stuffed Celery
1 bunch celery
water with ice
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
2 tablespoons stuffed green olives, finely chopped
Select the large curved stalks of celery in the bunch, wash, and then cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces. (Save small stalks and pieces for use in other recipes.) Fringe the top of the celery by making vertical cuts close together in the top half of each piece of celery. Stand the fringed celery in ice water for 2-4 hours.
In the meantime put the butter, peanut butter, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl; stir until thoroughly mixed. Add chopped olives and stir until evenly distributed.
After 2-4 hours remove celery pieces from the ice water and wipe dry. Fill the bottom portion of each piece of celery with the peanut butter mixture. Put two pieces together, and wipe with a paper towel to remove any excess peanut butter mixture, then stand on a plate. The bottom edges of the celery may be trimmed if needed to make them level so they will stand better.
That looks like something my grandmother would have tried serving at one of her summer lawn parties. I used to love her celery sticks with cream cheese, though.
I think that cooks years ago were more likely to try various ways of presenting food that seem overly complicated today. Celery sticks with cream cheese sounds lovely. Sometimes simpler is better.
Olivettes is an almond paste . Not olives 🫒! lol. I imagine that when made correctly that the recipe would be good.
Thanks for the info. I never would have guessed that olivettes was an almond paste.
TBH, I won’t be trying this one! Peanut butter with olives doesn’t seem right to me. 😂
Probably a good decision. 🙂
I do like fringing the celery, but I might fill it with something else.
I also kind of liked how the fringed celery looked, and agree that another filling might work better (maybe peanutbutter or cream cheese).
Another idea -It would be a somewhat different look, but I also think that it might work to fringe the celery, but not put two pieces together when filling. It might look nice to just lay the individual pieces of the fringed celery on a plate with the filling visible.
They must have been a bit awkward to eat?
I just took big bites and bit off pieces. 🙂
Hmm. I think you tried this one out so we don’t have to. Thanks!
Happy to be of service. 🙂
Love the fringing!!!
Hate Olives….You think anyone will notice if I slip in raisins instead?
My Mother used to stuff celery with peanut butter and raisins… called it ants on a log….real popular this time of year.
Peanutbutter and raisins works for me.
I have never heard of olivettes, either. In the 1924 newspapers, olivettes were a popular grape that was pale green or almost white and appeared frequently in the food news. I also discovered olivettes are a type of appetizer from Italy, where by chopped olives, cheese, spices and dough are rolled into a ball and baked. It can also be a veal dish or sweets. Sicily tradition is almond paste dyed green, a drop of rum or other liqueur and shaped into an olive shape sprinkled with sugar. Pesaro makes it using slices of veal, prosciutto, anchovies and capers, breaded and fried. Given the presence of peanut butter, I would venture it might have been made with chopped grapes, but the inclusion of butter does not make sense. It seems unlikely to make the savory olivettes and then chop them up. The sweet almond paste olivettes (made to resemble an olive) would seem to work better with the mix of ingredients called for as butter, peanut butter with the chopped sweets and the cayenne to contrast the sweet and fat sounds like it would work with celery. I think I’m with Margaret: you tried so we don’t have to! But, it is very curious indeed!
Thanks for researching it. It’s fascinating that a term that is largely archaic today had several meanings years ago. I think that I agree with you that maybe the recipe was calling for a type of green or white grape – though the sweet almond paste olivettes are another intriguing possibility. Similarly to you, I couldn’t figure out why the recipe called for mixing butter with peanutbutter. Both are fatty – and it seems like the butter just dilutes the peanutty taste of peanutbutter.
One thing for sure, Sheryl, you generated a lot of interesting comments with this recipe! You could do “unusual recipe of the month” features.
hmm. . . that’s an interesting idea. I’m going to have to think about it. I can see an aspic recipe in my future. 🙂
We shall await!
This is one of the weirdest combination of ingredients I’ve ever seen. Kudos to you for your bravery in trying it! 🙂
It’s an odd combination of ingredients, but I had fun trying this strange recipe. I enjoyed doing the presentation for this recipe – even though the filling is unusual.
Brilliant presentation; not sure about the stuffing.
Thank you! I had fun doing the presentation – though agree that if I made it again that I’d probably use a different stuffing (maybe just go with good old plain peanutbutter).
Perhaps the idea is to add grapes to the stuffing? Not sure how that would work.
I think that you may be right, and that olivettes refers to grapes rather than olives – though it still seems like the filling mixture would be a somewhat unusual combination of ingredients.
Agreed, it remains unusual. Not one we will be trying!
Interesting looking, I don’t think I’ll try it but perhaps will if I can alter the filling. Seems it would jazz up a veggie plate for a fancy occasion!
It is a very dramatic presentation. Feel free to alter the filling. 🙂
wow this sounds so bizarre! Olivettes? nope never heard of them 🙂
cheers
sherry
It’s definitely one of the more unusual recipes that I’ve come across in hundred-year-old cookbooks and magazines.
I had never heard of Olivettes before. There are several towns named Olivette. It appears to mean an olive grove, small olive, a round button, a French cherry tomato, a small oval weight used on a fishing line, a type of appetizer and several different dishes.
I found it extremely interesting olivettes had so many different meanings.
With Suzassippi’s research, I wonder if the recipe was calling for grapes instead of olives. Grapes and peanut butter sounds like a nicer combination than peanut butter and olives.
It’s interesting that there are several towns names Olivette. Like you, based on Suzassippi’s research, I am starting to think that maybe the recipe was calling for grapes rather than olives.
Quite a combo!
It’s unique. 🙂
I like the look of the celery sticks made like this. The flavor combo sounds interesting.
I’m from the generation of celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter and raisins to serve as snacks. As I see several of your commenters are. That’s pretty neat. 😊
I’m also from the generation when it was popular to stuff celery with peanutbutter.
Hi Sheryl. I have seen modern recipes called “Ants on a log”. That is easy to make. Individual celery sticks are filled with some peanut butter. Raisins are sprinkled on top of that. And there you have it: a snack of sorts. I tried it once and liked it. I’m not sure how popular it is. I do think celery with cream cheese might be tasty, especially if it has herbs in it.
I love the name – ants on a log. What a fun and easy way to stuff celery!
I was so glad to see you’re still posting! I used to read your blog when you were sharing your dear Grandmother’s diary entries. I think you do great honor to her memory by continuing the blog with the recipe centered theme.
Thanks for the nice note. It’s wonderful to hear that you enjoyed this blog back during the diary years. I posted my grandmother’s diary entries from 2011 to 2014. After I’d posted all of them, I quit doing the blog for about six months, but really missed doing it. I then got the idea of converting A Hundred Years Ago to a blog focused on foods from a hundred years ago, and have been having a lot of fun doing that ever since.
Good for you! I think your Grandmother’s spirit lives on through your work.