This recipe can be a great lunch entree or a wonderful side dish with a seafood dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds crab meat

• 1 small onion minced

• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

• 1/2 cup cracker crumbs

• 1/4 cup Liquid Summer Hot Sauce

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon mustard

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 3 large yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise

Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients together in a bowl.
Scoop the seeds out of the squash with a spoon
Stuff the squash and bake in a shallow backing pan at 350 degrees F. until the squash is tender, about 45 minutes.

A favorite of Indian cooks, these pastries are a popular teatime snack in Singapore and Malaysia. They also make a fabulous appetizer!

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

• 2 tablespoons curry powder

• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

• 3 to 4 serrano chiles, stems removed, finely chopped

• 1 tomato, peeled and chopped

• 2 cups finely diced cooked chicken

• 1 large potato, boiled and finely diced

• Salt to taste

For the Pastry:

• 1 package prepared puff pastry

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Allow the puff pastry to thaw to room temperature.

Heat the oil and sauté the onion until browned. Add the ginger and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Mix the curry powder and turmeric with enough water to make a wet paste, and add it to the onion mixture. Sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chiles, tomato, chicken, and potatoes, season with salt and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To assemble, roll out the pastry to about 1/8″ and cut into 3 ½-inch circles. Brush the edges with milk, add a tablespoon of the curry filling, fold the edges closed and crimp decoratively with a fork. Brush the pastries with the egg wash.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12 to 15 minutes or until the curry puffs are golden brown and puffed.

Serve warm.

Making your own phyllo can be a time consuming project, but fortunately the dough you can purchase ready-made works equally well in this recipe. The filling can be pureed or left with some texture. If you do puree the filling, do it before adding nuts and eliminate the raisins. These little packages can also be dusted with powdered sugar before serving. The trick to working with phyllo is to work very quickly and to keep the dough covered when not using so that it does not dry out.

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 pound dried apricots, cut in pieces

• 2 ½ cups sugar

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Packages:

• 8 sheets phyllo

• 1 stick unsalted butter

Instructions

If the phyllo is frozen, thaw in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

To make the filling, place the fruit in a saucepan over a medium heat and cover with water. Add the sugar, and simmer until the fruit is very soft and is starting to breakdown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add additional water if necessary. Stir in the remaining ingredients, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Preheat an oven to 375°F.

To assemble, place the phyllo on a flat surface and cover it with a damp cloth when not using to keep the dough from drying out. Working with one sheet at a time, place the short side towards you and brush with the butter. Fold the sheet into thirds lengthwise and again butter. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces.

Place approximately 1-1/2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of the square. Gather the dough up around the filling and gently press together to seal, leaving the excess phyllo on top as a decoration. Keep the packages covered with a towel until ready to bake.

Place the packages on a lightly greased baking sheet and brush with the remaining butter. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Remove, cool slightly, dust with the sugar and serve.

These tasty snacks arrived in the Caribbean islands by way of South America, where they use banana leaves as a wrapper. The leaves are available, frozen, in Asian markets. To soften them for use, thaw them out and pass them over a gas flame, or place them in a bowl and pour boiling water over them.

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• ½ pound ground pork

• 1 large onion, minced

• 1 clove garlic, crushed

• 1 habanero chile, seeds removed, minced

• 1 cup diced yams

• 1 cup cooked black beans

• 1 teaspoon minced thyme

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon minced basil

• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

• 4 tablespoons capers, chopped

• 4 tablespoons raisins

• 3/4 cup beef stock

For the Dough:

• 3 cups coarse cornmeal

• 2 tablespoons shortening

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 3/4 cups boiling water

• 3 to 4 banana leaves, cut in 8- by 10-inch rectangles

Instructions

Sauté the pork in a skillet until it is browned. Add the onion, garlic, and habanero and sauté for an additional couple of minutes. Add the remaining filling ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove and cool.

To make the dough, cut the shortening into the cornmeal using a pastry cutter or two forks. Stir in the oil and salt. Pour the boiling water over the cornmeal and mix well to form a smooth dough. Form the dough into 18 balls.

Place a ball of the dough in the center of a banana leaf and press to form a circle 1/4-inch thick. Spread 2 tablespoons of the filling in center. Fold half of the leaf over, bringing the cornmeal with it. Flatten into a rectangle, then repeat with other half of the rectangle so that the dough encloses the meat. Fold up the leaf rectangle to make a package and tie together with string.

Place in a pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 1 ½ hours. Remove and drain.

Serve with your favorite Caribbean hot sauce.