Filled Dills
/
You'll find this recipe in:
The Stay Out of the Kitchen Cookbook
By: Lynn Dallin
New York City, 1968
The Original Recipe:
FILLED DILLS
Perky and palatable...
Bore centers from dill pickles with an apple corer. Stuff cavities with a blend of equal parts of Roquefort and cream cheeses. Chill overnight. Cut into ½-inch slices. Two large pickles make 10-15 slices.
Note: A bit of finely minced celery or water chestnuts may be added for texture. These will keep for several days.
Variations
DEVILED DILLS
Stuff pickles with cream cheese flavored with chili powder to taste.
DILLY DILLS
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and minced capers to taste.
SPICY DILLS
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and minced chipped beef to taste.
CORNY DILLS
Stuff pickles with a mixture of garlic cream cheese and minced corned beef to taste.
ROSY DILLS
Stuff pickles with a mixture of pimiento cream cheese and minced ripe or stuffed green olives to taste.
DILLS PUEBLO
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and deviled ham.
DILLS CON FUEGO
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and mashed green chili peppers to taste.
DILLS ANTONIO
Stuff pickles with a mixture of chive cream cheese and finely minced salami to taste.
DILLS RAMON
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and anchovy paste to taste.
PAT'S DILLS
Stuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and crisp bacon bits to taste.
What happened when I made it?
The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was to find dill pickles that were large enough to be hollowed out by my apple corer. I stopped making Filled Dills when I did simply because all the pickles that remained were too small.
This recipe suggested trying adding either chopped water chestnuts or chopped celery to the cheese for added texture. I thought water chestnuts would provide a nice crunch, but would have a mellow flavour that wouldn't interfere with the flavour of the other ingredients, so that's what I went with.
The variations I tried out were Deviled Dills (cream cheese and chili powder) and Rosy Dills (cream cheese, pimentos and green olives). I had so many dill pickle cores that I also put some chopped dill pickles in the cream cheese. What don't we call this variation Extra Dills? Then, at the end I had a little bit left of all three variations, so I made some All Dressed Dills* where I mixed all three flavourings together and this was my favourite Filled Dill flavouring.
You will end up with a lot of dill pickle cores when you make this recipe! I made a batch of potato salad with the chopped dill pickle cores, but I guess you could also just eat them.
I took the Filled Dills to a potluck and there was some confusion over what they were. They do look an awful lot like sushi, which wasn't much of a concern in 1968! I'd made a little sign next time. I heard positive reviews from the people who tried them, though.
* In Canada, we have a potato chip flavour called All Dressed, which is all the flavourings thrown in together. One chip in the bag might taste more strongly of Salt & Vinegar, and the next chip might taste more like BBQ flavouring. You never know what you're going to get!
