By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Next-day dish
makes use of
extra starch

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Traditionally on the day before Thanksgiving, "By Request" deals not with a direct request, but with an anticipated one: What to do with the leftovers from tomorrow's feast?

Some answers come from "Healthy Local Recipes for Hawaii's Kupuna" (Mutual Publishing, 2003, $12.95), a recent release from Alu Like, a service organization that addresses social and nutritional needs of seniors in the native Hawaiian community.

The recipes reflect the traditional Hawaiian diet, with concessions made to modern tastes, but are low in fat and other bad things. They run from salads to desserts.

The cookbook is available at most local bookstores, with a portion of proceeds going to Alu Like.

This dish shows how a little bit of a salty, fatty substance (Portuguese sausage) can be sparingly used to add flavor to a low-fat dish. But depending on what your stuffing already contains, you might not need it.

Taro Stuffing Bake

2 cups leftover prepared stuffing
2 cups cubed leftover cooked taro or sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon finely diced Portuguese sausage (optional)
1/4 to 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine stuffing, taro and sausage in a baking pan. Add broth slowly, stirring, until mixture is moistened. Bake until browned on top. Serves 6 to 8.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per 1/2 cup serving: 156 calories, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 319 mg sodium.

Correction

Last week on these pages we ran a recipe from chef Michael O'Connor for Sandy Beans, a no-nonsense Thanksgiving side dish. Unfortunately, the ingredient list contained a pretty whopping error in the amount of breadcrumbs needed. No reason to repeat the error here, but suffice it to say it would have resulted in some very sandy beans.

Judging from the number of inquiries, it seems that a lot of people are interested in trying this dish tomorrow, so here is the corrected recipe:

Sandy Beans

8 ounces frozen french-cut green beans, thawed
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook beans 4 to 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a non-stick pan. Add breadcrumbs and stir until combined. Mixture will resemble wet sand.

Drain beans and place in an oven-proof dish. Spread breadcrumbs evenly over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown. Watch closely to prevent scorching.

Just before stirring, stir breadcrumbs and cheese into beans. Serves 5.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 94 calories, 6 g total fat, 14 mg cholesterol, 297 mg sodium, 3 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 2g fiber.

See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.