sautéed long hot green peppers

December 2, 2012 by flavorsmack

My husband realized today that I was giving away HIS recipe to the internet. I told him it was for the better good of mankind. He went back to watching football. I guess seeing me in the corner taking snapshots of my dishes hit home today when he was about to dig into his peppers, and I had to hold him up for the final photo. Ding! Ding! Ding! The light went on…the recipe is going public. No big deal really, but it was funny to see him pause for that split second.
This appetizer is great if you don’t mind the risk of blindingly hot peppers once in a while. These particular ones were quite mild – a disappointment in our household. I guess it depends on the time of year, how new or old the peppers are – I am not sure. Guess I could Google that….anyway, sometimes you get ones that are intense and sometimes not. I suppose if you were to test one out raw, and flames start coming out of your mouth, that you might consider seeding them before sautéing them. We usually pair the peppers with crostini or crackers and add cheese. It’s hard to just eat one…even with your nose running and tears in your eyes.

sautéed long hot green peppers

15 – 20 long hot green peppers, halved (seeded optional)
1 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 bottle of lager or light beer

get started on the peppers:

Rinse the peppers. Cut off the tops of the peppers and halve them. In a large sauté pan, add olive oil and bring to medium high heat. Add peppers and sauté until lightly browned and add salt and garlic. Cook an additional 2 minutes. Pour in beer and stir. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove lid and cook an additional 5-7 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Test peppers to see if additional salt is needed, and serve.

note: This serves about 4 people.

roasted pepper and goat cheese involtini

November 30, 2012 by flavorsmack

This is one app that didn’t make the Thanksgiving menu due to lack of hours in a day, so it got relegated to the Saturday after, when we had friends over. I had roasted the peppers the day before Thanksgiving, but didn’t have the time on the big day to assemble them. Plus, I forgot that my in-laws were bringing an antipasto platter, so I didn’t want to duplicate pepper efforts. Once made, they came out just like I had seen on the Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, but I admit, they were a bit teensy labor intensive for such a little appetizer. Could I have bought store-bought peppers? Yes, but whatever. I was committed once I started the process of roasting, seeding and slicing the peppers. After that, the rolling is easy. Plus, you don’t know the sizes you are going to get from the store-bought jars and you don’t get the yellow color either (none that I have seen in jars anyway). I also wanted to try this type of paprika. I have Hungarian hot, as well as standard paprika, and found this one is smoky good. I liked this appetizer, but my husband not so much…then again he’s not a big fan of paprika…I thought I could convert him. Apparently not.

roasted red and yellow pepper goat cheese involtini (from Secrets of a Restaurant Chef)

2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
1 8 oz. log of goat cheese, room temperature
1 TB crushed red pepper
1 TB pimentón (smoked spanish paprika)
kosher salt
2 TB fresh chives, chopped

get started on the peppers:

Preheat broiler, grill or gas cooktop. I chose the broiler, so place peppers on a sheet tray and into the oven and cook them until they are black on all sides. Continually turn the peppers with tongs to make sure all sides are charred. Place roasted peppers in a glass bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let them sit until cool. Using your fingers, peel away all the pepper skins and gently remove the stem and the seeds. Try not to tear the pepper. Lay the pepper flat and slice into one inch sections. This can be done one day ahead. (ok, in my case – three days ahead).

Once you are ready to assemble the peppers, set out the goat cheese, kosher salt, crushed red pepper and pimentón.

Place about one teaspoon of goat cheese at the end of a pepper strip. Season the goat cheese with a pinch of salt, crushed red pepper and the pimentón. Your hands will get messy. Roll up the pepper around the goat cheese, and garnish with chopped chives.

note: this serves about 6-8 people. I also took the roll, and dipped it into the chives to make sure they adhered better than if I had just sprinkled the chives on.

shiitake pot stickers

November 17, 2012 by flavorsmack

I’m very blonde. I am not talking about L’Oreal Preference shade 92 natural blonde (much to the dismay of my hairdresser, that box does get purchased from time to time – and used – usually when I am bored). I am speaking about the fact that I will oftentimes neglect to purchase the main ingredient of a meal or something that is at the least, integral, to a dish. These were supposed to be pork pot stickers, but I came home with everything but the pork. I can’t tell you the amount of times I pay at the cashier and as I’m wheeling out of the store, realize I didn’t buy the fish for the tacos, or for that matter the tacos. So I am THAT woman, with a cart full of bagged groceries, heading back to get what I forgot, worrying that people think I’m shoplifting tilapia. My husband just shakes his head when I tell him. I could even have the list with me, and if I don’t write it in the way I shop the aisles, you can kiss something on the list good-bye. We have just learned to live with the occasional menu change or the task of going through the cashier line twice. I was really looking forward to making these because it is something the kids like too, so I had to improvise – no going back to the store. Not too hard to do with a dumpling actually, so I was in the clear….this time.
I have made a variety of dumplings and if you are sitting there, folding up 30+ little guys, the last thing you want to see is them coming unsealed in the pan. Make sure you don’t skimp on the water and that you seal the edges well. I decided to try the gyoza skins because they are round, and found that they were easier to fold up and crimp than the square wonton wrappers. These came out perfectly, and tasted great even without the fatty pork. I did make the mistake of storing extra pot stickers in a glass container without considering the fact that they would stick to one another and make one giant dumpling. So with the mini victories come the defeats. I dealt with it and moved on.

shiitake pot stickers (sans the pork)

Peanut oil
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
8 oz white button mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
4 TB low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 tsp sesame oil, divided
1/3 cup green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 2 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 10 oz pkg. cabbage slaw mix
30 gyoza skins
water

dipping sauce:

4 TB water
4 TB soy sauce
4 TB rice vinegar
1 tsp dark sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced

get started on the pot stickers:

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add in the two kinds of mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are softened, about 4 minutes. Add 2 TB of the soy sauce and 1 tsp of the sesame oil, cook for 30 seconds. Add onions, garlic, ginger and jalapeño and cook for another 2 minutes until flavors combine. Stir in coleslaw and cook for 2 minutes until cabbage wilts, stirring frequently. Taste mixture and add in remaining soy sauce and sesame oil if needed. Remove from heat and cool slightly. While mixture cools, combine ingredients for the dipping sauce, stirring well with a whisk.

Working with one gyoza skin at a time (cover remaining with a damp towel to prevent drying), lay out 8-10 skins on your board. Spoon 1 TB mushroom mixture in the center of each skin. Moisten edges of the skins with water. Fold in half, pinching and edges to seal. Heat peanut oil in the same large non-stick pan over medium heat. Arrange pot stickers in the pan in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes or until browned on the bottom (or a side). Add one cup of water to the pan and cover. Continue to cook the pot stickers another 4 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Place dumplings on a plate and cover to keep moist and warm. Continue making the remaining dumplings. Serve these immediately with dipping sauce…..and hot chili sauce of course!