Sometimes you know what you want to cook; sometimes you
haven’t got a clue. This is the result
of one of those clueless occasions.
Sometimes you know what to write; sometimes you type, delete, type,
delete, and give up.
When you write on paper people can see your eraser marks,
see where you crossed things out; on the computer there is no record of the
different directions you started going and walked back. You don’t get a feel for how long I stared at
a word and wondered if I should change it, nor can you see the times when the
words flew down my finger tips faster than I could type them.
I always wondered if teachers could tell the papers I loved
writing from those that I labored over.
How much of that enthusiasm bleeds onto the page? Do I have better grammar when I struggle over
every sentence, rereading, and rewriting them; or do I make too many little
mistakes when I burn through writing a paper I genuinely enjoy?
I guess a meal is a similar thing. Sometimes you labor over them for long
periods of time, first figuring out what you are going to cook, collecting
ingredients, prepping them, the actual cooking, plating, and then dishes; yet
sometimes you know what you want to do and none of those steps seems so
arduous.
I have no idea how much my frustration, joy, or mix of both
come across on the plate. Some meals
take forever to cook, but only minutes to consume; you have to wonder what
kinds of pay off you are really getting there.
I guess really it is the satisfied tummy pats, the sighs,
the kanak attacks, and the ‘you should cook this again.’ After all, every Thursday night for over a
year now I have been cooking these diners, I don’t think me or anyone else would
keep doing this if it weren’t fun.
As to the Stuffed Peppers… In the past I have always stuffed
Peppers with rice or Couscous, some kind of starch. This time I really didn’t want to do that, it
always sounds like a way better idea to me than it really is. So, I went for what I figured would be a
savory, spicy beef mixture. I couldn’t
just do beef though. I needed vegetables
and peppers.
It all started with some diced celery, garlic, and onion
cooking in a bit of butter on low heat.
Once they were all nice and soft I tossed in some diced, de-seeded
tomatoes, and finally the diced sweet chili peppers. Once those are nice and cooked I put dumped
it out of the pan into a big bowl to relax for a minute. Then the heat in the pan went way up and the
beef went in, along with some choice spices; pepper, salt, and a little
paprika.
Once the beef was nice and browned, I drained off most of
the fat and tossed it into the big bowl with the vegetables so that could mix
together and mingle and then back into the pan altogether with the heat on very
low.
As to the peppers, they were halved, roasted face down for
seven or eight minutes, and then turned over and stuffed with the beef mixture,
topped with a bit of parmesan cheese and then popped back in for another seven
or eight minutes.
They turned out nicely.
The beef was spicy and sweet, from both the peppers and the vegetable
mixture, the peppers were sweet and tender, mixing in with the stuffing as they were cut. Definitely a recipe to do again sometime.
So... what about the risotto?
I think we will save that for another time. Risotto is wonderful and easy, if not a
little time consuming. It is certainly
worth highlighting alone as it makes a great starch, as seen used it here, or
makes for a fantastic meal by itself.
The Recipe: Stuffed Red Peppers
Ingredients
2 Red Bell Peppers (Orange can also be good)
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked)
2 diced celery stalks
1/2 diced onion (I use white, but sweet and maui are also good)
3-4 cloves of diced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 diced sweet chili peppers
2 diced deseeded tomatos
Directions
1) Take a large pan and preheat it on medium to low heat. Add the butter. As it melts add in the garlic, the celery, and the onion. Stir occasionally.
2) After about 10 minutes, or one the celery and onion are looking translucent, add the sweet chili peppers and the tomatoes. Turn the heat up to medium.
3) Turn the oven onto broil so it has some time to preheat for the peppers.
4) After another 6-7 minutes or once the tomatoes and chilies have had time to cook, go ahead and dump all of them out of the pan and into a large bowl.
5) Cut the peppers in half, deseed them, and then place them on a baking sheet with the open side down. Put them in the oven and set a timer for 8 minutes.
6) Turn up the burner to medium high and add in the ground beef. Turn it and break up the meat, adding the spices as the meat begins to brown.
7) Once the meat is cooked all the way through, drain away most of the fat and mix the beef in with the vegetables in the large bowl.
8) After mixing everything in the bowl put it back into the pan and let it sit on low heat while the peppers finish (If the peppers are done you can skip this part and just begin stuffing them)
9) Once the peppers are out of the oven, go ahead and turn them over so we can stuff them. Divide the stuffing between the four halves- there may be stuffing left over, go ahead and save it for left overs with some rice!
10) Take the stuffed peppers (I like to add a little parmesan on top!) and pop them in the oven in the middle rack for another 8 minutes.
11) Go ahead and take them out, give them another minute if the cheese hasn't melted yet, then give the peppers a minute to rest before plating and eating!
Recipe by Matt!
The Recipe: Stuffed Red Peppers
Ingredients
2 Red Bell Peppers (Orange can also be good)
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon pepper
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked)
2 diced celery stalks
1/2 diced onion (I use white, but sweet and maui are also good)
3-4 cloves of diced garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 diced sweet chili peppers
2 diced deseeded tomatos
Directions
1) Take a large pan and preheat it on medium to low heat. Add the butter. As it melts add in the garlic, the celery, and the onion. Stir occasionally.
2) After about 10 minutes, or one the celery and onion are looking translucent, add the sweet chili peppers and the tomatoes. Turn the heat up to medium.
3) Turn the oven onto broil so it has some time to preheat for the peppers.
4) After another 6-7 minutes or once the tomatoes and chilies have had time to cook, go ahead and dump all of them out of the pan and into a large bowl.
5) Cut the peppers in half, deseed them, and then place them on a baking sheet with the open side down. Put them in the oven and set a timer for 8 minutes.
6) Turn up the burner to medium high and add in the ground beef. Turn it and break up the meat, adding the spices as the meat begins to brown.
7) Once the meat is cooked all the way through, drain away most of the fat and mix the beef in with the vegetables in the large bowl.
8) After mixing everything in the bowl put it back into the pan and let it sit on low heat while the peppers finish (If the peppers are done you can skip this part and just begin stuffing them)
9) Once the peppers are out of the oven, go ahead and turn them over so we can stuff them. Divide the stuffing between the four halves- there may be stuffing left over, go ahead and save it for left overs with some rice!
10) Take the stuffed peppers (I like to add a little parmesan on top!) and pop them in the oven in the middle rack for another 8 minutes.
11) Go ahead and take them out, give them another minute if the cheese hasn't melted yet, then give the peppers a minute to rest before plating and eating!
Recipe by Matt!
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