Tag Archives | pepper

Roasted Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Dip

on September 20, 2012

If you’ve been around food blogging for a while, chances are you have come across the beautiful blog My Kitchen Addiction. From promoting other bloggers in her Friday Favorites series, to helping others learn about cooking basics in the Kitchen Bootcamp, to posting beautifully shot seasonal recipes, Jen’s blog is a must.

I first met Jen last year at Big Summer Potluck, and had the chance to connect with her again at this year’s BSP. She’s just as warm and sweet as she is on her blog, which is why I am so happy to be able to help celebrate the little baby she will soon be bringing into the world.

Pregnancy is often hard, especially when it’s your first time. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding you, from your own fears about parenting to how your friends and family now treat you. When you’re a new parent, you need extra love and support, and what better way for food bloggers to show that than with a virtual baby shower!

I don’t know about other people, but when I’m at parties I gravitate toward dips. So simple, so innocent… so easy to put a whole bunch in my belly without even noticing. I had a dip similar to this one back at our holiday party for the ATX Swappers, and even after all those months I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Being a food blogger, though, I couldn’t help but tinker with it, resulting in the creamy dip you see below.

When you mix up the dip, it might seem like there are too many vegetables, but trust me on this. You want a sweet bite of pepper and onion in every scoop.

Roasted Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Dip

1/2 pound red bell pepper (about 2 peppers)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups diced onion
8 ounces fresh goat cheese (chevre – not crumbles)
4 ounces neufchatel cheese
1 tablespoon freshly snipped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to broil. Halve peppers and remove stem and seeds, then place cut-side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil until skin is blistered and blackened.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. This will take 20-30 minutes.

When the peppers are done, remove them from the oven and place in a ziplock bag or a bowl with cover. Let the peppers cool until they are cool enough to handle, then peel off the skins and discard. If you have roasted the peppers long enough, the skin should peel easily. If it doesn’t come off, don’t worry, just proceed.

Chop the peppers coarsely, and when the onions are nicely browned, add the peppers to the saucepan and mix well. Remove pan from heat. Add the cheeses and stir to melt. (You can return the pan to the heat if the cheese isn’t melting, but you don’t want it soupy.) Once the cheese is melted, season to taste.

Spoon into a serving dish, scatter the chives on top, and serve warm with thick tortilla chips, crostini, or pita chips. This is equally delicious at room temperature or even cold – just note that when cold, you’ll need a knife to spread.

 

Be sure to check out all the other recipes for Jen’s shower!

Bluebonnets & Brownies | Raspberry Lemon Fruit Dip
Sugarcrafter | Sweet Potato Cake with Honey Buttercream
My Baking Addiction | Mini Pumpkin Pies
Simple Bites | English Eccles Cakes
Stetted | Roasted Red Pepper and Caramelized Onion Dip
Food for my Family | Homemade Pear Italian Sodas with Cardamom Cream
eat. live. travel. write. | Goat Cheese and Tomato Tartlettes
Gimme Some Oven | Creamy Caramel Apple Dippers
Dessert For Two | Caramel Apple Cookie Cups
Bake at 350 | Soft Sugar Cookies for a Baby Shower
A Thought For Food | Fingerling Potato Salad
TidyMom | Apple Pomegranate Spritzers
i am baker | Advice to a New Mommy
Healthy Green Kitchen | Guacamole with Pistachios
Tracey’s Culinary Adventures | Caramelized Onion, Gruyere and Bacon Spread
What Megan’s Making | Apple Spice Muffins
Cookin’ Canuck | Gorgonzola Cheese Cups with Pear & Hazelnut Salad
Bellalimento | Frozen Berry Shortcake
Shugary Sweets | Caramel Apple Truffles
GoodLife Eats | Coconut Lemon Banana Bread

 

Happy Virtual Baby Shower, Jen! I can’t wait to see your beautiful baby!

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Hatch Cheddar Biscuits

on October 18, 2009

This summer I finally managed to get as many Hatch chile peppers as I wanted when the crop came in to Austin. Any time I buy something in bulk my husband gives me weird looks. And I admit, it was a pain in the butt to peel, seed, and chop those peppers, but you know? It’s the middle of October and I just had biscuits with Hatch chiles that didn’t come out of a tin.

Hatch Cheddar Biscuit

You can adjust the cheese and pepper to your tastes. Mine were on the lower end, as I have a toddler with randomly picky tastes.

Hatch Cheddar Biscuits
adapted from Mark Bittman

2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 tbsp roasted, peeled, diced Hatch peppers

Preheat oven to 450. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Cut in butter (or use a food processor) until fully incorporated and the mixture looks like granules. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, cheese, and peppers, then stir into the flour mixture. Stir until dough comes together, then form into a ball and dump it onto a lightly floured counter. Knead it a few times to help shape the dough, then moosh it into a rectangle about 3/4 inches thick. Cut out biscuits and put on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about 12 biscuits (using a 2 3/4 inch cutter).

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Green Chile Mac & Cheese

on September 15, 2009

Every August I go a little crazy and buy a bunch of Hatch peppers, insisting that I will need them. I use a few, but there are always a couple that have to be unearthed from the back of the freezer and tossed once the next crop arrives at my grocery store.

This year I sensibly bought the pre-roasted ones and spent a couple hours peeling, seeding, and dicing them, then freezing into ice cube trays. But it was only yesterday when I decided to use them for the first time. Maybe this year I’ll get through them.

Green Chile Mac & Cheese

Green Chile Mac & Cheese
inspired by the Roaring Fork restaurant

4 tbsp Hatch peppers, roasted and diced
½ cup milk or cream
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup mixed cheeses, shredded (I used sharp cheddar and aged white cheddar)
8 ounces macaroni
½ cup bread crumbs

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a sauce pan, then add 2 tbsp Hatch peppers. Cook until peppers start to break down a little, then add milk and cook until heated through, being careful not to let it curdle. Cool, then blast in a blender until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package. Drain, rinse with cool water, and return to original pot.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan, then add flour to form a roux. Add blended mixture, the other 2 tbsp peppers, a shake of salt and pepper, and heat through.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tbsp butter in microwave and mix with bread crumbs. You can omit the butter here if you want, I’ve found it tastes just as good.

Add cheeses to sauce, turn off heat, and stir constantly until cheese is completely melted. Pour into pasta and mix thoroughly, then pour into a greased 8×8 baking dish. Scatter bread crumbs over the top and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

Note: I didn’t write down what I was doing when I made this, so please let me know if there are problems when you make it!

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Sweet Pepper Relish

on July 18, 2009

I was at Central Market a few weeks ago. They often have snacks set out for tasting, and this time they had some sweet pepper relish. It was awesome. I wanted to eat the entire bowl right there. However, I couldn’t bring myself to buy a jar of the stuff. Six bucks is too much for me when it comes to a dip. Plus a quick peek at the ingredients let me know that I had everything I needed at home to make it.

Sweet Pepper Relish

Sweet Pepper Relish
makes approx 2 cups

4 San Marzano (or Roma) tomatoes, peeled and chopped
5 sweet peppers, seeded and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
dash cinnamon
1/2 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp paprika

Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook on low, stirring often, until peppers and tomatoes have broken down and mixture has thickened. Pour into a container and let cool to thicken more. Store in fridge.

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