So since the earthquake in the Amatricia region of Italy last week, I’ve had Italy on the brain. And while it is somewhat absurd in the middle of a natural disaster, one of the first things that I thought of was Bucatini all’Amatriciana… somehow planted in my brain was this is the signature dish from that area of Italy. It’s very popular, very easy to make and taste amazing.
Ghost Peppers. Jolokia chiles. Hot. Very Hot. Apparently some of the hottest edible chiles around. I’d been talking with someone about a year back so when I saw starter seedlings at the garden shop this spring, I decided to buy some. Thing is though: I now have about 40 ghost peppers. I’ve drying most of them, to grind for chili (it anyone wants some dried, let me know), but I decided to make this BBQ sauce too. It’s not all that hot, balanced by the sweetness of the roasted mangoes, actually. Definitely more of a chicken or veggie glaze than ribs or steak. Very tasty and the spicy kick gets you at the end.
Not a great Memorial Day weekend here in Greater Boston, weather-wise. Saturday was brutally hot but then Sunday overcast and cold. Nevertheless, I needed to eat and I had all the ingredients for these lovely kebabs, and I was just itching to use the grill on Saturday. Wrapped them in a tortilla to serve, but could also just serve with a side of rice and beans. Also, I had leftovers, which I diced up fairly small added a bit of mayo and guacamole, and it made a lovely chicken salad for dinner last night.
The other day, I found these cool looking peppers at the market. They are called Flame Peppers. They taste exactly like yellow or orange or red bell peppers (i.e. not spicy), but they look rather neat with the stripes and all. I was curious as to whether they would hold their color once cooked (you know how some veg changes color dramatically once heated). Anyway, had to give them a good and why not use one of my staple, go-to recipes of Stuffed Peppers. Yum.
FYI, obviously you can do this recipe with “plain ole” bell peppers, though in general, I would avoid green as they can be bitter. Stick with the red-yellow-orange type.
It’s the first weekend of Spring, but here in Boston it was turned cold again, with the potential for snow in the next 24 hours, so I thought that I would get one more “winter-ish” recipe in. Surprisingly, I have never posted this recipe, even though beef stew is one of my staple dishes. I usually make a big batch as it freezes well. And it makes the flat all nice and cozy. Onwards to spring, but first, enjoy some Bœuf Bourguignon, Kat style.