Tag: parties

Stuffed Sweet Mini Peppers

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We are friends right!?! (Picture me dramatically walking with a glass of Pinot in my hand to the West Wing of my estate and sitting down on a luxurious chaise on my veranda overlooking the Caribbean to start my syndicated cooking show. Ok…OK fine. The blog hasn’t skyrocketed to a Kardashian level of fame existence yet but I feel like we’re close. In the mean time I’ll grab a coke, head for the kitchen and keeping writing my post. Same thing). Back to the matter at hand…

Can we talk about bacon for a second? It’s one of my favorite ingredients. I like to showcase it as a show piece (think pork belly), let it be the salt element in soups, casseroles and stews and wrap it around some of our fav ocean givings – scallops and shrimp. Today, we are making the most delish cheese stuffing for those adorable mini sweet peppers you see at the market. These work great as an appetizer, veggie side dish or a lunch & cocktail party to share with friends. These peppers are not spicy at all so it’s safe for even our favorite younger diners.

The Goods

  • 1 bag of those colorful small mini peppers
  • 4 slices of bacon (thick words well)
  • 1 jar ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella or pepper jack or even shredded manchego if you’re feeling fancy!
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas (Hold up what?!?!? Yup, I said peas. They add such a great pop of sweetness against the salty cheese interior. Trust me on this.)
  • S&P
  • Garlic Powder

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Pepper magic

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook your bacon until it’s pretty crispy. Place on a paper towel to absorb some of the fat and chop it up.

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First you want to give your lil’ peppers a rinse. Using a small paring knife remove the top stem and carefully cut out the interior stems (this is mostly to remove the seeds but also to get maximum space to add your delicious filling.) Set those aside.

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In a mixing bowl add the jar of ricotta, the bacon, mozzarella, and your peas. Hit it with S&P and about 1/2 tsp of garlic salt. Mix together with a fork (I find that works best but really any implement will do). Make sure to taste it but I’m sorry in advance if it’s amazing. EVERY time I make this I end up eating…a tad too much and run out of filling for the peppers. Don’t be that girl. Do as I say, not as I do…

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Using a spoon shovel some filling into each pepper and place onto a baking sheet.

Bake those mini flavor bombs for about 20-25 min. You want the underside just to get brown and delicious and the flesh of the peppers to get soft and just start to wilt down. Yes, the filling may come oozing out and that’s totally ok! The little cheese that hits the pan may get some brown bits on them and OMG browned cheese is amazing. You’re welcome in advance for those tiny gifts from cheese heaven.

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Remove and let cool for just a few min then plate up your gorgeous peppers. Big shout out to our equally gorgeous friend Maggie who bought us these plates from West Elm as a wedding present. Now they, and you, are famous.

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Happy Cooking Friends!

xoxo Shawna

Summer Veggie Couscous Deliciousness

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Oh man. You know, summer grilling/roasting/eating/general tomfoolery is my favorite. In southern california we are blessed with pretty epic weather for 99% of the year and even though May can be a bit blah the sun still peeks out and days like today warrant fire and vegetables. Our good friend Billy is turning 30 and he’s brining and grilling a 33 lb WHOLE piggy. So, the side dish I’m bringing for the hostess Kiley has got to be equally as fabulous. I’m thinking veggie couscous with a lemon vinaigrette. Let’s get cooking!

The Goods

  • 2 cups uncooked couscous
  • 2 cups water (or broth)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 3 small zucchini (or any summer squash)
  • 1 onion
  • 2 lemons
  • olive oil
  • dijon mustard
  • S&P and garlic powder
  • If you stick with water or veggie stock this dish is vegan/vegetarian

Annnnnnd go….

  1. Cook up the couscous. Generally you boil equal cups water (in this case 2 cups) and add in the same amount of couscous (again 2 cups), take it off the heat and let sit 4-5 minutes then fluff with a fork until your little heart is content.
  2. Chop up the veggies (bigger than a dice, smaller than a large chunk)
  3. Heat a pan (I used a nonstick pan) on med/hi heat and give her a couple o’ swirls of olive oil
  4. Add veggies and immediately hit it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Always, ALWAYS, season each layer of food you add to the pan. Your guests, your future judges on Chopped and your future children will thank me. So for that, you’re welcome.
  5. Once they are sauteed just until soft (mine had some random brown bits so I went with that) add them and the couscous to a large bowl. Mix it up a bit. Now, dressing time.
  6. Juice two lemons and make sure to remove the seeds. Nobody wants to eat lemon seeds. If they did, you’d probably owe them some money to visit a dentist and we do not have time for that.
  7. In a vessel (glass measuring cup, small bowl, a dressing maker…) mix 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, S&P and garlic powder. Now, drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and whisk away. Whisk. Whisk. Whisk. Now taste.
  8. Don’t dunk your hand in there like a crazed dressing cave woman (or man). Use a spoon. Like the pros do. Resist the urge to double dip said spoon. Trust me, as you get into cooking you end up using lots of spoons and your dear husband (or wife) ends up cleaning a lot of spoons but you know what? The product is usually yummy.
  9. Feel free to double the dressing or add other goodies. It’s really the perfect base.
  10. Pour dressing over couscous and veggies and stir it up. Best served soon after but it’s always yummy for left overs.

Couscous

See. There you have it. The perfect delish veggie couscous salad. Now I have to go eat some pork. Cheers until next post.

xoxo Shawna