For the first time, I made stuffed poppers and they were delish (if you like spicy food).  They were devoured while we watched the Seahawks beat the Indians yesterday!

I learned through my experiment, that you should wear gloves when cutting the peppers.   Nothing could get the pepper juices from my hands and they burned all night.  I also discovered that the vapor (?) makes me gag and cough.   Appetizing, huh?  Cutting onions produces a stream a tears…so maybe I’m just an overly sensitive cook.  Bonus: you can make these the night before and pop them into the oven when you’re ready to serve.

[photo to follow once I bake up today’s batch…they were consumed too quickly yesterday for me to snap a picture]

Since we’re in the heat of football playoffs, I thought I’d share my recipe with you for stuffed poppers.   They’re kind of like nacho’s; the recipe is very flexible and you can add what ever you want.

Soak 1-2 wooden toothpicks in water before you begin (to prevent flamage).

Softened Cream Cheese – one package works for about 6 peppers.

I blended chopped garlic, fresh chopped basil (dry would work too) and sun-dried tomatoes with a little salt and pepper.

I make the cream cheese mixture first and then prepare the peppers so the flavors have a chance to blend.

Fresh jalapeno peppers (my sister in law uses another pepper that she says is not as spicy and is slightly larger.   I’ll let you know if we can narrow down which one it is).  I would figure 1-2 peppers per serving.

Slice a small wedge down the length of the pepper.  You want it to be narrow enough to keep the pepper closed when cooking yet large enough to stuff with the goodies.   Remove the seeds and ribs from the pepper.   Stuff the peppers.

Wrap thin sliced bacon around each stuffed pepper and secure with a soaked wooden toothpick.  Wrap the bacon in a criss-cross to cover the cheesy opening of the pepper.  If your pepper is larger, you may need two slices.  Darn!

Secure the bacon with a wooden toothpick.

Broil (or BBQ) the poppers until the bacon is cooked.  I broiled my poppers with the cheese side down first and then flipped them once the bacon was cooked to finish with the cheese side up.  This was out of concern that I may loose my stuffing if the cheese became melted and gooey by heating up the cheesy side and then flipping over.

Enjoy!

Other ideas I may try the next  time I make poppers are stuffing with:

• Brie
• Sausage and rice (like a mini stuffed bell pepper)
• Crab and cream cheese

What are your favorite popper stuffings?

This is the dish I’m requested to make for just about any family gathering…including Thanksgiving.   It works year round and you can easily substitute various ingredients (for example, bacon instead of pancetta or Gouda instead of goat cheese).  It’s quick, easy to make and very versatile.   This Thanksgiving, I’m going to try adding julienned sun dried tomatoes.  This is also commuter friendly if you need a dish to pack and go to a relative or friends house for the holidays.    And its delicious for any meal from brunch to dinner. 

The only down side for me is that it’s the only dish that I’m requested to bring to my husbands family (I love to cook).   

Grill 1 lb. pancetta until crisp.  Drain on paper towel and chop/crumble.  Set aside.

Wash and trim ends off of 2 pounds of asparagus (medium thickness).   Drizzle with olive oil and add generous amounts of sea salt and pepper (I prefer sea salt with herbs, such as Sale Alle Erbe della Marlunghe which you can find at stores like Metropolitan Market).   You can either roast the asparagus in a hot oven (450 degrees) or you can pan roast until they are crisp tender.  The asparagus should just begin to turn color and sweat.

Arrange asparagus on a platter.  (Typically, I use a round platter and point the spears outwards working my way inward with layers of the asparagus (layering some bacon and goat cheese between layers).   I top the center with lemon slices which creates a visual of a flower).    Sprinkle with 3 1/2 oz. fresh goat cheese and then pancetta.    Drizzle with 2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tsp. grated lemon peel.   

Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!