Poblano peppers stuffed with smokey pork

I stopped at the Mexican market in West Chicago, on my way home from the office last week. I wanted to get the things I need for making burritos out of my leftover smoked pork. Then I saw the beautiful poblano peppers they had on sale. I did a quick change of recipe in my head, and picked up a few other ingredients. 

When I arrived home I started in on these. This came out great, and despite the way it sounds, it is very easy to make. Start to finish, I was eating in less than an hour from the time I pulled into the driveway. Here is how I prepared this dish.

3 poblano peppers

2 cups of smokey leftover roast pork, shredded

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

3 Tabasco peppers, sliced (or red pepper flakes)

Half teaspoon of cumin

Pinch of oregano

Worcestershire sauce

Soy sauce

Half pound of shredded Quesadilla cheese

PAM cooking spray

7 oz can of Mexican salsa (San Marcos)

Steamed rice

Preparation

Wash and place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet, under the broiler. Broil these so that the skin is charred and blistered on all sides. Place the peppers in a bowl just big enough to hold them, and cover it with a plate. Let those steam and cool.

Put your rice on to steam. Preheat the oven to 385º.  Shred the pork and set it in a bowl. Heat a medium oven proof skillet and add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the onion and the thinly sliced hot peppers (or red pepper flakes). Stir and let that soften, but don’t brown the onions. As soon as the onions are softened, add the pork, the cumin and oregano. Stir that in. When everything is hot, sprinkle on a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of soy sauce. Stir for a minute, and turn off the heat. Place that into a medium bowl and stir to help it cool.

When the peppers have cooled enough to handle, gently peel off the charred skin. When it is most all off, slit the pepper down one side, open it up to remove the seeds and stem. Fold it back over, and do the same to the other peppers. By now the pork and onion mixture should have cooled to just warm. Add half of the Quesadilla cheese to it and stir.

Spray the skillet that cooked the meat with PAM. Lay one pepper in the skillet, open it, and spoon in the pork and cheese mixture. Fold the pepper closed, and turn it seam side down. Repeat with the other two peppers. Space the stuffed peppers evenly in the skillet, and spoon the leftover pork mixture around the peppers. Pour the can of Mexican salsa over the peppers, and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Bake in the hot oven until the cheese is completely melted, about ten minutes. Finish under the broiler to brown the cheese.

Serving

Place a mound of steamed rice on your plate. Add a stuffed pepper or two, with lots of the sauce. Pick out a lively, citrusy white wine. Vinho Verde from Portugal is my favorite. Ring the dinner bell!

Minestrone soup with chicken

Saturday was a rainy day. I had wanted to unload my truck and get it cleaned up, but the rain put a damper on that. So, instead, I made soup. I made a stock from bones in the freezer, but the beans were canned. The chicken carcass I had in the freezer had lots of meat left on it. I used that to make the stock, and then cut the meat off the bones, and added that to the soup.

That night, my neighbors came over for dinner. I got pretty favorable reviews on this minestrone. It went real well with the lamb I roasted. Here is how I made the minestrone. 

1 meaty chicken carcass from roast chicken

Water

1/4 cup of onion flakes

3 bay leaves

4 stalks of celery, broken

1/2 tsp. adobo seasoning

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. chicken bullion

Olive oil

1 large carrot, cubed

3 stalks of celery, sliced

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 serrano pepper, chopped

1/2 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. smoked paprika

15 oz. can of pinto beans

1 pound can of Blue Runner red beans

10 oz. can of RoTel tomatoes

1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables

Worcestershire sauce

Maggi seasoning

4 small branches of fresh rosemary

1 cup of small pasta shells

Preparation

For the stock, place the chicken carcass in a stock pot, and add enough water to completely cover the bones. Add the onion flakes, the broken celery, bay leaves, adobo seasoning, cumin, and the chicken bullion. Bring that to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for one hour.

Strain the stock. Remove all the meat from the bones, chop that and set aside. Heat a large soup pot and add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrots, onion, sliced celery, garlic and serrano pepper. Stir and let that sweat down. Sprinkle on the thyme, oregano and smoked paprika. Once the onions have softened, add the chopped chicken. Let that gently cook for about five minutes and add the stock.

Bring the soup to a boil, and let it simmer uncovered, for about a half hour, to reduce the volume. Add the pinto beans, and then stir in the Blue Runner red beans. Stir well, and let that simmer for another half hour. Add the RoTel tomatoes, the mixed vegetables, a few dashes of the Worcestershire sauce, and a few more dashes of the Maggi seasoning. Simmer for another half hour, and add the rosemary branches and the pasta.  Simmer for a final half hour, but stir often, and keep the heat low, to avoid scorching. Taste and adjust the minestrone for salt, using adobo seasoning.

Serving

Serve big bowls of this soup, with some grated Parmesan cheese. We also had medium rare roast lamb, roasted potatoes, gravy, fresh homemade bread and lots of butter. A hearty Zinfandel would be best with this.