Supper. That time of the evening when we are to gather with our loved ones to share a meal; share our day; share time together. At least that's the Hallmark card version. Reality is a last minute headache because the one necessary ingredient you need for the only meat you have thawed and losing nutrients by the nanosecond is, of course, missing from your fridge or pantry. It is the sudden realization that you have given no thought during the day of what you are going to serve that night that sends you scrambling to the takeout menu side of the fridge door. We all have one fall-back number to call. Admit it. But do you really want to call for take out? Of course not. You WANT to be able to throw something together and have your family or friends kissing your feet in gratitude....right? Yeah, me too.
I tend to follow the same rules that Chef Michael Smith and Jamie Oliver do in regards to meal planning and execution. Michael stresses "gazing" into your pantry or fridge and letting an ingredient or mood dictate the whole meal. If he can't get tomatoes out of his mind, he gives in and lets his culinary juices flow. Jamie encourages a similar effort and his enthusiasm for that method of exploratory cooking is part of the meal itself! I do the same almost every day. I have a meat in mind or maybe I am craving a pasta dish and I create a meal around that. Supper creating should be an enjoyable event not a time to be stressed or feeding yourself or your family inferior food because you are out of time.
It does happen to us all and because of that, there are a multitude of tricks of the trade discovered by others that you can rely upon in case it does happen. Some tips include making large batches of dishes on the weekend and freezing in portion-sized baggies and having the ingredients in your pantry and freezer at all times to pull together a particular quick and nutritious casserole.
Well, today I had as usual left it a bit late to gather the necessary ingredients for supper and as I had already had my idea of baked Blueberry French toast vetoed, I was thinking hard. As I drove to Loblaw, (which I don't usually do as they are rather pricey on the regular products I buy but I needed some specialty items they don't carry at my local NoFrills store) I realized I had no idea. I knew I wanted something easy that did not require me to buy alot of ingredients which led me to doing that mental inventory women have a knack for doing. Mmmm, goats milk cheese, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives.... I entered the store and wandered through the produce aisle and there they were right in front of me-glossy, deep-green poblano chilies! Every where I looked, chilies! Red, orange, yellow and three shades of delectable green to choose from and I stood there in my eureka moment, grabbed a bag and started shoveling. I like peppers. Just FYI in case you couldn't tell by the previous sentences. I like them a lot.
So, I came up with this throw together light supper, appetizer, or part of a lunch on the fly and we'll see how it goes. Happy cooking everyone!
Use the freshest, firmest peppers you can get your hands on and remember to wash those same hands after dealing with the peppers! They aren't very hot but will still sting sensitive tissues.
Ingredients:
3 large poblano peppers, washed, tops cut off and membrane removed
150g goats cheese, softened
150g grated hard cheese, cheddar, monterey jack, colby etc
100g seasoned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
5 roasted red peppers, drained of oil and chopped
1 anaheim pepper, washed, minced
4 slices worth of smoked bacon lardons*, divided
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 c Kalamata olives, pitted and rough chopped
Blend: salt, pepper, oregano, dried garlic
1 lemon
EVOO
300g washed baby arugula
Cook lardons thoroughly, drain and put in large bowl. Saute scallions and anaheim peppers until softened. Add to bowl along with cheeses, olives, red peppers and the herb blend. Mix well. Stuff peppers with mixture and secure tops with toothpicks in three places (or more if you are paranoid). Brush peppers with EVOO and either broil in oven, turning once, or fry in cast iron pan until crispy and insides have heated.
Toss arugula with lemon juice, EVOO, salt and pepper. Arrange on plate and serve with one pepper each person. Makes 3 servings.
Makes a great lunch when served with a nice crusty peasant bread and whipped butter or eat it as an appetizer or late afternoon snack.
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