Roasted Red Pepper Spread

You’d think during this pandemic I would be cooking more, but I’m still quite busy even in these times.

I’m one of the lucky workers out there that is able to work from home. Turns out getting a job in the post production entertainment industry was a better move than I could have possibly predicted when I was hired.

I could be utilizing this time by cooking and braving the new grocery store world order and that’s why dear friends the gaps in writing posts continues.

Don’t misunderstand me, though. I truly am grateful. I’m just surprised I still feel busy and overwhelmed at times.

Let’s get down to brass tax… this makes me wonder if in today’s climate the tax becomes some other type of metal like tin or something.

Ok, so let’s get down to tin tax! Tonight’s entry concerns one roasted red pepper spread from Debra Kloosterman of Monroe County Indiana in the aptly named Tastes of Monroe County Cookbook. 

What you’ll need

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 12 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 7 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seed crushed
• 1 teaspoon of sugar

The first step is to sauté your onion in a pan coated in olive oil. Let it soften, but don’t let it brown. We want to treat this onion like a pasty white person that just burns and doesn’t tan. Don’t let it out in that heat too long.

Right before that onion burns slather on some sunscreen consisting of red pepper, tomatoes, fennel, and sugar.

Lather this up and then you’ll be safe to boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.

That should be enough heat for our spread and by this time most of the liquid should have evaporated. If this is so, remove from the heat and allow the spread to cool because our next step is pulverize it in a food processor.

Once this step is done you are good to go!

As you can see, I chose to prepare this as sort of a bruschetta which worked nicely and I think would have been even tastier with mozzarella and basil.

The taste is quite similar to a tomato paste. The red peppers obviously are what makes it different, but honestly it doesn’t differ that much. I have a high spice tolerance so I could not detect any heat, but I guessing that would be another comparison for those with milder spice tastes.

This was just an okay recipe for me. I probably wouldn’t make it again, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s bad.

I do think it’d be interesting to try as a sort of pizza sauce and that’s my true overall take. That this is a spread to add to something and help it blend tastes. It’s not meant to be the main event.

As always, this is just my opinion and I would love to hear other opinions if it applies.

Stay healthy and safe friends!

 

 

Darling Party Bread Spread

Olives know how to party according to Carol Darling from Tastes of Monroe County.

By the way, I didn’t know Darling was a real name. I thought that was just a cutsie thing made up for Peter Pan. The Darlings. Wendy Darling. Pan’s little precious.

I wonder if that’s why Tink was so annoyed with him. Maybe she felt he picked Wendy to give a thimble kiss to based on her last name. It seems something a man with Peter Pan syndrome would do right?

Sadly I’ve become a bitter lady and what once was a cute movie about a boy who got to fly and hang out with a badass fairy is now a metaphor of all the immature men out there promising you Neverland and not delivering.

That’s why it’s called Neverland, cause it’s never going to happen.

You know what can happen though? Olive party spreads.

So let’s forget about the Pans in our lives and deal with the bitterness by cooking.

What you’ll need

• 1 cup of finely chopped pecans
• 2 large hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
• 1 small onion minced
• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1 4 ounce jar of green pimento olives, finely chopped

Another reason this recipe is your answer when recovering from bitterness about Pans is that all you have to do is combine all ingredients together and then stick in the fridge.

Like with Pan, you’ll have to wait around, but only for 6 hours and un-like Pan the olive spread will deliver on it’s promises.

Enjoy the spread with crackers or bread as the title suggests. You can party with either one. I myself chose crackers.

If you just look at the ingredients in this spread it sounds very odd, but don’t discredit it. It’s actually palatable. I was pleased with the results. The consistency and taste were similar to a cream cheese, cheese ball my uncle makes. Which is scrumptious by the way.

The mayo combined with the egg created a smooth cheese-like texture while the olive, onions, and pecans assisted in giving a slightly bitter and chunky flavor. The olives did make it more bitter than a cheese ball, but I still feel like they are similar enough that you could call them first cousins.

Despite the similarities, I don’t think it’s a healthier alternative to a cheese ball. If your mind was going there. I’d need a nutritionist to look into it, but I’m pretty sure mayo is just as bad as cream cheese. It might be slightly less in calorie-intake, but not enough to justify as a replacement if you have a cheese ball addiction.

Whether you do or not, I recommend trying this spread out. It’s not difficult to make and most of you know I like to encourage trying new things. It makes life enjoyable.