Stuff it

First of all, happy new year from the kung fu kitchen! Hope it’s filled with good eats, peace and happiness!

My first blog of 2009 revolves around stuffing it. In this case, I’ve roasted and stuffed some beautiful shrimp stuffed poblanos. This was the first time I roasted peppers at home. Or anywhere else for that matter. I was a little intimidated, although with a few successes under my belt I was feeling confident. So I cranked up the broiler and went to town.

It took a little bit longer than the recipe stated to broil, and they didn’t get all black like I expected but they looked done enough so I quit turning them and pulled them out to steam. When it was time to peel, I was amazed. The skin just came right off in my fingers. The seeds within were another matter. When I tried to grab them they went everywhere, including other places inside the pepper. So I didn’t quite get all of them but I wasn’t worried. Poblanos aren’t that hot…right?

When it came to the creamy shrimp stuffing, I had my sour cream and cilantro all ready. I chopped the green onions and kept them to the side (Bill’s not a fan) then turned to the salsa portion. I had a jug of salsa I picked up at Costco that I was going to use. I pulled it out of the pantry and realized that it said PLEASE REFRIGERATE. Oh, crap. It had been in the pantry for at least a week. I didn’t think it was worth risking food poisoning for jarred salsa, so I improved with a can of Rotel and a can of regular diced tomatoes. It seemed to work out. I tossed in my shrimp, mixed and stuffed. They turned out rather pretty, I think, and not to shabby for a first try.

I served them up with a side of my own special spicy black beans (can of black beans and some chipotle Tobasco), topped with the green onions and some fresh cilantro and it was rather attractive on the plate.