Saturday night we had the annual Cherry Creek Chorale picnic. I’ve been in charge of this event now for six or seven years and every one has been a learning experience. This year, as for every one except the first three, we’ve had the event at someone’s house and those people did the setup and drinks. Whew! The first picnic I did was pretty traumatic, back six or seven years ago, as it was held at a park. The amount of schlepping we did was a sight to behold. I said, “No more of this!” So for the next two years we had it at our house, which cut down on the schlepping but meant that we had to do the setup. We borrowed tables and chairs from our church and I made most of the
Holding the whole pepper on a fork over a gas flame, turning it until all sides are blackened. Putting the peppers directly on an electric burner, again monitoring it and turning it until done. Putting the peppers under the broiler. Putting the roasted peppers into a paper bag to steam. Rinsing every bit of blackened skin off under running water. On and on. While these peppers are a great addition to salads, they sometimes can seem more trouble than they’re worth. But they’re very expensive if you buy them at the grocery store, and I don’t think they taste as good as the freshly-made ones. So here’s my take on them, which is still finicky but easier than the run-of-the-mill procedures.
This is another sort-of-fiddly item that I make because I can’t stand the thought of buying them pre-made. They’re really not all that hard. This is more of a procedure than a recipe. I’ve made them with Italian flavors since that fits with my usual homemade salad dressing, creamy Italian. Other spices could include cumin or smoked paprika. Fresh herbs wouldn’t work as they’d tend to burn.