Chiles Rellenos OMG

Fair warning about my "recipes"

I don't measure. I taste and adjust as I go. Know what flavors you like and might want more of in your food. I know cooking without measurements or amounts might be intimidating if you're used to using typical recipes but, trust me, once you start tasting and adjusting as you go it becomes so much more fun and the food becomes customized to you and your taste. Of course, there are SOME things that do need measurements (like baked goods) but for the most part, have FUN! You're the one eating the food you cook, not the creator of the recipe. I will go step by step of how I cook and my reasoning for doing things a certain way. Ingredients are listed at the end.

So, I made my own version of Bobby Flay's Chiles Rellenos. It. Was. Amazing.  It's a poblano pepper stuffed with mushrooms and goat cheese with a delicious sauce. Bobby Flay batters and frys his while I just stuff the roasted pepper and warm it in the oven to get the cheese all gooey. It was easy and not too time consuming. I love making sauces and this one was particularly easy and I'll be making it for other things in the future.

It all starts with roasting the poblano. Easy. Delish. Perfect way to eat a pepper, in my opinion. I started this first because I knew it would take the most time. I just turned the broiler on in my toaster oven and threw the peps in. I checked on them every few minutes and rotated them until then got nice and black and blistered. Put the peppers in a bowl straight out of the oven and cover with plastic wrap. Leave em alone and let them cool.

While the peps were roasting, I started on the filling. I cut the portobello and shiitake mushrooms to the size of my liking, a pretty small dice. I cooked them in a tiny bit of olive oil and when they were just about done cooking I added a minced garlic clove then set aside and salted them. I very finely diced the monterey jack cheese and mixed it into the mushrooms and half of the package of goat cheese. After I mixed it all together I tasted it. If ya filling doesn't taste good, ya stuffed pepper won't either. Add salt, garlic, or whatever spices or seasonings you think would make it taste better. Heck, add in a tiny bit of lemon juice if you want.

Now for the sauce. I make this last because I want the peppers and filling to cool so I don't burn off my fingerprints. I put piquillo peppers (that's what Bobby Flay calls for but I used jarred pimento peppers) into a blender with one chipotle pepper, a splash of water, a little more than a splash of canola oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Blend it up. Stick a spoon in it and taste it. Adjust. I ended up adding a little bit of the adobo sauce from the chipotle. Bobby also says to add some honey to the sauce. I had some hot honey that I had made for another meal so I just drizzled that on top of the whole thing after plating. Not a lot though, the sauce is already a little sweet.

Finally, the stuffing of the pepper. These guys are pretty delicate so be gentle. Take the peppers out of the bowl and set them on a cutting board, I'd do one at a time. Peel the skin off while keeping the pepper whole. You should be able to tear it where the blisters are. If you don't get all the skin off, it's not the end of the world. Make a slit lengthwise and take out the seeds and the, I don't know what you call it, light colored thing the seeds are all attached too near the stem on the inside. Now you can stuff those babies with your mushroom cheese mixture. You can salt the cavity of the pepper if you want, I just salted the outside. Use toothpicks or skewers to secure the pepper closed. You'll need more than one and you'll have to be gentle so it doesn't all fall apart. Using a batter and frying it would make them more sturdy but I'm not trying to eat all that fried junk.

Place the peppers GENTLY on a cookie sheet and bake just a couple minutes while you clean up the kitchen. I had my toaster oven on about 375. You're really just trying to heat everything back up and melt the cheese.

Now the fun part-plating! I put a couple of spoonfuls of that pretty orange sauce I made on the plate in the middle. I picked up the plate and moved it around a bit to spread out the sauce in an ovalish shape.I FORGOT THIS PART FOR MY PICTURE BUT IT'S SO PRETTY. Drizzle on the balsamic glaze in a pretty irregular oval that is going in a different direction of the sauce oval. Who cares, JUST MAKE IT PRETTY, OK. Then GENTLY place the pepper on the sauce and if you want add that hot honey.

Enjoy and take lots of pictures of your beautiful creation. I, unfortunately, did not get the greatest pictures because I was too excited to eat this masterpiece.

Please make this. Take a pic. Put it on insta. Tag me so I can drool and run to the store to buy the ingredients to make it again. @danyxelle

Ingredients:
For the pepper:

• poblano pepper
• portobello mushrooms (I used one whole package of sliced portobello) 
• shiitake mushrooms ( I used about 1/3 package of the shiitake)
• goat cheese (I used half of a small package)
• monterey jack cheese (I used about 1/4 cup)
• garlic (2 cloves)
• salt and pepper (duh )
• toothpicks (I know it's not an "ingredient" but don't forget them)
• balsamic glaze- for plating. Please buy this, don't make it. It's hard to clean your pan after and the stuff in the store is delicious and saves you time and a headache

For the sauce:

• piquillo peppers (let's be real, get jarred pimentos- DRAIN THEM. I used one jar)
• chipotle pepper (you'll only need one pepper so meal plan other things with chipotle peppers so you don't just throw the jar away after using one)
• water (about 1/4 cup)
• canola oil (about 1/4 cup)
• salt and pepper 
• red wine vinegar (just a splash)