Roasted Red Bell Peppers with Mozzarella

From the kitchen of: Isabel  Makes: 3-4 servings
Total time: 5 min to prep, 45 min to roast plus 1-2 hours to marinate

Jared’s mom came into town for her birthday not too long ago. She loves visiting us in Richmond. But just between me and you, I think it’s because of the food Richmond has to offer! Just kidding, Barbara! Either way, we wanted to take her out to dinner to someplace we knew she would love. Richmond is a mecca for good eats. It was hard to narrow it down, but ultimately we decided to go Italian. Now, the tough part, deciding which Italian restaurant to go to. Drum roll please. We decided on Edo’s Squid! So that’s a no-brainer for a lot of Richmonders. If you haven’t been there yet, shame on you! Go call them now and reserve a table.

This recipe I’m showcasing today was inspired from the appetizer we ordered at Edo’s Squid. It was simplicity at it’s best. It was roasted red bells peppers marinaded in olive oil served with the freshest mozzarella. The sweetness and delicate flavors in the peppers paired so nicely with the mozzarella. We all loved this combination of flavors and I knew this was something that could be made ahead of time when throwing a dinner party. This dish is what I love so much about Italian/European cooking. It’s just a minimal amount of ingredients that allows the food to really shine.

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers
1 ball of fresh mozzarella
olive oil
garlic powder
salt + pepper

Directions:
1. Roast red bell peppers. Preheat oven to 350º. Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry the red bell peppers. Place the peppers on a medium tray with sides because juices will release from the peppers. Coat the peppers with some olive oil and season with a few pinches of salt. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes until skin is wrinkled and blistered.

2. Skin and de-seed red bell peppers. Remove the roasted peppers from the oven and immediately cover the tray with foil. The steam will help loosen the skin of the pepper. After 5 minutes, uncover the tray. On a cutting board, remove the skin and de-seed the roasted red bell peppers. Cut the peppers into quarters.

3. Marinade peppers in olive oil. Once the peppers are completely cooled, place in an air-tight container. Add more olive oil just to cover the peppers. Allow the peppers to marinate at room temperature for 1-2 hours. If done the day before, place in the fridge. To serve, cut thick slices of fresh mozzarella and place them on a serving plate with the marinaded peppers. Drizzle a little more olive oil and season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Can be served with warm, crusty bread and kalamata olives.

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Kiernan’s Baptism Filipino Feast

On Sunday, July 1, our nephew Kiernan was baptized at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. Service began right at 11 a.m. and the baptisms coincided with regular Mass. There were about 10 babies getting baptized that morning. Call me biased, but I think Kiernan was the cutest! LOL. He was such a good boy throughout the whole thing. He didn’t cry or fidget at all. Not even when it was time for photos after the hour-long service had ended. Kiernan was happy as a clam and cute as can be. Just look at him! It was truly a wonderful day for the Donahue and Ramos families.

We went back to the house and my parents started cooking up a huge Filipino feast for lunch. They had brought all the ingredients from home, already prepped and ready to go. It was pretty smart of them to prepare everything the day since there was only a short window between Mass and lunch time. They cooked four dishes enough to feed about 10-15 people. Just look at that plate of food and tell me that doesn’t make your mouth drool. I got a little bit of everything — Pancit, Beef and Broccoli, Lumpia and Breaded Shrimp. I think the whole family went back for seconds. I just love it when my parents cook!

My parents were the chefs in the kitchen. My dad was the executive chef, while my mom was the prep cook. LOL. I learned to love cooking from my dad. He and I would watch on PBS, Yan Can Cook, together waayyyy back in the day. If only I can cook Filipino food just as awesome as he can.

So the first thing on the menu is a staple in any Filipino household. Can’t have a Filipino party without the best lumpia in the world. My mom prepared these a few weeks ago and froze them. All she had to do was fry them up in batches that afternoon. Believe me when I say this plate of food was the first one to go.

My dad made breaded shrimp coated in a pre-made packaged frying mix and Panko bread crumbs. He prepped them that morning before church and my mom fried them similarly to the lumpia. Both the lumpia and shrimp were gone within minutes.

We served a sweet chili sauce and dark soy sauce as condiments to the lumpia and shrimp.

My dad made two main courses. On the left is a traditional Filipino noodle dish called Pancit. It’s made with very thin noodles and incorporates veggies, chicken and shrimp. On the right is my dad’s version of beef and broccoli. Oh good Lord. This may be better than any Chinese restaurant version. My dad has made both dishes a million times, but I never know how he actually cooks them. All the recipes come straight from his head so it’s hard for me to figure out how to cook them since they usually require lots of ingredients and lots of steps. I need him to write all his recipes down for me!

And for dessert, my sister ordered a yellow cake with white frosting from Kroger. It was actually pretty good for a grocery-bought cake.

And here are the chefs! Thanks again to my parents for making an incredible Filipino feast! Now, I expect this when I come home next :)

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