Recipe of the Week: Danger's Perfectly Plump Peppers

For whom does the Bell Pepper toll??? Fortunately for you, it tolls for thee.

Stuffed bell peppers are a delightful treat which many of you have no doubt encountered in one form or another. My recipe comes from a mood I was in one day to make my own version, and the result had me back in the kitchen making them again before the first batch was finished. They are simple, delicious, and healthy. You can serve these as a mega side dish, or even as a plato principal.

Without further ado, let Danger take you to the kitchen.

(Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

4-6 Bell Peppers (green and red are my favorite, but any will do)
2 cups (before cooking) Basmati Rice
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Mushrooms (4-6 regular sized champignon mushrooms, or any other type you like, sliced)
1 bunch spring onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (crushed in a garlic press)
2 cups or so of fresh spinach
Olive Oil
Smoky English Bacon, unsliced (or any other type of meat you like, but can cut into cubes)
Fresh Goat Cheese
Chili Powder
Salt and Pepper

Begin by boiling some water and cooking the rice. It can be done long before you start preparing the rest. Cook it and set it aside. You can also add the cubed smoked bacon to the rice and mix it in. I find doing it this way lets the smoky flavor infuse the rice a bit, and the hot rice tenderizes the bacon.

Cut the tops off of the bell peppers, and hollow out the seeds. Leave the stems on so you have little 'lids'. Ideally, you should be working with symmetrical peppers, because they will need to stand up while cooking. Set the hollow peppers aside.

In a large mixing bowl, press the garlic and add the diced tomatoes, chopped spring onion. I also add some salt and pepper, chili pepper, and I sometimes use Mrs. Dash Table Blend, too. Give it a quick stir so that it's a uniform mixture.

Heat about 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a frying pan, and start sauteing the spinach and the garlic. I chop the spinach into smaller pieces so the leaves wilt up more quickly. I also add the mushrooms only after the spinach is about 3/4 of the way done, so that they don't brown too much and stay juicy.

When the mushrooms and spinach are finished, place them into the bowl with the tomato/onion mixture, and stir well. You have a very lovely mixture of cooked and fresh vegetables and spices now. I've thought this would be worth eating on its own, and usually eat a spoonful or two; but your patience will be rewarded if you go the distance to completion of the recipe.

Now, take the rice/bacon mix and add it to the veggie mix. Mix it thoroughly so that you have a risotto of sorts. When it's all complete, set aside and prep the bell peppers. Bell pepper prep involves massaging them outside AND inside with olive oil with your fingers. If you don't rub them with olive oil, the outsides of the peppers won't roast as nicely in the oven.

In the bottom of each pepper put a small layer of the fresh goat cheese. Then, put a spoonful or two of the rice mixture on top, then another layer of goat cheese, then another portion of the rice mixture, etc. Do this until you have an overflowing pepper, top it with one last bit of goat cheese and stuff the cap on as well as you can. The cheese on top will melt and hold the cap in place in the onion. I usually go for 3-4 layers of the cheese.

When all 4 peppers are prepared this way, place them in a Pyrex casserole dish and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes. Keep your eye on these bad boys, so that if the skin roasts too much or they begin looking too soft, you can take them out. Peppers are always different, and some take a little more or less time than others. The ingredients inside just need to get hot, so you're really only watching the peppers.

When you pull them out of the oven, you'll have fat little peppers stuffed with seasoned goodness. I like to pour my favorite hot sauce on them. They are obviously best when eaten hot, but you can keep them in the fridge and reheat, too.

Enjoy these sons of guns, because they are a real winner, and my own personal creation.

Bon apetit!

Recipe of the Week: Mrs. Marlowe's Kick-Ass Carciofi Dip

Over the years, I've been fortunate enough to have heaps and heaps of this delicious dip shoveled into my stomach on tortilla chips, vegetables, bread, or even by the lovin' spoonful. My time at university was happily spent imbibing a host of things I probably shouldn't have, only to find Mrs. Marlowe (now) waiting in The Temple (her hubby's former palace of residence) with a hot bowl of this cure-all, ready to cure what ailed me with some Sunday football.

Mrs. Marlowe has been kind enough to volunteer this simple, yet delectable, treat for our first guest Recipe of the Week.

For the sake of authenticity, I'm posting this recipe exactly as given to me.

"Ok {Danger}, here's the recipe. It's really simple.

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained

Mix all together and spread in oven safe dish. Bake at 375 until brown and bubbly. Serve with veggies and/or in bread bowl."

Voila!

Mrs. Marlowe, thanks a million. Have a batch of this wonder drug waiting when I come for Christmas!

Recipe of the Week: Danger's Chunky Chili

I decided to make my first pot of chili something like 5 years ago. It's not a terribly difficult dish to make, which is why I enjoy doing it - quick, easy, filling, and a whole pot can last for a few days. But, making it good is the challenge. There's a fine line between shite chili and amazing chili, and fortunately for you, your host Danger is a 5-Star, circus tight-rope walker when it comes to that fine line.

After many batches over the years, I've steadily honed my recipe into the following, which still sees its tweaks from time to time, but by and large has stood the test of time, and guest reviews.

Ingredients:

Two cans red kidney beans
2-3 small cans tomato paste (3 for thicker chili) *
3 cups vegetable stock
1 small can diced jalapenos
1 giant green bell pepper, chopped into medium pieces
1-2 small red chili peppers, diced and half of the seeds removed
500g (or more for extra meaty; your call) Ground Beef (or Turkey for Turkey Chili)
6-8 medium sized tomatoes, chopped into chunks
2 white onions, chopped into medium pieces
1 bunch of spring onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves (3 cloves minced, 2 cloves pressed just before cooking)
1 can baby corn
2-3 small carrots, julienned then chopped in half
Meat seasoning
Chili powder
Marjoram
Oregano
Ground Cumin
Tabasco green jalapeno sauce
Tabasco red sauce, normal or habanero
Pure maple syrup
Brown sugar
Sour cream (for garnish)
Chives (for garnish)
Crushed red pepper (for garnish)
Shredded cheese (for garnish)
Diced green bell pepper (for garnish)

Preparation:

I find it easiest to have everything ready to go, ingredients-wise, pre-chopped, pre-whatever, in small bowls next to my stove top. I do everything in the big pot that the chili will stew in, from start to finish, except for the veggie stock which I prepare in a small saucepan ahead of time and leave to cool on a back burner.

Make sure the meat is defrosted if using frozen, but I recommend fresh for best taste.

Combine in the pot 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil and the meat, cooking over medium high heat. Start seasoning the meat heartily with a robust meat spice. The one I use is a Turkish meatball seasoning that I picked up in the spice markets of Istanbul. This is one of the key 'secret' ingredients I'm using for a different flavor, but any meat seasoning you like will do.

After about 2 mins of cooking, push the meat to one side of the pot, and add the white onions, diced chili peppers, green bell pepper, and green onions. Continue cooking until the white onions are just still firm.

At this point, you will press the two cloves of garlic into the meat/onion mixture, and allow the garlic to brown, just slightly, in the juices.

Next, take the vegetable stock, and pour about half of it into the pot, and reduce to heat to medium. This will stop the aggressive sauteing in the pan, and cool down the entire mixture, which is essential for a good 'stewing' to start. Add the tomatoes, beans, tomato paste, julienned carrots, baby carrots (cut into halves), and jalapenos (with spicy jalapeno juice from the can).

You now have a nice, heavy batch of chili to start stewing up. Give it all a good stir, making sure to get all of the ingredients mixed thoroughly together.

The science of seasoning now comes into play, as well as adjusting the thickness. When the chili starts simmering, lower heat, but only enough that it continues to simmer. You will be able to see if it's too thick (purely subjective to taste) or not, and can add more of the vegetable stock if you want it a bit thinner.

Depending on your taste, the seasoning will go something like this: a healthy pinch of salt, chili powder, marjoram, and oregano; 1 Tbsp crushed cumin; followed by 8-10 good shakes of each Tabasco bottle; top off with crushed black pepper to taste. Mix into the chili well.

Now, take about 1-2 Tbsp of brown sugar, and 1-2 Tbsp of good maple syrup. Add to the chili, mix, and continue to simmer about 20 more minutes covered with a slit for steam to escape (If you don't let the steam escape, the water vapor will make the chili too runny).

After 30 mins of stewing and simmering over low heat, add the 3 cloves of minced garlic, and simmer for 5 more minutes. By adding them later in the process, they will not be so soft and mushy, but still provide a garlic-y crunch when you enjoy the chili.

Remove the chili from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes or so to thicken. When you are ready to serve, ladle it into bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese (preferably strong cheddar or a mild white cheese), diced green bell pepper, and sprinkle with chives and crushed red pepper.

You now have a high-protein, low-fat, filling meal on your hands, and your house will smell like chili heaven.

Enjoy!

* Chef's Note: Rather than tomato paste, you may substitute Campbell's Creamy Tomato Soup with Basil and Garlic. One can will roughly be the same as two small cans of tomato paste. This creates a creamy chili, and is absolutely tasty as well.

Restaurant Review: Marrakech (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Vincent van Gogh began his painting career using primarily earthy, dull tones and somber colors. Yet, just as he became inspired by the foreign influences of Parisian Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism to create a colorful, vibrant painting style, so, too, does the food landscape of Amsterdam take its cues from exotic friends: a humble beginning based on the Dutch kitchen (shaped by its roots in farming and "meat and potato" dishes), but which has grown to be one of the most internationally varied options in Europe. The cultural diversity of the city can be summed up by a look outside of my hotel room window: Indian food across the street, Indonesian food down the alley, Turkish cuisine below me, and Moroccan food caddy-corner.

Yet, my decision over where to dine this evening comes easily - I'm preparing to embark on a grand journey in Morocco in about a month, which will be a bit of a food pilgrimage of sorts, and so my compass points diagonally to Marokkaans Restaurant Marrakech. It will be nice to familiarize myself just a bit more with what is already one of my favorite cuisines.

The restaurant itself is humble in appearance, and the only patrons when I entered were a couple of Dutch women carrying on together about the news of the day. I'm warmly greeted by an elderly Moroccan woman, and a man who appears to be her son. My restaurant decisions are often based on how "local" or homey feeling a restaurant is, and I'm usually right in my experiences that the less flamboyant a restaurant, the more likely it is to be authentic (and delicious). Marrakech may be located on a main street in the center of Amsterdam, but it certainly makes my "Authentic Meter" go off like a side-alley family affair.

The host promptly offers me a drink (I take the large Heineken, naturally, being in Amsterdam), and he offers me the soup of the day which has just finished cooking. Not knowing what it is, I immediately go for it, expecting to be pleasantly surprised. Meanwhile, I also put in for an order of Briwat (3.40 Euros), an old favorite of mine - filo dough pastries stuffed with lamb and rice.

Both the soup and the Briwat arrive simultaneously, and I wasn't wrong to rush into the decision. The soup is Harira (5.00 Euros), the national soup of Morocco. There are dozens of variations of Harira, as it's a simple food made with staples, so it can be as varied as the people of Morocco making it.


This particular one was a delightful, hearty Harira with the requisite lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, cilantro, and tiny vermicelli noodles. It was perfectly seasoned, thick, and delicious; and the taste of spices like Turmeric and caraway seed brought the authenticity full circle. Although I haven't a complaint about how simple and delicious this treat was, at 5.00 Euros I consider it a bit pricey for what I know to be fairly inexpensive ingredients.

Meanwhile, as the host was busy firing up a charcoal grill with red hot embers, not more than a few feet away from me, to start on the Mixed Grill I ordered (14.75 Euros), I set to town on my Briwat. They were a bit flakier than I like, and honestly quite bland. Whereas the Harira had my mouth dancing with flavors, the lamb and rice seemed woefully unseasoned. Still, a dollop of the spicy tomato sauce which had been served with my Kesra (Moroccan white bread) managed to salvage them, and they went down quite nice (well, nicer) this way.

The elderly woman, meanwhile, had disappeared into the back where I assumed her to be preparing my delicious meats for the now red-hot coals in the grill. I was pleasantly treated to the aroma of the charcoal embers and the smell of the previous meats which had been prepared, and watched as she emerged with a plate of 4 amazing skewers and sizzled them onto the grill. The smell intensified, and I awarded high marks for letting me be witness to the cooking of my meal.

When the Mixed Grill arrived, it was served with a lettuce-wrap bowl of vegetable tajine. I was treated to juicy lamb; tender, well-marinated chicken; and two types of spicy lamb sausages. Each of them tasted perfectly cooked, and were more than enough for one person.



I finished off the entire Mixed Grill platter, which I think my host hadn't expected, as well as the tajine. I thought a bit of mint tea would be in order, and my host wisely suggested a pot of it, with medium sugar, to aid my digestion. I do make fresh mint tea at home quite often, but never thought of putting sugar to it. Just the slightest amount of sugar as I was served this night made a world of difference. The tea was a fantastic sipper, and granted me choice company as I admired the stained glass lamps and mirrors which decorated this tiny restaurant.

I would certainly say that the food met my expectation in terms of authentic, tasty Moroccan food. But where I would have to encourage Marrakech to go a bit further is with their menu offerings. It seemed a bit small, and while I enjoy a mixed grill with the best of them, there were only a few other meat choices, and very limited starters besides the Briwat (Moroccan salad, mixed salad, cous cous). I typically enjoy a fuller mezze when dining on Moroccan, and would probably become bored with Marrakech fairly quickly in favor of more robust Moroccan food venues in this city.

So, while I felt like a part of the family kitchen for a few short moments this evening, my love affair with Marrakech - much like the Moroccan love affair of Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart - was short lived. Still, I say, "Here's lookin' at you, Marrakech".

Danger's Final Verdict: 2.5 out of 5 Flaming Spatulas













Restaurant Marrakech
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 134
1012SH
Amsterdam
http://www.restaurantmarrakech.nl/

Photos: courtesy of Danger's iPhone.

Recipe of the Week: Danger's Famous Fearsome Guacamole and Salsa

And so it is, as water doth lead to wine, so then must salsa lead to guacamole.

Danger's Famous Fearsome Guacamole is born from the creation which is first the salsa. This isn't exactly rocket science to make guacamole, however few people ever make guacamole that I think tastes as good as mine, so I must be onto something...

If you're in the mood to entertain, this is a fantastic recipe, because you are going to have both salsa and guac for your chip dipping pleasure. Guacamole is like a giant vegetable smoothie, so on top of tasting like heaven, it's an insta-fusion of vitamins.

But enough of the small talk... to the recipe.

Danger's Famous Fearsome Guac (serves 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

4 Avocados
5 Tomatoes (I like Roma tomatoes best)
Fresh cilantro
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 large Red Bell Pepper
4-5 Radishes
4 cloves of garlic (don't use garlic powder, only fresh garlic)
1 red chili
1 green chili
2 pickled jalapeno peppers
1 medium Red Onion
1 bunch of Spring Onion, only using the bottom half to the white

Step 1:

Cut up the tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, radishes, spring onion bottoms, chili peppers*, jalapenos, and garlic into chunks, and place in a food processor or blender. (A food processor with two longer blades tends to be better than blenders with the tiny four pronged 'claw', which pulverizes too much).

Add fresh ground black pepper to the top of the vegetables, and pour in about 1 Tbsp of high quality olive oil.

Add some salt (to taste)

Place a nice fresh bunchful of the fresh cilantro onto the top of the veggies, and then start to pulse/chop in your food processor. You want salsa be chunky, so don't simply let the processor go, or you'll have made a very nice Gazpacho, but nothing I'd like to call salsa. Simply pulse, stop... pulse, stop.... pulse, stop.... until you have a nice, chunky salsa. I always taste the salsa at this point for spiciness (more peppers if not spicy, or a sprinkle of chili powder) or more salt, pepper, etc.

Mission accomplished - Salsa complete. Well done.

Now, take about 2/3 of that delicious salsa, and put it in a bowl to the side. Save the remaining 1/3 for....

Step 2:

Peel avocados, remove pits, and quarter. Place them in a bowl, and add the 1/3 of Danger's delicious spicy salsa you've set aside.

It's at this critical juncture that many people err. Guacamole should be chunky, thick... none of this smooth, whipped guacamole you sometimes see. That's garbage. So, don't use a food processor, but only a potato masher.

Mash, mash, mash, paying special attention to the marriage of that tasty salsa and the avocados. When you have a nice blended batch, stop. That's it. No more fuss is necessary. I check the taste once more, salt, pepper, etc, and move on my merry way.

That, my friends is Danger's Famous Fearsome Guacamole and Salsa. Simple, I know, but if I had a penny for every time I ate crap Guac at someone's house, I'd probably have something like 23 cents.

Serve these tasty treats with the usual fare: tortilla chips, tacos, enchiladas...

If you're from Arizona like my friend John McCain, and you have a taste for good Mexican food, then I think you'll agree this is some of the best Guacamole and salsa around.



Notes:

* Regarding the chili peppers, you can roast them in a pan before using if you like a "roasted pepper" taste to your salsas. Similarly, you can roast the red and green bell peppers the same way, and I would recommend doing them until the skin is starting to peel off of the peppers in a dry, hot pan.

Recipe of the Week

Okay, all you starving poets and bohemians. Start your engines. The Danger Zone has already expanded its repertoire. In addition to being soundly dedicated to offering insightful restaurant reviews the world over, The Danger Zone has resolved to start cooking up a recipe of the week as well.

In doing so, it is our hope that The Danger Zone can offer up a bit of class, savoriness, and happiness to your tables each week. Rome wasn't built in a day, but we'll make cooks out of you yet, with the help of recipes from Danger's personal recipe library.

While some of you may already be asking yourself, "Danger's personal recipe collection? Does that mean his famous eggnog too?", the answer is an emphatic 'NO'.


Do you think we would divulge one of the greatest beverage secrets this world has ever seen, such as Uncle Danger's Magic Elixir, so easily? People have erred in grander ways than this in the past, but still...

Preheat your ovens to "Awesome".... the first recipe will be hitting the shelves of your local dopeness dealer this week.

Welcome to The Danger Zone

Hello, I'm your host Danger. Welcome to The Danger Zone.

I travel, I eat. I will write about the places I eat at. This will be an outstanding source for food reviews from all over the world.

Stay tuned...