I have to admit that I've never had a real deep-fried chili rellenos, but I had an idea to swap out frying for baking - and for using the synergy of Cabot's sharp cheddar against the sweetness of roasted peppers, onions, and caramelized tomatoes. Plus, I had pulled beef on hand to use in something awesome!
Someone once told me that 'apple pie without the cheese was like a kiss without a squeeze', and also something about a pretty girl with one eye, but I forget exactly how that goes. In any event, pair cheddar with sweet and the dish is complete!
The first step is to blister the peppers, an easy job on the gas stove. I let them cool in a plastic bag, then removed the skin and seeds.
I cut them open like a lady slipper flower, gave them a sprinkle of salt, then got on to the filling.
Eight cherry tomatoes were quartered and caramelized in EVOO to reduce their moisture and create sweeter flavors. One small onion, and three large cloves of garlic (sliced) were also sauteed. Salt as you go.
About a cup of pulled beef was added, 1/2 TB of dried cilantro, and to bind it all together: 1/4 cup of whipped chive cream cheese, 2 ounces of Cabot Hunters cheddar, and 2 ounces of orange Cabot extra-sharp (grated). Mix together. No lie, this will look like something gloppy you would never, ever want to eat - taste it! If not yummy, add more cheddar or salt. (If you don't have pulled meat on hand, saute some ground beef, pork, lamb, or veal.)
In order to get some pretty on top, I added about 2 ounces of low-fat (or was it low-moisture?) mozzarella - nothing special - I mean, I had the local handmade mozzarella on hand but was saving it for a pizza in case this recipe didn't work out and got fed to the chickens.
Into a 400f oven (not-preheated) for 20 minutes, then turned up to 450f for 7 minutes. (EVOO in the bottom of that dish.)
This smelled like the very, very, very best pizza I have ever had. It tasted like the very best pizza I've ever had. I hesitate to speculate that deep frying could have improved it. Sour cream and Green Mountain Gringo salsa were a nice addition, but were certainly gilding this lily.
