Roasting peppers

If you have a gas stove, you have one big advantage over people who only have electric or magnetic induction stoves: you can play with fire in your kitchen.  Now, it's always a very good idea to be careful with fire.  If you are unsure about doing so, then buy a kitchen fire extinguisher and keep it handy.  Now that you've done that, let me tell you about my usual fire application: fire-roasted peppers.

Sure, you can buy pre-cooked roasted peppers in a jar at the store.  Heck, I buy pre-made roasted peppers when I have a time crunch or don't have the wherewithal to cook.  However, most jars have calcium chloride and other preservatives to keep the peppers in shape for months at room temperature in a jar on your shelf until you open the container.  This can keep them too firm.  However, if you have a gas stove, you can roast peppers inside of 30 minutes.

Items you'll need:
gas stove
fireproof tongs, preferably long tongs
bowl with a proper lid

Buy your fresh peppers from the store.  I avoid green peppers, as they are simply under-ripe red peppers.  Yellow, orange, red and purple peppers are all good non-spicy peppers.  Turn a burner onto high and place your pepper on the grate above the flame.  Move it around with the tongs to let all parts cook.  For me this takes 5-10 minutes as a rule, but it takes as long as it takes.  If it looks like it will take longer, keep the peppers on the stove until they are done.

You want the skin of the pepper to char and blacken.  Once a section chars, keep it away from the flame.  When you have charred as much of the outside of your pepper as you can manage, put your pepper in your bowl and cover the bowl with a tight lid, something that will stop steam from getting out.  I usually use a Corelle bowl and a saucer from the same set for the bowl and lid, as they fit together nicely.  You can use whatever you want that will work.  Once you have put the pepper in the bowl and properly covered it, such that steam will not easily escape, you should walk away for a minimum of ten minutes, although 15-20 is better.  This will steam the skin of the pepper to make it easier to peel it off.

At the end of that time, bring your pepper over to the sink.  Run the coldest water you can personally manage from the tap, because your hands will get wet for a minute or two.  Put the pepper under the water and start scrubbing away the skin with your hands.  If it is properly charred, it will come away easily.

If you are not using your roasted pepper immediately, put it away in a sealed container in your refrigerator for no more than two weeks.  It might last longer; but as with all freshly prepared foods stored for later, the sooner you eat it, the better it will taste.

You can use your roasted peppers in omelets, soups, spaghetti sauce, in meatloaf, on burgers, in stuffing - in short, in most anything where you might use a regular pepper.  I'll be using one or two in my potato-mushroom dressing for next week's Thanksgiving dinner.  Even my wife, who does not care for most prepared peppers, likes roasted peppers when it isn't an overwhelming part of the dish.

If you lack a gas stove but you want to do this yourself, ask a friend who has one if you can come over to cook.  If you are new to roasting peppers, bring your fire extinguisher for safety.

If you have long hair, or hair on your arms, be extra careful around open flame.  Even somebody experienced can end up with singed hair, such as some of the hair on my right wrist.  This is not a recommended way to remove your hair.  Also, burnt hair does not smell like good cooking.

Cook -- carefully! -- and enjoy!