Mac O’Lanterns #Halloween recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ: "Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!"

As our conversation on Sunday made clear, Halloween is a time for fun, for kids and adults, so I always like to share something fun here. Like these Mummy Pizza Puffs, my Veggie Skeleton with Brain Dip, or Puff Pastry Rattlers. 

When I saw this recipe for bell peppers stuffed with an easy Mac ’n Cheese, it went straight to the top of the list of this year’s options. Turns out to have been a great choice—they’re cute as can be, easy, and totally in keeping with the season.

The recipe calls for 6 bell peppers. We stuffed two, then loaded the rest of the mac ’n cheese in a pair of LeCreuset dishes I found at TJ Maxx a few years ago that are the perfect size for dinner for two and go from freezer oven with only a brief pause for thawing. We’ll broil them for a few minutes, maybe with a dusting of seasoned bread crumbs on top, to heat them up and get two more main dishes out of the recipe.

Trick or Treat!

Mac O’Lanterns

adapted from the Food Network website

6 medium orange bell peppers

8 ounces elbow macaroni

1 1/4 cups half-and-half

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups mild Cheddar, shredded 

salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water.

Slice the tops off the peppers and reserve tops, with stems. Use a paring knife or sharp spoon to remove the seeds and membranes. When the water boils, slide in the peppers and tops and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a pair of tongs and plunge into the ice bath. When the peppers are cool, remove from water and drain, then use a sharp knife to carve a jack-o-lantern face into one side of each pepper.

Meanwhile, bring the water back to a boil. Cook macaroni until al dente, about 6-7 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. 

Add the half-and-half to the pot and cook, stirring regularly, over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Continue simmering until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 10 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the Cheddar until melted. 

Turn off the heat, add the pasta to the pot, and stir to combine. Add some of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the mixture into the peppers, cap each with a jaunty pepper top, and serve.

Serves 6. 

Happy Halloween!

From the cover of BITTERROOT LAKE, written as Alicia Beckman (Crooked Lane Books; available in hardcover, ebook, and audio): 

When four women separated by tragedy reunite at a lakeside Montana lodge, murder forces them to confront everything they thought they knew about the terrifying accident that tore them apart, in Agatha Award-winning author Alicia Beckman's suspense debut.

Twenty-five years ago, during a celebratory weekend at historic Whitetail Lodge, Sarah McCaskill had a vision. A dream. A nightmare. When a young man was killed, Sarah's guilt over having ignored the warning in her dreams devastated her. Her friendships with her closest friends, and her sister, fell apart as she worked to build a new life in a new city. But she never stopped loving Whitetail Lodge on the shores of Bitterroot Lake.

Now that she's a young widow, her mother urges her to return to the lodge for healing. But when she arrives, she's greeted by an old friend--and by news of a murder that's clearly tied to that tragic day she'll never forget.

And the dreams are back, too. What dangers are they warning of this time? As Sarah and her friends dig into the history of the lodge and the McCaskill family, they uncover a legacy of secrets and make a discovery that gives a chilling new meaning to the dreams. Now, they can no longer ignore the ominous portents from the past that point to a danger more present than any of them could know.

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries, and the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories. Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers' Village Mystery, won Best First Novel in 2013, following her 2011 win in Best Nonfiction. Her first historical short story, "All God's Sparrows," won the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Watch for her first standalone suspense novel, Bitterroot Lake (written as Alicia Beckman) in April 2021 from Crooked Lane Books.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and a current board member of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by her website and subscribe to her seasonal newsletter, for a chat about the writing life, what she's working on, and  what she's reading -- and a free short story. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.

Magnificent (and Healthy!) Stuffed Peppers #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Before I talk about food, I wanted to acknowledge what a difficult week it's been for those in the path of Hurricane Irma. This included my beloved Florida Keys, though Key West itself sustained less damage than the islands further north. (And also in the Caribbean islands further south.) My heart is down there with the workers who are trying to restore phone, electric, water, and sewer service--and with all those anxiously awaiting news of their homes and businesses. I'm hoping and praying that life can return to something like normal soon on that magical spray of islands...

Now back to food...Two things happened this week that led me to this particular post. First, our green peppers began to ripen in the garden. Aren't they gorgeous? And second, in my quest to slowly clean stuff out of my closet and drawers, I found an old cast iron frying pan that came from my dad. He worked for International Nickel Company his whole career, and he was very proud of the nickel plating on this pan. I did not take care of it the way my sister does with her cast-iron pans, which is to say, don't wash them with soap. Instead, clean them with water and then oil them. You can see the logo on the back of the pan testifying that it came from the Griswold company in Erie Pennsylvania. Apparently they stopped making these in 1957, and it seems as though I have a collectors' item. So I thought I better start using it! (Even if I've possibly ruined the finish.)

I have a recipe for stuffed peppers which both John and I have loved. Unfortunately it's fairly high in sodium because of the sausage and the spaghetti sauce that I used to choose. And don't forget the cheddar cheese! If you're not concerned about sodium, you can find that recipe here. It was also a favorite of my mother-in-law. 

Meanwhile here are the instructions for this updated version, which was also delicious. 

Ingredients

5 to 6 large green peppers
One large or two smaller onions, chopped
One hot pepper, diced
Handful of fresh basil, shredded
24 oz spaghetti sauce (Mine came from a local store, Bishops, and has only 140 mg sodium per quarter cup)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Half cup rice (I use brown)
Half cup water
1 to 1 1/4 pounds ground beef

Brown the beef and set it aside to drain. Add a dollop of olive oil to the pan and sauté the chopped onions, Hot pepper, and rice for a few minutes. Add the sauce, the water, the beef, and the Worcestershire sauce, and sliced basil, and simmer this until the rice is soft, half hour to 45 minutes depending on the brand you use.

Slice the peppers lengthwise, and take out the seeds and webbing. 

Place them in a greased 9 x 13 hand. When the beef mixture is ready, fill the pepper shells with the sauce and top with a little grated Parmesan if you desire.Bake at 350 for half an hour or until the peppers are soft and the stuffing bubbly. Here's the whole photo review:

chopped peppers, onions and basil

Everything is browning

simmering in my father's pan

Stuffed and ready to bake

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries--find them wherever books are sold! Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest--Instagram too...

Stuffed poblano peppers

LUCY BURDETTE: we had a bumper crop of poblano peppers in our garden this year. Hmmm....One of my favorite Mexican dishes is chili rellenos, peppers stuffed with cheese and deep-fried. But I am shackled by a fear of deep fat frying...

 

Face my fear? Not yet! I decided to try stuffing the peppers with a cheesy filling and baking instead. This version is vegetarian, using a can of chili beans, which I often find in Southern grocery stores, usually the Bush brand. They are beans in a chili flavored sauce. You could also substitute any beans of your choice and increase the amount of spices that you use. We learned quickly that these peppers are *hot*, so be careful about what other hot stuff you add!

Ingredients

Six poblano peppers (for a milder version, use green peppers)
One and a half cups cooked brown rice
One can chili beans
One heaping cup cheese (I used sharp cheddar but you could also use Monterey Jack or a combination) 
One red onion, chopped
One heaping teaspoon cumin
One heaping teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon fresh or frozen chopped cilantro

Cut the peppers lengthwise, removing stems and seeds. Be careful not to touch your eyes or lips before washing your hands as these peppers have a bite. Once the rice is cooked, mix it with the cheese and chili beans. Sauté the onion in a tablespoon of olive oil along with the two spices. When the onion is soft, add this to the rice mixture. Add the cilantro and mix well. 

 




In a 9 x 13" pan, well oiled, lay out the pepper halves. Stuff each one with the rice cheese bean mixture. 

Bake in a 350 oven until the filling is starting to bubble and brown and the peppers are cooked through.


 
If you prefer Italian to Mexican flavors, try these peppers stuffed with sausage and rice and marinated in spicy tomato sauce. 



MURDER WITH GANACHE, the fourth Key West mystery, is in stores now. DEATH WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS will be out in December.

 Follow Lucy on Facebook

And Twitter

And Pinterest.

And don't forget, DEADLY ADVICE, the first advice column mystery (written as Roberta Isleib) is finally available as an ebook.

Lucy Burdette's Mother's Day Stuffed Peppers

I know I've been on a sausage run here lately, and I said I'd get away from that--but I can't resist one more recipe. It's Mother's Day tomorrow and you're probably thinking "why is Lucy talking sausage-stuffed peppers to celebrate mothers?"

Here's why: this post is in honor of my mother-in-law, Dorothy, who loves this recipe as much as I do! And she's moving from Florida to Maine, so she'll need some dinners that will warm her from the inside out...

This is an "early" photo of Dorothy and me--I think it was taken about fifteen years ago at the first golf member-guest we played in. I wasn't much of a golfer and we were plenty nervous! We had a good time though--she's a good sport, in addition to having produced my wonderful husband...


So back to the peppers... This is an old-fashioned supper that had its genesis in a recipe from THE BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS COOKBOOK. Many tweaks later, here's my version. If you don't like the idea of sausage, you can substitute ground beef or turkey. For the vegetarian, I think you'd be fine substituting black beans or garbanzos or a mixture, for the meat. I prefer to make this in the summer when I can pluck the peppers right from the garden, but it sure tastes good when the weather's cold. I recommend organic peppers if you can find them, as these vegetables do tend to absorb pesticides…Other recipes suggest you parboil the peppers, but I haven't found this step to be necessary.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz roll sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar Classico spicy red pepper pasta sauce (or your choice)
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 cup water
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4-6 uncooked green peppers

Saute the sausage or beef until brown, then drain on paper towels. Saute the chopped onions in the same pan. Return the meat to the pan once the onions are soft. Add the uncooked rice, the water, the Worcestershire sauce, and half the jarred sauce. Simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked. This might take a half hour, depending on your rice--and you might need to add a little water along the way. Then stir in the cheese.

While the meat mixture is simmering, cut the peppers lengthwise. Cut out the stems and seeds and membranes. Pour the remaining half of the sauce into a greased baking dish, and set the peppers into the pan. When the meat mixture is ready, stuff it into the peppers, cover with foil, and bake 30 minutes at 350 until peppers are soft and sauce is bubbling. Even your mother-in-law will find them irresistible!

And to celebrate all mothers and stepmothers and mothers-in-law and women who have acted like mothers in our lives, please enjoy this video of former US poet laureate Billy Collins reading his poem, The Lanyard. It's one of my absolute favorites and a perfect accompaniment to the day!




Lucy Burdette is the author of the Key West food critic mysteries. Please "like" her on facebook and follow her on Twitter. DEATH IN FOUR COURSES will be out in September, but you can order it now!