Cheesed Off: Poblanos Onuf

I have been at a conference here in Park City, UT for the past week. Very pleasant. We are staying at The Lodges, which are very nice, and the conference (a combination of works on slavery and American political development, followed in the evening by student presentations and then a dinner that I get to cook for 16 people) is wonderful.

And, we get to spend time with UVA's Professor Peter Onuf, who is such a pleasure to learn from. So, to Liberty Fund, our sponsor: Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!

But, to the real matter: like I said, I cook every night. And I made this one dish that was so easy, and turned out so well, I thought I would put it up here. (It is a vegetarian, though not vegan, dish. And you would have to like cheese a LOT to enjoy this.) The name should be self-explanatory.

POBLANOS ONUF

8 large poblanos, washed, cut in half, deseeded and destemmed
8 ozs Monterrey Jack cheese
1 cup milk
3 large red peppers
bunch of green onions
1 large yellow onion
olive oil
1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese (8 slices or so)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
salt

1. Place poblanos, open side up, in large flat baking pan (if the peppers are two crowded, you may have to use two pans. They need to be separated by a little space). Drizzle with olive oil (should be little puddles of olive oil in cavity of peppers), and sprinkle with salt.
BROIL in oven, watching that you carmelize the edges and sides of the peppers without burning them. Oil should be bubbling, but if it catches on fire that is bad. Remove from broiler.

2. Melt cheese and milk together in large bowl (careful, as it will boil over) in microwave. Cook for three minutes on high, stir, and cook some more until the mixture is fairly smooth.

3. Chop red peppers, green onions, yellow onion, saute in olive oil until they all just start to soften. Don't overcook. Salt the mixture.

4. Pour milk/cheese mixture over onion/pepper mixture, over low heat, and stir until mixed well.

5. Pour onion/pepper/milk/cheese mixture over broiled peppers (make sure peppers/oil have cooled enough that this doesn't splatter!). Fill the cavities of each pepper evenly.

6. Put 1/2 slice of provolone over each 1/2 pepper. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

7. Cook at 375F in oven for 20 minutes, or until provolone starts to brown and whole mixture is bubbly.

(So, Kathy, there you go. I typed it up!)