Pickled Peppers

Okay, so way way too late for Passover. Actually, this last Passover I basically cooked an entire meal for thirty people practically by myself so I didn’t have time for blogging. This was followed shortly thereafter by a bridal shower that I hosted and cooked for also entirely by myself.

Yeah…I’m not bitter or anything.

I get myself into these fixes. I like cooking so much that I’m always volunteering to cook and then driving myself bat shit by doing too much. Ambition is dangerous, especially where meals for huge groups of people are involved. There’s so much that goes into it: artistry, skill, taste, time, and money. Not to mention all the variables involved in who will be eating your food and what’s expected of you. Once status and class-consciousness come into it then you can forget about enjoying yourself.

All I’ve learned the last few months of intensive cooking is that you should only really put yourself out in the kitchen for people who love you.

I give you now, pickled peppers. I made these for Passover. They were on the table during the ceremony and had disappeared before the appetizer course.

Adapted from Jewish Home Cooking by Arthur Schwartz

6 red bell peppers

1 ¼ cups white vinegar

1 ¼ cups water

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 mounded tablespoons minced garlic

1.)   Roast peppers on stovetop over open flames until completely blackened all over. Turn on the oven fan and open the windows. This gets smoky. Do not leave unattended.

2.)   Once peppers are blackened put them in a glass or metal bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

3.)   Once cool, halve them and scrape off blackened skin under a cold tap, then remove ribs and seeds with a sharp knife.

4.)   Combine vinegar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the salt, sugar and garlic, remove from heat and pour over peppers.

5.)   Pack into a wide mouth jar, weighing down the peppers so they don’t float to the top, and allow to sit on the counter for one day. After one day refrigerate. It should keep for several months.