Roasted Red Peppers

An all-time favorite—a family heirloom, even

In the Things on Bread pantheon, roasted and marinated red peppers inhabit the rarified top tier—and are among my most beloved foodstuffs for any and all sandwich-related situations. These peppers and some boquerones on homemade bread make a combination for the ages—just gorgeously, lavishly pleasurable eating.

There’s an alchemical transformation that takes place when you subject a watery, bland bell pepper to scorching heat, blackening its skin so that it slides off effortlessly. Sugars caramelize, the crunchy texture becomes silky and sexy, and all this umami suddenly arrives from out of nowhere like a tour bus full of rockstars. It’s pure magic.

It’s worth mentioning that my version of this was partly inspired by my dear friend Jeff back when I lived in Chicago during and after grad school. Jeff—who is a paid subscriber to this here newsletter—had an aunt named Ines who made something similar, though her version included breadcrumbs (try it, but use good homemade bread for your crumbs). Jeff and his wife Eve threw some of the best dinner parties ever, and it was for those parties that I did some of my first real, balls-out improvised cooking.

So in honor of Jeff and Eve and Aunt Ines, I’m putting it out there that paid subscribers can absolutely message me with requests and if I like the cut of their jibs I will accommodate them (when time and ingredients permit) in the form of something like the trademark format below. I am here to teach you to cook without recipes, after all, using your knowledge, senses, and intuition.

Most grandmothers (and aunts) tend not to use recipes as much as The Kids Today, and my mission is to bring you to that level of fluency by helping you understand cooking on a fundamental level. So if you want in on the personalized approach as you learn to channel your inner grandma, upgrade to paid. </sales pitch>