Yesterday I headed to the Vikings home opener with Josh and I met up with Lefty before the game to hand him some ghost peppers to heat up some chili he’s hoping will win an office cook-off. After a great game, even if both teams are two of the worst in the NFL and a near heart-stopping moment when they almost blew it by giving up a last minute touchdown, I figured dinner should be something fairly simple, very tasty, and should include some peppers to make up for the ones I lost to Lefty earlier in the day.

Last week I made a menu of items I was going to make and one of those I picked was Serious Eats’ Grilled Chorizo Stuffed Poblano Peppers>. I had all of the ingredients on hand but I wanted to make some adjustments to both make the recipe more mine and appease the tastebuds of The Wife.

Ingredients (modified somewhat):

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced
6 medium cloves garlic, minced
1.25 pound raw Mexican chorizo
2 cups cooked white rice
1 medium roma tomatoes and several cherry tomatoes (what we had on hand)
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup sour cream
1.5 cups grated queso fresco
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 large poblano peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions (modified for gas grill and altered ingredients):

1. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add in onion and sauté until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in drained chorizo, breaking sausage into small pieces with a wooden spoon, and cook until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl.

2. Add rice, tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, and queso fresco cheese to bowl with meat mixture and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Spoon mixture into cavities of split poblanos and top with cheddar cheese and more queso fresco.

4. Preheat 3/4 of grill. Clean and oil the grilling surface on cool side. Place poblanos on cool side of grill, cover, and cook until cheese has melted and poblanos have softened, about 40-45 minutes. Remove from grill and serve.

These were not only incredibly good but incredibly easy to make. The poblanos provided just the right amount of heat and the fresh herbs and tomatoes really brought out the great flavors of the chorizo. While it did take a little bit longer to cook than I would have liked, these were a recipe we plan to make again in the future. Perhaps I’ll do it on a cold winter game day and have a nice snack to watch the Vikings possibly beat someone else that’s equally as bad as they are.

How do you think the Vikings are going to do this season? What did you think of yesterday’s game? Were you impressed that they didn’t give up after that last minute TD by the Jaguars like they would have in the Childress days? What game day meals do you like to prepare? What would you have done to this recipe to make it more your own? Whatever you have to say about this one, go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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4. Ghost Wing Challenge Preparation: Grilled Hot Wings
5. Butternut Squash and Leek Gratin