Ahh Ronald Reagan. The Gipper! President, American, Wall-Tearer-Downer, Pepper stuffer!
“Stuff Those Peppers, American!” He would often say, before riding away on a horse.
I got this recipe out of my copy of ‘Celebrity Recipes’, and it’s not exactly what I’d call challenging. Really the main hurdle for my was figuring out the oven in my new apartment.
The recipe is pretty WYSIWYG to use a series of letters I havent even thought of since the mid 90’s. It’s corned beef hash stuffed into Bell Peppers. I considered spicing this recipe up by stuffing Poblanos instead, that might be tasty. However I voted to keep the Gipper’s vision as he meant it. Until about 5 minutes later. SO, this recipe needs 3 things. Number one, Bell Peppers. I cooked 3, since I was testing Reagan’s peppers on myself, my Fiancee and my friend Erin.
Chop off the tops, pull out the seeds and ribs.
Ingredient number two in Reagan’s Reacipe: Corned Beef Hash!
Again, this is a simple recipe. There IS a quick hash recipe in the book, but I’m not made out of time. In hindsight I should have made it myself, it would be a little less greasy and I could have added a crunch of some sort. SO, I threw the Peppers into boiling water for a few minutes to get tender, but not limp, and decided to un-can the Hash.
Mmmm Dog food! My Fiancee (and photographer), heretofore known as Lissa, decided that since the peppers still had to boil and the beef was looking sad, we should spice things up!
These are Hot Peppers from Potbelly Sandwich Emporium. They cost FIVE DOLLARS AMERICAN. They are entirely magnificent and we put them on everything. It is sinful how many things taste better with some of these bad boys ensconced within. Seriously, buy a jar. (also the picture was taken before I de-canned the corned beef, I know it, I have eyes, but I’m riding a narrative here so shush it.) So I chopped up a slew of those tasty little heat-bringers and mixed them into the hash.
By the time I had done my mix-about the Peppers were out of the boiling water
Reagan was a very straight shooter, and his recipe is no different. Take Stuff A, stuff it into holes B, C, and D.
If you’re making this at home, be sure to leave some room on the top, which I did not do here, but wish I had. Now pop the peppers into a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. After that, pull them out, and crack an Egg into each one. (this is a metaphor for Reaganomics, and Trickle-down whatnots) Sprinkle each egg with Salt, Pepper and Paprika!
Yum! Throw them back into the oven for 5 more minutes, or until the egg is as cooked as you like it. I wanted my yolks to be a little runny, and also my oven randomly decided to change temperatures as it cooked. But that’s it! That’s all it takes to eat like Ronald Reagan!
And they came out pretty tasty too! Here’s a shot of mine, all cut open with the yolk and grease spilling out like some kind of Reagan Metaphor. Exxon Valdez?
Again, this came out better than I thought it would. All it really needs is Texture. If I made them again I would find a way to get something in there that’s not just mushy. As Lissa said, if you make the hash yourself it will have more bite to it than canned, so that’s one good option.
Let’s all take a moment and thank the Gipper, without whom I would have eaten something else for dinner last night. Thank you President Reagan, for inventing stuffed peppers.
(Note: President Reagan did not invent Stuffed Peppers, but someone did.)