Fire Roasted Salsa

Grilled, Broiled or Fire Roasted Salsa

I can honestly say that this Fire Roasted Salsa is amazing and it is, quite possibly, the best salsa I’ve ever tried. It starts with fresh Hot House Tomatoes, Yellow Onions, Green Bell, Anaheim and Jalapeno Peppers, cilantro, lime and a few other key ingredients. Although you can find recipes, similar to this one, all over the web, I seriously considered keeping this one all to my self. But I get too excited when I discover the secrets to authentic recipes. It makes me want to share it with everyone. So that’s what I’m going to do today.

Fire Roasted Salsa Preperation

To get the best results, and be sure that your Fire Roasted Salsa tastes amazing, there’s only one thing you need to do before you take the vegetables to the grill. Cut your onions in half. It isn’t going to matter if you peel them before or after they roast but it is important that those onion layers get exposed to the grill. Salsa gets a lot of great flavor from onions and they have memory, so adding that smoked flavor to the rings will insure that your salsa tastes amazing when you blend them, together, with the other ingredients.

Fire Roasted Salsa Grilling Technique

Whether you choose to grill, broil or roast your vegetables over an open pit, to make this Fire Roasted Salsa, the timing and flipping is simple. I average 25 to 30 minutes of roasting time, over medium heat(350 Fahrenheit), and I rotate and flip everything about every 5 minutes. Look for some good color on the under side and flip. It’s that easy. I tend to check the peppers first because they burn quicker than the tomatoes and onions. The onions I worry about the least. The tomatoes just need to be pulled off the grill before they pop and loose their juice to the grill. You should pay attention to where the hot spots are and rotate everything accordingly. Then remove them from the heat and let them rest for a half an hour or so, until they are cool enough to touch and handle with your hands. Remove the stems, peel the onions and add the other ingredients.

Fire Roasted Salsa Formula

I have a basic formula that you might find useful when you’re making Fire Roasted Salsa. For every large Tomato, I add 1 medium sized Onion, 1 Bell Pepper, 1 Anaheim Pepper, 1 Jalapeno and a few cloves of Garlic. It’s pointless making salsa on that small of a scale and that’s why I double that amount in the ingredients below. If you want it spicier, add more peppers, different kinds or use less tomato. It’s really not that difficult to trick up. But that should give you a better understanding of how to approach your own homemade salsa in the future.

How to Spice Up Fire Roasted Salsa

If the Peppers aren’t providing enough heat and flavor for your tastes, there are a few other ingredients you can add to your Fire Roasted Salsa and I’ve included them in this recipe. Cumin, Smoked Paprika and Mexican Oregano are definitely among my favorites. You can even add some Cayenne if you’re feeling froggy. Just be sure that you stay true to your tastes and be considerate of the pallets and less tolerant individuals, like children you may be serving, if they can’t handle spice.

Fire Roasted Salsa Ingredients:

2 Hot House Tomatoes, large
2 Onions,
1 Bell Pepper
1 Anaheim Pepper
1 Jalapeno
5 Garlic Cloves
1 lime, squeezed
1 bunch Cilantro
1 tbsp Oregano
1 tbsp Cumin
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp Chicken Bouilion, Caldo con Sabor de Pollo(Knorr)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Ranch Dressing

The Best Ranch Dressing

In my opinion, a great Ranch Dressing is NOT going to come in a bottle. Mostly because the ingredients are so tweaked and skewed, in comparison to homemade recipes, to create a longer lasting shelf life. So you’re never going to get the flavor that is/was originally intended, if you buy into the preservatives. Fresh dairy is always going to conquer a powdered mix or a mix with just mayo in it. But, if a powdered mix is all you’re using, there’s a better way to make this dressing than just following the package instructions and I’m going to show you how to do that as well.

Ranch Dressing Recipes

First of all there are many different ways to make an amazing Ranch Dressing and, yes, it can be done with a powdered mix. The directions a package usually recommend mixing the ingredients with milk and mayo but I say that’s not enough. The base of my recipe can be applied to this as well and that means using Buttermilk, Sour Cream and Mayonnaise. Trust me. You’re dressing will be twice as good just adding those other two ingredients. But what else can you do?

If you like spicy food or dressings with a little kick to them, try adding some cayenne or dried chili flakes. It doesn’t take much to spice it up. Sometimes I’ll even dice a Jalapeno Pepper and add that, as well. And, if you really want to trick it up and make more of a Mexican Style Ranch Dressing, add an Avocado and squeeze in some lime. You’ll love it.

I while back, I posted a few salad recipes you might be interested in; Taco Salad and P.F. Chang’s Curry Chicken Salad. And if you want to really go pro, try this Dill Havarti with Seared Peppers. All three of these recipes are amazing, so be sure to check them out.

Ranch Dressing Ingredients:

1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp Dill, fresh or dried
1 tsp Parsley, dried
1 tsp Chives, dried
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Caprese Portobellos with Balsamic Glaze

The Best Caprese Portobellos

If you love Mushrooms and you love Caprese, you are absolutely going to love this Caprese Portobellos recipe because it combines the best of both worlds. Using Large Portobello mushroom caps gives a ton of surface area to cram in plenty of Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Fresh Basil. And, if you prepare your dish the way I show you how to do it, you’re whole world will change. So open your mind to other possibilities and I’ll show you how to make the best Mushroom Caprese.

What is Caprese Portobellos

To understand Caprese you must understand, first, that it is a traditional Italian recipe that usually breaks down to 3 basic ingredients: Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Fresh Basil. Many folks consider Caprese Antipasto ingredients and many Caprese Salad recipes exist because of the over all freshness the combination provides. My sources tell me that the real Caprese is just Buffalo Mozzarella, which is made from Buffalo milk and it’s a typical dish served in the Isle of Capri.

Normally, Caprese Portobellos is prepared and served with fresh Tomatoes but I am recommending my Marinated and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, instead, for several reasons. First, because roasted cherry tomatoes are awesome, so that’s just a no brainer, and second because you want to add olive oil to the mushrooms and the olive oil, marinating the cherry tomatoes, has garlic and fresh herbs roasted into it. So it really enhances the flavor, a ton. If you want to use fresh tomatoes, instead, that’s fine too but I highly recommend mixing a 1/4 cup of olive oil with some fresh chopped garlic and a pinch of salt, at the very least, and add that to the mushrooms.

Also, when it comes to the Balsamic Glaze, most recipes recommend a 1 to 4 ratio of Brown Sugar and Balsamic Vinegar. I don’t agree with this at all and I was trained to balance the bitter with more sweet. I would recommend a 1 to 1 ratio, instead but that’s entirely up to you. Bring it to boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cook it for 5 minutes until the sauce reduces and practically caramelizes and you will have a perfect glaze.

Caprese Portobellos Ingredients:

4 to 6 Large Portobello Mushroom Caps
4 oz Cherry Tomatoes, marinated & roasted
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese
6 Fresh Basil leaves, chopped
2 tbsp Butter, melted
1 Garlic Clove, chopped
Salt and Pepper, taste

Balsamic Glaze
1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Brown Sugar

Be sure to watch the short video tutorial for this Caprese Portobellos recipe and follow the recommendations in this post for a perfect dish.