creamy roasted onion & red pepper sauce.

well, there you have it, friends.. Ryan picked the winner 🙂

I should have added that we both thought that the other 2 finalists deserved to be there as well, We were just happy with the winner & very excited to see her new show!

Before I share my recipe I just had something else to ramble about.  Since we have known about the move there have been signs and connections everywhere.. things that we would not have noticed before. I now call it the Boston- Denver connection. It’s crazy how this has affected us.

everything from Our tour guide at PC last summer being from Fort Collins , Co, to another school where we sat next to a family form Denver and another family from Portland ,Oregon ( where Ry goes to school) To a man on cape cod from CO being bit by a shark last summer

I know far fetched, but everywhere we turned, there were connections.

I know… ramble, ramble, ramble…

Ryan and I have been watching Food Truck wars on food network.  ( season from 2011.. found it on demand)

Well about the 3rd or 4th city, they came to Denver.

needless to say, I was stoked to see this episode.

And it did not disappoint.

One of the food trucks was from Boston ( a grilled cheese truck.. YUM!)

I was very excited to hear name drops of local places throughout this episode.

At one point the Boston truck went to a park to set up at a park. THE  park that I live right around the corner from!!!!  I was sooo excited to see this ( and REALLY wished that I had been here for that )

I swear I was like a little kid watching this 😉

So until you can come to visit me ( and you should ~ I have room and would spoil you 😉 ) If you have access to on demand food network, and you can find the episode, about halfway through, you can see footage of Washington park.

Ok.. ramble over

now.. for a tasty sauce

1 pepper, roasted ( you can used a jarred one, but roasting is FUN! )

1 TBSP roasted garlic *

1/2 onion, thick sliced

1/4 bunch cilantro

leaves from 1 sprig of thyme

1/4 cup olive oil

1 TSBP balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup low fat cream cheese

( did not use the hatch pepper in the picture in this recipe)

To roast your pepper, just place over a fire source.  I used my burner, but a grill outside would be fine, as would and open campfire.

Allow to get black, rotating with tongs.

When sufficient blackage has occurred, remove and place in a paper bag and seal tightly. ( this allows it to steam and the skin to become loose. ) If using jarred  peppers, eliminate these steps.

Brush the onion slices with olive oil & season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat until onions are soft.  Set aside.

To roast garlic, , take a whole bulb and cut the top off. Place on aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil . Place on grill for 20-25 minutes or until garlic gets soft  ( alternatively, you could cook onions and garlic in the oven like I did HERE )

when garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the bulbs onto a cutting board and using the side of a chef’s knife, press into a paste

for this recipe we only needed about a tablespoon, but this yummy goodness will keep for a few days, and I have another recipe this week that you will want roasted garlic for, so get down with your bad self and roast the whole darn thing !

next, add all ingredients except for the cream cheese to a blender and blend.

pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add cream cheese and stir to melt

I used this sauce as a topper for a fajita- kinda taco using THIS recipe.

just look at this sauce…

so much flavor in a tiny bowl….  And FYI, I did have a little bit left over and it made an excellent dip with veggies the next day 🙂

thanks for reading.. and let me know if you make this.. I’d love to hear your feedback 🙂