Feta Stuffed Peppers

Happy Birthday America! We were unable to host our usual 4th of July BBQ on the roof, due to roof repairs. Luckily, Joerg and Rob volunteered (well, I coerced them) to have a BBQ at their place. I had run across a recipe in "Saveur" magazine that I wanted to try, so I did, and voila.... "Piperies Gemistes Me Feta" - or Feta stuffed peppers. The recipe called for "10 Fresno chilies or 6 Anaheim chilies" - but I went with what I could find at Trader Joe's.

Here's what you need: (although I had twice the amount of filling when all was said and done)
10 petite red and orange bell peppers
5 Jalapeno peppers
18 oz. feta, crumbled
4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
2 tsp. minced fresh parsley
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3 egg yolks
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Arrange a rack six inches from the broiler element of your oven; put the peppers on a baking sheet and broil until just soft, about 6 minutes. Turn once during the broiling. Remove and set aside to cool. (at this point, your kitchen will smell wonderful!)

Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the feta, oil, yogurt, parsley, zest, oregano, and egg yolks, with salt and pepper to taste. If you have a hand mixer, use that. I used a whisk, and an egg masher, to really mash up the chunks of feta.

Slice the cooled peppers in half, scoop out the seeds and trim the "ribs." Spread the feta mix into each pepper, transfer back to the sheet that you broiled the peppers on, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes (I put them in the fridge overnight, and that worked just fine for me and my schedule).

Sprinkle the peppers with grated Parmesan cheese, and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted, brown and bubbly, about 6 minutes.

The recipe I used suggested transferring the peppers to a platter and serving warm - but since we were attending a party later in the day, I served them at room temperature. They were delicious both ways, but I think that hot is better.