The Heart of Darkness

I love mole. I mean I REALLY love mole. I love all kinds of mole - red, yellow, black, sweet, savory, spicy whatever. I would consider bathing in mole if possible. I bet it would be great for the skin, if you didn't mind being slightly orange I mean.

As with most things in my life, I prefer not to settle when it comes to my mole. I'll give most restaurant's "mole" a try once, sure. But I'm not going back for seconds if it doesn't pass muster. When it came down to what to have for my birthday dinner I knew it was going to be mole, and I knew I was going to have to make it myself.



I have made mole only once before and it required a small army of assistants and an ENTIRE day. It has taken almost 5 years to take it on again, not necessarily because I was intimidated, but because if a sauce, not even a whole dish but a sauce, takes that much effort you need a pretty good reason to make it. I think my own birthday is reason enough, and this time I am older, I am wiser, and I have a lot more practice. With Chef Rick Bayless behind me I decided I was ready, and this time I was going to be going it alone.

I am not going to lie, this is by no means a "simple" recipe. This isn't even the REALLY involved Oaxacan black mole (some with upwards of 28-30 ingredients), it is only a mole rojo - a comparatively "easy" variety with only 18-20 ingredients. It is not, however, a very difficult recipe. Time consuming, maybe, but not difficult. I promise if you read it through, break it down, and take it slow, it can be done.

And it will be worth it.



Mole Rojo Clasico
Classic Red Mole
Adapted from Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time

10 ounces (5 medium or 3 large) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 1/3 cup (about 6 1/2 ounces) sesame seeds
1 cup rich-tasting pork lard or vegetable oil, plus a little more if necessary
6 ounces dried mulato chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
8 ounces dried pasilla-ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 1/4 cup (about 5 ounces) whole almonds, with skin
1 cup (about 4 ounces) raisins
1 teaspoon Mexican canela, or regular cinnamon, ground
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1/2 teaspoon anise seed
1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground
1 bolillo or firm white roll, darkly toasted and broken into several pieces
2 ounces (about 2/3 of a 3.3-ounce tablet) Mexican chocolate
3 quarts chicken or vegetable broth (I only used 2, but good to have the full amount)
Salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

Prep the Ingredients
1) Measure out and prepare all your ingredients. I cannot stress this enough.

2) Stem and deseed the chiles and tear into large pieces if not already complete.

3) On a rimmed baking sheet or small baking pan lined with foil, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below a very hot broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5-10 minutes per side depending on size and broiler temp. Scrape into a large bowl.

4) In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly continuously, until golden, about 5 minutes. Scrape half of them in with the tomatillos. Reserve the remainder for sprinkling on the chicken.

Brown and Soak the chiles
Turn on an exhaust fan or open a kitchen door or window for this part.

5) Fill a kettle with water to its highest level and put on to heat.

6) In a very large soup pot (I used a 7-quart enamel cast iron pot), heat your fat over medium.

7) When the oil is hot, fry the chiles, three or four pieces at a time, flipping them nearly constantly with tongs until their interior side has changed to a lighter color, about 20 or 30 seconds total frying time. Don’t toast so darkly that they begin to smoke—that would make the mole bitter.

8) As they’re done, remove them to a large bowl (not the tomatillo bowl), being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot. Cover the toasted chiles with hot water from the kettle and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to insure even soaking.

Brown the Other Ingredients
9) Remove any stray chile seeds left in the fat. With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned (the garlic should be soft), about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot.

10) Add the raisins to the hot pot. Stir for 20 or 30 seconds, until they’ve puffed and browned slightly. Scoop them out, draining as much of the fat as possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillos.

-Set the pan aside off the heat.

11) To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, bread and chocolate. Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.

Blend, strain, cook
12) Into a large measuring cup, small stockpot, or pitcher, tip off the chiles’ soaking liquid. Taste the liquid: if it’s not bitter, reserve about 6 cups of the liquid. (if you’re short, add water to make up the shortfall). If bitter, pour it out and measure 6 cups water.

13) Scoop half of the chiles into a blender jar, pour in half of the soaking liquid (or water) and blend to a smooth puree. Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the bits of skin and seeds that don’t pass through the strainer. Repeat with the remaining chiles.

14) Return the pot to medium heat. When hot again, pour in the chile puree—it should sizzle sharply and, if the pan is sufficiently hot, the mixture should never stop boiling. Stir every couple of minutes until the chile puree has darkened and reduced to the consistency of tomato paste, about a half hour.

15) In two batches, blend the tomatillo mixture as smoothly as possible (you may need an extra 1/2 cup water to keep everything moving through the blades), then strain it in to the large bowl that contained the pureed chiles.

16) When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes.

Simmer
17) When the chile/tomatillo mixture has reduced, add the broth to the pot until it is the thickness of “cream soup.” Briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow.

-If the mole thickens beyond the consistency of soup, add in more broth. If more liquid is needed to retain consistency, add water.

18) Taste and season the mole with salt (usually about 4 teaspoons) and the sugar.

Serve
Pour over cooked chicken or turkey (I used shredded chicken to make it more party friendly/taco ready) or you can cool, cover and refrigerate until you're ready to use. When you're ready to use the mole, rewarm over medium-medium-low heat.

*This recipe can easily be adapted to be vegan/vegetarian by using vegetable oil/vegetable broth. Serve over Tofu, seitan, or your protein of choice.

**Rick suggests using a splatter screen to prevent some of the clean-up. I don’t have one, but I can heartily agree with his suggestion – I am still finding errant splatters of chile more than a week later.

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It's My Party and I'll Die if I Want To

Mi casa es su casa on Sunday, May 16th, for a low-key and informal celebration of my 25th birthday. There will be food. There will be music. There will be drinks. There will be board games. There may even be cake.

Please bring yourself, your empty stomach, and something to share.

Yes, that is correct, I recently had a little birthday and Sunday was my party. There was food, games, laughter, and a minimum of bloodshed (more about that next time). It was an intimate gathering of friends and exactly what I wanted. A BIG thank you to all my friends who were there and there in spirit.



















It was a great fiesta and I got to do two of my favorite things - cook, and feed people. Look for the slaw and mole recipes later this week.

*All photos of people courtesy of J. Buchleitner (because I forgot to take pics after we ate). Opening picture is a found image - I cannot seem find this image again or its owner. If this is your image please let me know if you would like me to take it down, if it is okay to leave up please let me know how to credit you!

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Death by Caramel (and Chocolate)

I don't really like chocolate. How can you not like chocolate you may ask? Chocolate is nice, but most chocolate just bores me. When I do want chocolate though, I want it rich, dark, and bitter, like moist earth. You can describe my favorite coffee similarly. I usually prefer my chocolate in small, "just right" sized proportions and I prefer that it not stand alone. I love the bitterness to be offset by a bite of sweetness from a piece of fruit, or the toothsome meatiness of a bit of nut.

Of course there is another way to go.



Caramel. Sweet, silky, luxurious caramel. Soft, chewy, buttery, caramelized caramel. Caramel and a hint of spice. Dulce de leche caramel. Pair it with dark 70% or higher chocolate, and you are headed towards a mighty fine dessert.

I recently had the opportunity to make a batch of brownies as a going away gift for a coworker friend of mine. I think the brownies I came out with may not have been what the rest of my coworkers expected, but I certainly enjoyed them and I think the departing friend did as well which is enough for me.



Actually, to be perfectly honest, I may have found myself trying not to lick a tin can, and instead hunting down every food item in the house that would taste good with the residual batter in the bowl or the residual caramel in the measuring cup, particularly the caramel, after making these brownies. They are THAT good.

I started with David Lebovitz' recipe for dulce de leche brownies. Then I adapted. Because its what I do. A touch of extra vanilla here, a sprinkle of ground canella (Mexican cinnamon) there, and replacing the regular chocolate with 50% extra-dark and 50% Mexican chocolate, the last of my stash from Oaxaca.



The next time you are in need of some serious chocolate, a dessert that doesn't soft shoe around, try these brownies. Cut them into small squares, and have just one (or two, or three - whatever is just right for you) with a cold glass of milk, a nice cup of coffee, or even a glass of red wine. If you're looking for death by chocolate, there are worse ways you could go.

Dulce de Leche Brownies
10.5 Tbs butter, plus extra to grease the pan
4 oz. dark chocolate
4 oz. Mexican chocolate
1/3 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla (I may have run out of vanilla and used half vanilla/half dark rum)
1.5 tsp cinnamon, preferably ground canela
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/3 cups Dulce de Leche*

1) Line a 13x9in pan with a long sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides. If it doesn't reach all the way up and over the sides, use two overlapping sheets of foil. Grease the bottom and sides of the foil with some butter or non-stick spray.

2) Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the chocolate pieces and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.

3) Add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and then the flour.

4) Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drop one-third of the Dulce de Leche evenly over the brownie batter and drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. Spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining Dulce de Leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the Dulce de Leche slightly.

5) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes. The brownies should feel just-slightly firm when done. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

According to David, these brownies become better the second day, and will keep well for up to 3 days.

*To make your own dulce de leche at home, take one 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the label, and cut two holes in the top with a can opener. Place in a medium sauce pan and fill saucepan with water one inch from the rim of the can. Simmer over medium-low heat for 2-4 hours depending on how thick you want your caramel (I used about 2.5 hours for the caramel in these brownies), refilling water as necessary. One 14oz can makes just enough caramel for the brownies.

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Baking Cookies with John Mayer

Chocolate and spice. To me, they go hand in hand. In fact, I prefer my chocolate to have an edge. No milk bars for me, bring on the 70% dark with cocoa nibs and chile pepper. I have been thinking about making some spiced chocolate icebox cookies for a week, but I needed to 1) find a good starting recipe and 2) make it happen.

Tonight, I finally baked some up with my new friend John Mayer. You see, he and I have developed a very close relationship over the last few days, and, what with his On Demand VH1 specials expiring at midnight and my access to his Storytellers episode coming to a close, I felt I should celebrate our time together.




So while Mr. Mayer sang the best of his back catalog and played some bitchin' guitar, I got out the butter, flour and sugar, and mixed up some lovin' from the oven. I started with this recipe for plain chocolate icebox cookies and then spiced it up a little. You know when I said I don't mess with recipes for baked goods? Yeah, I lied. It started with a little cinnamon and a little Mexican chocolate, but then I didn't have enough cocoa so I had to improvise a little. It kind blew up from there.



I didn't take these cookies quite as far into spicy as I had originally intended, but they do have a nice warmth. I think in this case there is something to be said for subtlety. Even though they aren't exactly what I had in mind when I started out, they're still pretty darn good dunked into tea. I've posted the final recipe as I made it below, but if I did it again I would up the spice factor (1/2 or 3/4 tsp cinnamon maybe, a full 1/4 tsp black pepper? I will have to play with this), use all cocoa, leave in the extra 2 Tbsp of sugar, and not bake them quite as long (take out at 8-9 min?).



*Soundtrack optional, but something tells me the man appreciates quality baked goods.

Spiced Chocolate Icebox Cookies

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (I ran out and used 1/4 cup cocoa and 1/4 cup hot chocolate mix)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt (table salt)
1/4 tsp Mexican Cinnamon, ground (canela)
1/8 tsp black pepper, ground
3/4 cup butter, unsalted and softened (3/4 cup = 1.5 sticks)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (original recipe calls for light, I was out)
1/2 cup minus 2 Tbs sugar (I removed 2 Tbs to compensate for the sugar in the drink mix, if using all cocoa leave in)
2 squares (2 oz) - ish chocolate, melted and cooled (I used 2 squares Mexican Chocolate plus 1/2 square Belgian Dark to smooth it out)
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 large egg

Mix Dry Ingredients
1) In a medium-large sized bowl, thoroughly mix together flour, cocoa (or cocoa/hot chocolate mix), baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pepper with a whisk or a fork.

Mix Wet Ingredients
2) In a second, larger, bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium until light and fluffy (if you don't have a mixer this will still work, just use a whisk and some arm strength). Beat in chocolate, vanilla, and almond extract until well combined. Beat in egg.

Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients
3) Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture in three batches. Combine well after each addition.

4) Divide dough in half, roll into 12" logs, and wrap in parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. You can also wrap parchment covered log in plastic wrap and freeze.

Bake
5) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove one log of dough from the fridge (leave second log in the fridge to remain firm or keep for later use) and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices on two parchment lined cookie sheets one inch apart.

6) Bake 10-11 minutes, switching the sheets between racks halfway through baking. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute, transfer to wire cooling racks (or a plate) to cool completely. Repeat for remaining dough.

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