Classic Mole Sauce

I've never tried mole, but have always wanted to make it. It's incredibly complex. It took all day to make. At first, I thought I had ruined the sauce because all I could taste was burned chiles. By Day Two, the burned taste went away and the flavor of all the other ingredients came through. The mole tasted dense, smoky, rich, and earthy.

The hardest part was deep frying the chiles. I tore them up a little too much, and it took forever to fry all the small pieces. I'm not sure how much flavor was imparted by the frying, but it seemed like a superflous step. Next time, I will tear the chiles into 2 or 3 pieces max. I may skip the frying altogether.


This recipe makes a large quantity of mole. I could have easily made a half batch and still had plenty. But since it is such an involved process, I figured we could freeze the leftover and enjoy it later.

Classic Mole
Adapted from Rick Bayless'

Classic Red Mole


5 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 1/3 cup sesame seeds
¾ cup vegetable oil
6 dried mulato chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
12 dried ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
6 dried pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into large flat pieces
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup whole, unskinned almonds
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela
½ teaspoon black pepper, preferably freshly ground
½ teaspoon anise, preferably freshly ground
¼ teaspoon cloves, preferably freshly ground
2 slices firm white bread, darkly toasted and broken into several pieces
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
3 quarts chicken broth
Salt
1/3 cup sugar

On a rimmed baking sheet, roast the tomatillos 4 inches below a very hot broiler until splotchy black and thoroughly soft, about 5 minutes per side. Scrape into a large bowl. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds, stirringly nearly constantly, until golden, about 5 minutes. Scrape half of them in with the tomatillos. Reserve the remainder for sprinkling on the chicken.

Turn on an exhaust fan or open a kitchen door or window. In a large dutch oven, heat the oil over medium. When quite 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, 10 seconds total frying time. Don’t toast them so darkly that they begin to smoke. As they’re done, remove to a large bowl, being careful to drain as much fat as possible back into the pot. Cover the toasted chiles with hot tap water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently so they soak evenly.

Remove any stray seeds left in the oil. With the pot still over medium heat, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring regularly, until browned (the garlic should be soft), about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove them to the tomatillo bowl, draining as much fat as possible back into the pot. 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 fat as possible back into the pot, and add to the tomatillo bowl. Remove dutch oven from heat and set aside.
To the tomatillo mixture, add the cinnamon, black pepper, anise, cloves, bread and chocolate. Add 2 cups water and stir to combine.

Drain the soaking liquid from the chiles into a large measuring cup. Taste the liquid: if it’s not bitter, discard all abut 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. 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.

Return the dutch oven with reserved oil to medium heat. When quite hot, 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. (cover the pot with an inexpensive spatter screen to catch any spattering chile.)

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 chiles. When the chile paste has reduced, add the tomatillo mixture to the pot and cook, stirring every few minutes until considerably darker and thicker, 15 to 20 minutes. (Again, a spatter screen saves a lot of cleanup.)

Add the broth to the pot and briskly simmer the mixture over medium to medium-low heat for about 2-3 hours for all the flavors to come together and mellow. If the mole has thickened beyond the consistency of a cream soup, stir in a little water. Taste and season with salt (usually about 4 teaspoons) and the sugar.

Serve sauce with your desired protein.

Grilled Shrimp and Vegetables With Pearl Couscous

I'm not sure how this happened, but we now have three grills sitting on our back porch. I would love to see at least one less grill cluttering the patio, but feel that asking Hubs to choose would be like watching Sophie's Choice.

Our "Tale of Three Grills" starts with the charcoal Weber, which we got as a wedding present. Hub was a charcoal snob. Then, his mom gave us her propane grill when she downsized. Hubs turned to the "dark side" of grilling and away from charcoal. Recently, a neighbor gave us his grill when he received a new one. This is currently Hubs' favorite. He especially likes the four burners and a side burner.

With all these grills, it's no wonder that we cook outdoors almost every other day during this time of the year. Anything that keeps the heat out of the house is fantastic. I loved how the grilled components of the dish came together with the vinaigrette. We also have made a vegetarian version, omitting the shrimp and adding more grilled vegetables like red pepper and eggplant.


Grilled Shrimp and Vegetables with Pearl Couscous
Adapted from Gourmet
June 2006

5 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 ¾ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1/3 c plus extra for cooking
2 ¼ cups pearl couscous (3/4 lb)
1 ¾ c low sodium chicken broth
1 c water
¼ tsp crumbled saffron threads
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
3 zucchini, cut into cubes

Whisk together vinegar, thyme, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl until salt is dissolved. Add 1/3 cup oil in a slow stream, whisking until vinaigrette is combined.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wide saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Toast the couscous, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and pale golden, 3 to 5 minutes. While couscous toasts, stir together broth, water, and saffron in a large measuring glass. Add mixture to couscous with 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Stir vinaigrette to combine, then stir 2 tablespoons into couscous and let stand, uncovered, at room temperature.

Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).
Toss shrimp with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and thread 4 or 5 shrimp onto each skewer (don't crowd, or shrimp won't cook evenly).

Peel onions and trim root ends slightly, leaving ends intact, then halve lengthwise and cut halves lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide wedges. Insert 1 wooden pick through each wedge to hold layers together while grilling, then put onions in a large bowl with zucchini. Toss vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Grill shrimp skewers on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once with tongs, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Remove shrimp from skewers and tranfer to a clean bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons vinaigrette.

Grill vegetables on lightly oiled grill rack, turning over once, until just tender, about 5 minutes, transferring to bowl as grilled. Drizzle vegetables with remaining vinaigrette and toss to combine.

Spoon couscous onto a large platter or shallow serving bowl. Arrange shrimp and vegetables on top of couscous and sprinkle with feta. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes

I've been in a cooking rut lately. Hubs has taken over a lot of dinner patrol. Since he works evenings, that means that sometimes we don't have dinner until 9:oo at night. I finally figured out why I don't want to cook.....

~~~~~~drumroll~~~~~~

Just about all of our knives are dull. Severely dull. So dull they don't even pierce through a bell pepper. The only knives that would cut into that pepper are a meat cleaver (too scary), and a serrated utility knife. I have one of those round, skinny sharpening sticks, but that isn't cutting (no pun intended) it anymore. I've heard that a whet stone works well, or I'll have to take my knives somewhere to get professionally sharpened. Any suggestions?

In the meantime, I give you a recipe that needs only a slight amount of cutting. I made these cupcakes back in the spring when Key limes were in season. If you can't get Key lime juice, you can substitute regular lime juice.

The icing came out softer than I thought. They were fine as I packed them up to take to a meeting, but the rush hour traffic combined with the hot weather did them in. They didn't look so pretty when I unpacked them. Fortunately, a bunch of fourth and fifth graders ate them and didn't care how they looked.



Key Lime Coconut Cupcakes
Adapted from Coconut Cupcakes
By Ina Garten, as seen on Barefoot Contessa


¾ lb (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 c sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs key lime zest
1 1/2 Tbs key lime juice
3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
1 c light coconut milk
1 c sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla, key lime zest, and key lime juice and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the coconut milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.