MOH – LAY!

Mole sauce with grilled chicken, and rice.

Mole sauce with grilled chicken, and rice.

While I was talking to my dad the other day he told me that he was cooking – the man can throw down in the kitchen!  So when he said that he was making mole, of course my inner fat girl wanted some!  Mole is probably on my top ten list of favorite things to eat.  I was so happy that he knew how to make it, and started asking for his recipe.  Then he said those four words that I hate “it’s from a jar.” WOMP, WOMP.  If you have ever had mole from a jar, you know it has a weird sugary taste… so not authentic.  Like really, who buys that stuff???  My dad, poor guy.  Needless to say he hated it, and had to add ingredients to make it edible.  It’s so hard to find good mole these days.

Part of it is because mole gets a bad rap.  People tell all kinds of stories about how complicated, or how many hours it takes to make.  I was fooled into thinking that I could never master the secrets to mole, just like you probably are.  Fool no more!  Yes I’m sure the traditional way of roasting and grinding of all the ingredients does take hours upon hours to do, but I ain’t got time for all of that!  After researching mole recipes, I figured out a way to make mole in less than an hour.  It has the entire flavor you expect – creamy, with a smokey chile kick, and hint of nutty sweetness. Ugh, its damn near PERFECT! Or as my Husband would say “it taste like, a little more.”

Ingredients: 

  • 10 dried guajillo chiles
  • 7 dried mulato negro chiles
  • 7 dried pasilla chiles
  • 4 table spoons of olive oil
  • 2 oz. pumpkin seeds
  • 3 table spoons sesame seeds
  • 1 hand full whole almonds
  • 2 oz. raisins (small box)
  • 3 whole star anise
  • 1 small white onion, diced
  • 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground cloves
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 2 teaspoons ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 chicken boullion cube
  • 2 table spoons peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 cups of water or chicken broth

Directions:

1. Stem, seed, and de-vein chiles, reserving seeds.

2. Place chiles in a small pot with water, bring to a boil or until peppers are soft.

3. In a large sauté pan add 2 table spoons of olive oil, pepper seeds (I used about 3 table spoons, the more you use the hotter it will be) add in the whole garlic cloves, star anise, almonds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, and sesame seeds, stir around until toasted.

4.  When chiles are soft place them into a blender with some of the water from pot.

5. Blend then add in all of the toasted ingredients, salt, ground pepper, cumin, cloves, cinnimon, chicken bouillon cube (or chicken stock) and blend adding more water if needed.  The consistency should be like a thick smoothie.

6. When that is well combined, pour into the pan used to toast ingredients with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low heat.

7. Stir in chocolate, and peanut butter it should just melt right in.

8. If the mole seems to be too thick you can add water or chicken broth as needed.

9. Serve over chicken, turkey, and steak -really any kind of meat you want and top with left over sesame seeds.  I served this over grilled chicken and rice. Yummy!

 

Chile Rellenos

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If you ever made Chile Reyenos you know how much labor goes into making them, its almost like your going to war with a Poblano Pepper!  First of all, I don’t have the patience or arm strength to beat egg whites to death.  I want to eat, not workout.  Then, when you finally get your peppers covered in egg and placed in the pan it falls right off! Not to mention, I HATE the aftermath of frying  them. I’m left with tiny burn marks on my arms from oil popping all over the place, (I always forget to use the pan lid as a shield) and your clothes, hair, towels, pillows, curtains I mean EVERYTHING in your house smells like cooking oil.  I’m not about that life.  That smell is my biggest pet peeve.  Just because I’m Mexican doesn’t mean I have to smell like a greasy tortilla chip!!!!!  And the smell last for days.  All that work for five cheesy, glorious bites of a stuffed pepper.

So to avoid injury and a workout, I decided to wrap my chiles with dough. Yes I know I’m a genius. I’ve made them this way with three different types of dough, Puff Pastry, Phyllo dough, and Crescent rolls which is what I used today.  Each gives the pepper a different texture and flavor.  The puff pastry gives a sweeter flavor and crispness,  Phyllo dough turns into a delicate flakey crust, and the crescent roll is soft and buttery.  My favorite of the three is the Puff Pastry it’s all three rolled into one! There still are some technical steps to make Chile Reyenos, but it’s so worth it.   Trust me this is so much easier, and you wont even miss the egg coating.  You’ll never want to eat it any other way again.

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Ingredients:

  • Poblano Pepper’s as many as you need, or can eat
  • Queso Fresco- Mexican crumbling cheese
  • Queso Chiuaua- Mexican melting cheese
  • Crescent rolls- I used 2 triangle pieces for each pepper

If using any of the next of items you will need extra ingredients.

  • Puff Pastry- if your going this route you’ll need one beaten egg to seal pastry.
  • Phyillo dough-  you will need to use olive oil or butter in between each sheetwpid-storageemulated0DCIMCamera2014-03-18-18.03.20.jpg.jpgwpid-storageemulated0DCIMCamera2014-03-18-18.06.54.jpg.jpg
  • Directions:  pre-heat: oven 350˙
      1. Roast the peppers. I just throw them on top of the stove turning them till they are burnt.  Your home will smell d
      2. Place the peppers in a Ziploc bag; the steam will loosen the skin of the pepper.  Leave in bag for about five minutes.
      3. Peel burnt skin off pepper- I like to use a butter knife just scrape skin off.
      4. wpid-storageemulated0DCIMCamera2014-03-18-22.36.28.jpg.jpgwpid-storageemulated0DCIMCamera2014-03-18-22.23.01.jpg.jpgDeseed- make incision big
      5. enough to take out the seeds- becareful you don’t cut through whole pepper the goal is to stuff them.
      6. Stuff – I like to use 2 different cheeses, use as much as you want!
      7. Wrap- whichever dough you plan on using wrap around pepper so that the incision is closed and covered.
      8. Bake- 15 minutes or until golden brown.
      9. Serve with any side you want, I went for a salad and quinoa.
      10. Enjoy & Thank me later.
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