Several years ago, I tried to make an authentic mole. This is a Mexican sauce—like many others—with no set list of ingredients. Basic ingredients include chilies, fruit, some kind of seeds or nuts, one or more herbs and/or spices, and frequently chocolate. Just about every family, in Mexico and beyond, has their own variation—some with as many as 30 ingredients.
Karl’s Simplified Mole Poblano
Filed under California Fusion, Sauces and Spices, Vegan, Vegetarian
A bag of molé has been living in my freezer for months. I wanted to do some barbecued chicken for this Sunday’s dinner, but I did not want it to be the same old, same old. I thought using the molé as a barbecue sauce was just the ticket.
Karl’s Molé Basted Barbecued Chicken
Filed under Barbeque, California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry, Sauces and Spices
When I go to all of the effort to make molé, it is such a production that I always make enough for more than one meal. When the meal is done, I package up 3 or 4 quart bags of the sauce ready to add to a quick weekday meal. Jan asked for chicken molé for dinner one day this week.
Karl’s Chicken Molé Chili
Filed under Main Dishes, Poultry
Some assembly required. Many cultures have a festival dish that is something wrapped in dough that can be stored and then cooked quickly (so the moms can enjoy the festivals). The Hispanic countries have tamales, the Asians have jiaozi (pork dumplings) and the Eastern Europeans have perogi. However the price for this festival freedom is sometimes days of preparation. Making the dough, the filling(s) and assembling the final product are painstaking tasks. Usually this is made easier by making it a group activity. In China we would be treated to jiaozi parties. Our host would bring over the prepared meat and dough and then everyone would pitch in to make (and eat) the jiaozi. For a fun idea of how the Mexican culture does this, I recommend the children’s book Too Many Tamales! (for the hearing impared.)
Jan and I were watching Triple D and one of the featured restaurants was a Mexican place that always has 15 different moles. Jan loves mole and the show expanded my mind on what was possible in the way of mole and how to use it. One of their signature dishes was tamales with mole.
Karl’s Pork Tamales with Mole Poblano
Karl’s Green Mole Rice
Karl’s Refried Beans II
Filed under Main Dishes, Pork
A few months ago I had tried making molé for the first time, based on a recipe by Ty and Juels. This was one of our Sunday challenges before I started writing this blog. I found Ty’s recipe, but I could not help myself, I had to make some changes. That is just the kind of cook I am, I even have trouble following my own recipes. I rarely make the same dish the same way twice, I am constantly tinkering.
Mole Poblano
Filed under Sauces and Spices
I wanted a new side dish to go with my Pork Tamales with Mole Poblano. In Mexican cuisine beans and rice are the standard side dishes. Refried beans do not really lend themselves to a lot of variation. This left me to do something with the rice, but I wanted to do something other than my usual Mexican Rice. I thought about making a green mole rice, but when I Googled “Mole Verde” most of the recipes were on how to use this sauce on chicken with rice as a side dish.
Karl’s Green Mole Rice (Arroz Mole Verde)
Green Mole (Mole Verde)
Filed under Side Dishes, Starches, Vegetables
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Jabberwocky Stew 