What's on your plate today?

[thinde]

Perhaps my favorite batch of mole I've made. All I added to the paste was peanut butter, chocolate chips, and beef broth. It has everything I want. Sweetness balanced with a little bitter. Spiciness without being too much. Deep, dark, savory and a perfect consistency.

What’s in the Mole sauce?

 

[The Black Cloud]

In general? At it's basis a mole sauce is a chile sauce and along with different roasted chilies, it can contain numerous components. It's a notoriously labor intensive sauce to make which is why I've never made one from scratch, but used pastes to start and then add what I feel like. Perhaps the most well known version incorporates chocolate in it which gives the sauce a sweetness that is balanced by the bitter, earthy and savory aspects of the sauce. And of course the chilies bring some heat to the equation. Not all mole sauces have chocolate in them, though. But they all start with chilies.

 

[thinde]

In general? At it's basis a mole sauce is a chile sauce and along with different roasted chilies, it can contain numerous components. It's a notoriously labor intensive sauce to make which is why I've never made one from scratch, but used pastes to start and then add what I feel like. Perhaps the most well known version incorporates chocolate in it which gives the sauce a sweetness that is balanced by the bitter, earthy and savory aspects of the sauce. And of course the chilies bring some heat to the equation. Not all mole sauces have chocolate in them, though. But they all start with chilies.

Sorry, I should have asked my question differently.........What did you put the Mole sauce on? I'm not a huge chocolate fan but my wife is and we both loves us some heat so I've always wanted to give it a shot. Haven't done much research yet but when I make my mind up to do it I'll source the heck out of it.

 

[jfields]

NY Strip Steak! One of those open air butcher shops that raises their own cattle and has meat that’s out of this world.
Grilled asparagus finished with aged Parmigiano Reggiano, and fresh avocado slices topped with aged Balsamic Glaze.

 

[The Black Cloud]

Sorry, I should have asked my question differently.........What did you put the Mole sauce on? I'm not a huge chocolate fan but my wife is and we both loves us some heat so I've always wanted to give it a shot. Haven't done much research yet but when I make my mind up to do it I'll source the heck out of it.

I just grilled up some chicken, cut it up, and mixed it into the sauce. You can do the same with pork or beef (or pour it over enchiladas, or anything else for that matter).

The most readily available brand I see around here is Dona Maria. It comes in jars in a thick paste or in ready to use cartons. It's good stuff but I prefer the paste in jars as it has more flavor and heat to it (you'll need to mix in maybe 4 cups of broth to dissolve the very thick paste).

I think this is the brand I used last time: (https://www.amazon.com/Mole-Negro-Oaxaca-Black-Juquilita/dp/B01HUC9S7Q/ref=asc_df_B01HUC9S7Q/?tag=hyprod20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312167861240&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=243951766245245033&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031199&hvtargid=pla-624030831087&psc=1)

If it is the same brand I'm thinking of, this is my favorite thus far. What you add to the paste is up to you. Neither have a pronounced chocolate flavor, so it's not like you're going to be tasting Hershey's syrup or anything like that. There's also a green version called Pipian which incorporates pumpkin seeds however it's a very different flavor profile than mole negro or rojo.

 

[CMontoya79]

Sorry, I should have asked my question differently.........What did you put the Mole sauce on? I'm not a huge chocolate fan but my wife is and we both loves us some heat so I've always wanted to give it a shot. Haven't done much research yet but when I make my mind up to do it I'll source the heck out of it.

Find Doña Maria Sauce in glass jar with metal lid. Open with bottle opener/can opener. Add a little broth, add grated mexican chocolate or peanut butter, some people do both or have a preference for one or the other. Buy a rotisserie chicken, cut up, simmer in sauce for a bit. Done. Chicken mole. Or you could:

 

[CMontoya79]

 

[thinde]

Find Doña Maria Sauce in glass jar with metal lid. Open with bottle opener/can opener. Add a little broth, add grated mexican chocolate or peanut butter, some people do both or have a preference for one or the other. Buy a rotisserie chicken, cut up, simmer in sauce for a bit. Done. Chicken mole. Or you could:

The wife has made various Rick Bayless recipe and although they are all great she stopped because they all have about 10,000 ingredients! I guess Mole is my next adventure. Thanks!

 

[The Black Cloud]

My GF and I went to one of her favorite Italian restaurants last night. She had a seafood risotto while I had the stuffed calamari below. Both were excellent.

 

[thinde]

A friend planted Blueberry bushes about 5 years ago and he finally got a bumper crop and passed some off to me so I made a cobbler type dish we usually do with apples. Very tasty!
Edit to say.....sorry I couldn’t get the photos in the right order but I’m sure you get the idea.

 

[Nihon_Ni]

Simple dinner on the grill tonight -- I went to the local grocery store in search of something for dinner, and found ripe peaches and decided to work a dish around that. Grilled pork tenderloin, grilled peaches, sauteed zucchini noodles, all on a bed of spinach.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

That looks amazing!

~Boar

 

[Nihon_Ni]

The wife and I have been on a clean eating plan for the last 40 days. Lean meat, veggies, and fruit. We've both cooked some very tasty dishes on this routine, and I feel better than I have in years.