Mole

Yet another backlog... And this doesn't even begin to cover my recent adventures in sourdough baking. But it's a start.


(June Supper Club: fruit and chocolate)
This was pretty close to what I had in my mind's palate, so I'm pretty happy with it. I combined approaches in a couple of different recipes I found online, one the Ancho and Chipotle Mole from Food and Wine, the other a "Oaxacan Black Mole" from fiery-foods.com. This wasn't overwhelmingly spicy, since I took out all of the chile seeds. If you like it hotter, you could reserve some of the seeds and toast/grind them in the manner of the dried spices, and adjust the heat to taste that way.

3 large dried Ancho chiles
1 large and 3-4 small dried Chipotle chiles

2 large fresh Pasilla (or Poblano) peppers... the large, shiny, dark green ones
2 red bell peppers

1 cinnamon stick (if you can get Mexican cinnamon, that's ideal... I just used what I had)
4-5 whole cloves
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 whole peppercorns

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion
1 small can tomato paste
8-10 smallish tomatillos
1 small ripe banana or plantain
10 garlic cloves
2 discs Ibarra Mexican chocolate
1 heaping tbsp cocoa

salt to taste

1. Preheat a gas broiler and broiler pan (or a gas grill).

2. Soak the dried chiles in about 2 cups of boiling water for about 30 mins. You may need to weight them down a bit so they don't just float to the top. (Save the soaking water in case you need to adjust the consistency of the mole.)

3. Remove the seeds and cores from the fresh peppers and cut into pieces that lay flat. Put them on the preheated broiler pan (or grill) skin side toward the flame. Broil or grill for 10 minutes, until the skin is charred. Remove the skin (this should be easy) and put them in a covered bowl to steam for a few minutes.

4. Toast the spices (cinnamon, cloves, cumin, sesame seeds and peppercorns) in a dry skillet until fragrant and golden brown. Be careful not to burn them... watch carefully and shake the pan. Grind in batches in a mortar or spice grinder.

5. Remove the tomatillo husks and puree the tomatillos, garlic and banana in a food processor. (You could also mince the garlic and add it to the onion once the onion starts to get translucent. Either way.)

6. Saute the onion and ground spices in the oil on medium-high heat until the onion is just beginning to brown. Add the tomato paste and saute another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatillo puree and cook until slightly reduced, about 5-10 minutes, stirring periodically. Remove from heat and add Ibarra chocolate discs and stir until melted.

7. Remove the stems and seeds from the soaking dried peppers, puree with the fresh peppers, and add to the pot.

8. Blend the mole in a blender (or with a hand blender) until smooth. (The food processor doesn't quite get it smooth enough.)

9. Add salt to taste (about a tsp). If it's not chocolatey enough, you can add some of the cocoa.

Slather on the sauce vector of your choice. This stuff should keep in the fridge for a few weeks at least.

Mojitos

(May Supper Club: Cinco de Mayo)
Yes, I know Cinco de Mayo is a _Mexican_ holiday celebrating a victory over the French. Yes, I know Mojitos are Cuban. I even (aak!) used a Mojito recipe from the very French (or, actually, Alsatian) Jean-Georges Vongerichten. People liked them anyway.

The definite favorite were the grapefruit Mojitos. These were pretty damn tasty.
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pomelo-mint-mojito

For pitcher-quantities, here's my adaptation:
5 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice from Whole Foods
1 1/2 cups golden rum
1 1/2 cups club soda
a bunch of mint leaves, chopped (I'd guess about 2/3- 3/4 cup)
about a cup of mango-tangerine sorbet (cause that's what I had in the freezer)

Put everything except the sorbet together and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Run it through a strainer to remove the mint pieces. Add the sorbet and dissolve. Add ice, and, if you like, serve with a garnish of mint leaves and lime wedges.

Regular Mojitos:
5 cups limeade (in the juice aisle at Whole Foods)
1 1/2 cups golden rum
1 1/2 cups club soda
mint leaves

Same deal as above, though you don't need the sorbet.

Vegetable Crepes

(April Supper Club: Tapas)
Adapted from Penelope Casas's "Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain." The secret weapon is the (almost classically French) reduction cream sauce in which the crepes get bathed. The leafy greens and carrots balance out the richness really well.

Crepes:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp butter

Melt the butter in the pan you'll use to make the crepes. The crepes should be about 5 in round, so ideally you want a small, non-stick pan. Combine all the ingredients and the melted butter from the pan in a blender. Re-heat the pan to medium high. Use only enough batter for each crepe to coat the pan. Each crepe should take less than 30 seconds a side. Pile each crepe on a plate as you finish. They shouldn't stick together.

Vegetable mixture:
1 large bunch dark leafy greens like collards or chard
4-5 medium carrots, diced
3 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp parsley, minced
1/4 tsp thyme

In a pan large enough to accommodate the carrots and the greens, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium heat until just golden brown. Add the minced garlic and saute a minute or so more. Add the diced carrots and cover the pan. Cook until the carrots are just tender, stirring often enough to prevent over-browning (adjust heat if necessary). If things are getting too brown you can add a little bit of water.

Chiffonade and wash the greens. (Chiffonade: Stack the leaves, and then roll them into a long roll. Cut 1/4 inch slices off of the roll.) Add the greens to the pan, and cook until wilted. You may need a little more water. Add the parsley and thyme and remove from heat. Add the whole thing to the food processor and process until it seems like a good texture for crepe filling. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine (original recipe calls for dry, but I think I used a Riesling that wasn't quite as dry as I would have liked for drinking purposes, and it was pretty good)
1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 tsp whole grain mustard, preferably Pommery
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the wine, broth, and mustard and boil down to reduce by half. Salt and pepper to taste. (Be sure to salt and pepper _after_ you reduce, since all flavors will become more concentrated in the process.) Stir in the cream and simmer until the sauce thickens noticeably.

Mix 1/2 cup of the sauce with the vegetable filling. Fill crepes (a couple of spoonfuls of filling per crepe) and lay them seam side down in a greased baking dish. Cover with the remaining sauce and bake at 350 for just about 5 minutes to heat through.

Yummy!