Mole Adventure (the sauce, that is . . . )

I have always wanted to learn to make mole, and I finally got my chance!  The occasion?  Our May Supper Club, the theme of which was Mexican cuisine, in honor of Cinco de Mayo!  It was also my first opportunity to use my new Rick Bayliss cookbook, Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen.  I’m going to enjoy this cookbook immensely, I know.  Bayliss’s recipe instructions are very clear and easy to follow, even when the recipe is complex, and his explanatory notes about the history and regional variations of the dishes are a delight to read.  

For my Supper Club selection, I decided to make Bayliss’s Ayocotes en Coloradito, or Runner Beans in Brick-Red Mole.  Bayliss describes this dish is a Oaxacan specialty, pairing one of the region’s simpler moles with flavorful heirloom beans.  The mole sauce was one of the easier ones (albeit time consuming), and can be used with any number of other dishes.  I can’t wait to make it again!

My first step was locating the ingredients.  As is true in many parts of California, we are fortunate here in Sonoma to have access to a host of Mexican ingredients in grocery stores and specialty Mexican markets.  At one such local Mexican market, I found the dried ancho and guajillo chiles I needed in bulk, so I was able to buy just the amount I needed.  I also picked up Mexican canela cinnamon, which the folks at Rancho Gordo describe as softer and less astringent, warmer and more woodsy than cinnamon from cassia bark.  I also tracked down some Mexican chocolate, and Mexican oregano, again described by Rancho Gordo as similar to European oregano, but with a slight citrus twist.  Finally I needed the Ayocotes, or heirloom scarlet runner beans, which I picked up at Rancho Gordo’s store in Napa.  Add a couple of ripe tomatoes plus the remaining ingredients which I always have on hand, and I was ready to begin!

I sliced open my dried chiles, and removed the seeds and stems.  I heated a skillet without oil, opened up the chiles to flatten them, and toasted them briefly before popping them into hot water for 30 minutes to rehydrate.  Then I placed some foil over half my skillet, and put my tomatoes on it to toast.  I toasted some unpeeled garlic on the unfoiled part of the hot skillet.  I toasted both for about 10 minutes until they were blackened.  I peeled the garlic and the tomatoes, and popped them into my blender.  I toasted some sesame seeds next, rolling them around in the pan until they were browned, and added them to the blender.  I drained the chiles and added them to the blender too.  Last into the blender were the cinnamon, oregano, chocolate, some black pepper and 1 ½ cups chicken broth, and I hit the puree button.  This next bit required elbow grease.  I put my small mesh strainer over a big bowl and poured in the contents of the blender.  Then I took a large spoon and pressed and pressed with all my might until I got as much liquid out of the blended concoction as I could, because I didn’t want to miss a delicious drop!

 

Look at that brick red color!

Next, I heated olive oil in a saucepan.  (I’m pretty squeamish about lard from a health standpoint, and did not use it, although Bayliss lauds the flavor it adds.  I used his oil substitute instead.)  The mole sauce went into the saucepan with more broth, and simmered for an hour or so.  Then I seasoned with salt and sugar.

Meanwhile I cooked the runner beans in water as directed – they took about 2 ½ hours.  I drained them, poured them into my mole sauce, corrected the seasonings, and whisked them off to my Supper Club, where they were a big hit!

By the way, here was the lineup of the rest of our fabulous meal!

Fresh guacamole three ways
A delicious chorizo cheese dip with chips
Pasilla chiles stuffed w goat cheese
Pork Roasted in Banana Leaves
Mexican Rice and fresh homemade tortillas, of course!
Pastel de tres leches
(Note: there was also the special treat of Bon Vivant’s fabulous caviar torte – not Mexican, but ever amazing and delicious!)

Good times, good food!

Book Review

What a long time since my last blog post!  My energies have been focused on business, and on my Sister Blog, Sonoma Freelance.  However, I am returning to the blog to report on a wonderful book that has stimulated a lot of thought of late, particularly in my thinking about some food and wine pairing events I’m planning (about which, stay tuned for future posts).

Mock Turtle gave me this lovely gift (thanks again, MT!), and I’ve really been enjoying reading through it.  It’s What to Drink with What you Eat, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page (New York: Bulfinch Press, 2006).  This fascinating and beautiful book (absolutely stunning photos) contains a vast wealth of information on food and beverage pairings, incorporating contributions from sommeliers and restauranteurs from across the country. 

There is a very useful chapter called “Food and Beverage Pairing 101” that lists very practical considerations to help the reader analyze various wine and food characteristics that help inform pairing decisions.  Fascinatingly fun are the encyclopedic chapters called “What to Drink with What you Eat,” and “What to Eat with What you Drink.”  Each is comprised of an alphabetical list of foods and beverages, respectively, and the beverages – or foods -  that might compliment each.  Ever wonder what to drink with, say, celery?  Sauvignon Blanc, apparently!  Or tortillas?  Chardonnay, especially from New Zealand!  Naturally, the lists of possible beverages for certain foods are quite long; the list for oysters, for example, goes on for pages.  These chapters also include interesting quotes from chefs and sommeliers, and even the occasional delicious sounding recipe.

The last two chapters may be the most fun of all.  "At the Table with the Experts" contains descriptions from famous chefs of their restaurant pairing menus and the strategy that went into them.  Last is the fabulous “Desert Island Lists” of leading experts who were asked the question, what 12 bottles would they take with them to the proverbial desert island.  Their comments - and lists - are highly entertaining!

I’m going to be studying this book for some time to come, but here is a thought which I found so arresting, I had to bounce it off Bon Vivant after her fabulous Michael Chiarello inspired "Wines of the World" dinner party over the weekend.  One of the sommeliers interviewed states that it’s more important to match a wine to a person than it is to match a wine to the food.  Creating a memorable food and wine experience for others isn’t about displaying your own knowledge; it’s about making your guests happy.  There is a huge emotional component to enjoyment of dining experiences that might be colored by one’s comfort level with particular varietals or styles, or any number of other things.  If we ignore that emotional component and focus just upon the “science” of what pairs best with what, we may fail to create the enjoyment we’re aiming for.  The sommelier went on to give the example of a customer who really wanted a big, bold red wine because that was his idea of the best wine in the world.  So the sommelier served him the monster Cabernet with the caviar first course (Bon Vivant and I were appropriately aghast), and the sommelier kept his own preferences to himself.  Because it’s about making the guests or customers happy, not about imposing wine pairing rules on them.

This resonates with my belief that successful entertaining is not merely, or even primarily, about preparing the perfect food and pouring the perfect wine, even though we strive for that.  It is about creating the perfectly magical, memorable dining experience, the laughter and conversation and sharing and joy that can come from sharing a great meal with others.  And creating that experience is my goal when I entertain.

(Nevertheless, take note friends: there will be no big Cabernets served with caviar at my parties.  Just sayin’ . . . .)