Mole Sauce

Yeild: 2 qts

8 Each Ancho Chilis, Dried
4 Each Pasilla Chilis, Dried
8 Cups Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 Pound Roma Tomatoes
1/4 Pound Tomatillos, Whole, husked, rinsed, halved
1/2 Each Plantain, peeled, sliced, fried
2 Tablespoons Raisins
1/2 Cup White Onion, sliced
2 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup Almonds, whole
1/4 Cup Unsalted Peanuts
1/4 Cup Pecans Halves
2 Tablespoons Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted, raw, green
1 Each Cinnamon Stick
4 Whole Cloves
1/2 Teaspoon Allspice Berries
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 Each Corn Tortilla, fried
1 Slice French Bread, fried
2 Ounces Mexican Chocolate
2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt

1. Wipe chiles clean with damp cloth. In large skillet, toast in batches until slightly blistered and aromatic, about 10 seconds. Remove stems, veins and seeds.
2. Bring stock to boil; add chiles and simmer until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove chiles and continue to simmer stock over low heat.
3. In the skillet, heat 1/4 cup of oil; fry tomatoes and tomatillos until mixture forms a past. Transfer to a bowl. and reserve.
4. Give the skillet a quick wash; saute onion and garlic until lightly browned. Add to stock with chiles, plantain and raisins; let cool.
5. In another skillet, toast almonds until aromatic. Add peanuts, pecans and pumpkin seeds; toast until light brown. Transfer to a bowl; reserve.
6. In the same skillet, toast cinnamon stick. Add cloves, allspice and cumin and toast 1 minute. Add to nut mixture; let cool.
7. In batches, blend stock, tortilla and bread in a blender. Add nut mixture and tomato-tomatillo paste; puree until smooth; adding more stock or water if necessary.
8. In a deep, heavy pot, heat remaining 1/4 cup oil. Add blended mixture from the bowl; bring to a boil. Let liquid reduce 20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Stir in chocolate until melted. The mole should have consistency of gravy. If it is too thick, add more water. Add sugar and salt to taste; simmer 20 minutes, cool. Mole keeps, refrigerated, for one week.

NOTE: Ingredients will soon be available on FoodieAffair.Com. This site is still under construction, but promises to be available very soon.

Enchiladas de Mole Poblano

Serves: 8

1 Cup Canola Oil
24 Each Corn Tortillas
6 Cups Chicken, cooked and shredded
3 Cups Mole Sauce (recipe in Sauce section)
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 Each Red Onion, sliced

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Dip tortillas in oil one at a time briefly frying until soft. Blot with paper towels.
2. In a separate skillet, warm chicken with mole sauce.
3. To assemble enchiladas, place 2 tablespoons chicken-mole mixture in center of each tortilla, roll into a log.
4. To serve, place three enchiladas side by side in center of plate. Pour mole sauce generously over enchiladas; top with sour cream, cheese and red onion.

NOTE: Of course homemade mole is the best, but it is a time consuming project to say the least, and some of the ingredients are hard to find. If you can't find prepared mole sauce in your local supermarket, you can order it on FoodieAffair.Com. This site is still under construction, but it is promised to be up and running soon.

Lovely, Fluffy, Mexican Rice

Serves 6

1 Cup Long-grain White Rice
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth
1/2 Each Onion, finely chopped
1/2 Each Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 Teaspoons Jalapeno Pepper, chopped
3 5/8 Fluid Ounces Tomatoes With Green Chilies
2 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce
1/2 Each Chicken Bouillon Cube, Knorr's
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 Cup Cilantro Leaves, Whole
1 Clove Garlic, minced

1. Saute rice in oil over medium heat for bout 3 minutes.
2. Carefully, pour in chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
3. Stir in onion, green pepper, jalapeno, tomato sauce, and can of tomato & chilies. Season with bouillon cube, salt and pepper, cumin, cilantro, and garlic.
4. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to very low. Cook for 20 minutes.
5. Fluff with fork and garnish with fresh cilantro.

NOTE: Rather than opening a can of tomato sauce only to use 2 tablespoons, you can substitute with a little tomato paste from one of those convenient tubes. The addition of the sauce or paste is mainly for color. Another option is to use Knorr's tomato bouillon with chicken rather than the just chicken flavor called for in the recipe. Yet another option, although I would say the last option you should use, is to use a bit of ketchup.

Almond Biscotti

Recipe Courtesy of Darlene O'Connor Raiente (Bridgeport / Stamford, CT)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Dash salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds (toasted)
2 teaspoons milk

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture. Stir in almonds. Line a baking sheet with foil and grease foil. Divide dough in half; spread into two 12-in. x 3-in. rectangles on foil. Brush with milk and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 degrees F. Lift rectangles with foil onto wire rack; cool for 15 minutes. Place on a cutting board; slice diagonally 1/2 in. thick. Place slices with cut side down on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake 10 minutes more. Turn oven off, leaving cookies in oven with door open to cool. Store in airtight container.

Optional: Melt some chocolate chips over a double boiler and dip cookie in on one side or the whole bottom of the cookie to make it look fancy.

Chicken Calabcita Stew

Serves 4

3/4 Pound Chicken Breasts, cut into strips
Salt and Pepper or Fajita Blend Spice
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 Cup Onions, chopped
7 Ounces Stewed Tomatoes with Chiles
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Powder
1/2 Cup Sweet Corn, frozen
1/2 Pound Squash, Zucchini, fresh or frozen
1/8 Cup Green Bell Pepper, chopped, optional
2 Teaspoons Chicken Bouillon Powder or 1/2 Knorr's Cube
1 Cup Water*

1. Salt and pepper chicken strips. Cook chicken in pot until brown on all sides.
2. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil.
3. Lower heat, simmer covered for 15-20 minutes.

* Add 1 - 1/2 cups water to make this into a delicious soup. Add more spice to taste.
NOTE: For the Texas folks, HEB has a Calabacita Blend of vegetables in the frozen section.

Mexican Cornbread by Paula Dean, Tweeked by Kittencal

This quite possibly might be the best cornbread you will ever have, it bakes out high, light and fluffy, it really should be called a corn cake lol! The jalapenos can be substituted with one small finely chopped green bell pepper, or one 4-ounce can green chilies, drained. Since I prefer the taste of olive oil I used that instead of the melted butter, this is a recipe of Paula Deen's tweeked slightly I think for the better ;-) Posted on RecipeZaar.com by KITTENCAL

My three most trusted recipe sources: Paul Dean, RecipeZaar and most of all Kittencal.

This recipe has 17 5-star ratings to date

45 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 9 -12 , 1 (8x8-in) pan

* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup flour
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
* 2/3 cup half-and-half cream (or use milk)
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt or 1/2 teaspoon white salt
* 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
* 1 small onion, finely chopped or green onion
* 1 (14 ounce) can creamed corn
* 1 cup frozen corn, thawed or drained canned corn niblets
* 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
* 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (or to taste)

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 9-inch square baking dish.
3. In a large bowl mix together cornmeal with flour, sugar baking powder, garlic powder, milk, eggs, seasoned salt and melted butter or oil until well blended.
4. Add in onion and creamed corn and thawed corn; mix to combine.
5. Pour half the batter into prepared baking dish.
6. Sprinkle the layer with grated cheese and jalapeno peppers.
7. Pour the remaining batter on top of the cheese and jalapeno peppers.
8. Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (baking time will vary slightly depending on the size of pan used).
9. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.


NOTE: Some of the reviewers said the baking time needs to be longer, so test it with a toothpick before you pull it out of the oven.

RESOURCES: Texas Cornmeal and dried Jalapeno peppers will be available soon at FoodieAffair.com