Picture Thread: What's For Dinner?

[jyl]

Jumping in late - ian, can you post a list of exactly what you buy so that I can try to copy you? I'm ignorant when it comes to mole or for that matter to chiles, and will need to be monkey literal.

[imcarthur]

Like you, I am chile curious. Locally I can buy: fresh bell peppers, fresh hot & sweet Hungarian peppers, jalapenos - fresh & canned, fresh Jamaican bell peppers, fresh small Asian hot fiery red peppers & canned chipotles in adobo.

I placed an order with the link JR posted since I couldn't locate a closer or better source:

Item # Description Quantity Price
C032B Ancho Pod (Bulk) 1 (1kg = 2.2 lbs) $23.00
C074B Mulato Pod (Bulk) 1 (500g = 1.1 lbs) $18.25
C076B Pasilla Pod (Bulk) 1 (500g = 1.1 lbs) $16.25

This should give me a large enough quantity for some mole trials + some left over for general experimentation.

Ian

[javadog]

Originally Posted by jyl

Jumping in late - ian, can you post a list of exactly what you buy so that I can try to copy you? I'm ignorant when it comes to mole or for that matter to chiles, and will need to be monkey literal.

Dried chillies ought to be easy to find where you live.

JR

[Rusty Heap]

Okay, this is alway a big hit, pretty easy to do, and man is a sweet dish to impress guests with.


Get about a 5-7 pound pork loin roast, and fillet it out so you get a big flat meat pancake of uniform 1/2 - 3/4" thick. Put it into a large pan as the fun is about to start.

Slather on a heavy dose of Dijon Mustard, heavy dusting of your favorite dry spice rub (or Jerk rub yum) Then put on a heavy 1/4 -1/2" of brown sugar. Then use a heavy hand and pour your favorite Bourbon or Whiskey over it, I must of used about 1.5 cups. Let that puppy soak in the sauce to get happy in the fridge for 4-6 hours.


Now get a full pound of thick cut black peppered bacon, and some butchers twine cut 18" long, lay out a grid bacon on top of string. Roll up that meat roast into a tight spiral of love, and place over the string/bacon and tie it up. SAVE the Bourbon marinade for later basting.

Onto the BBQ with a spit, and some Alder/Pecan smoking wood, for an 1- 1.5 hour low and slow direct and indirect heating. I put a pan under it too, as while it's turning I'm basting it with the left over bourbon sauce to make a nice sugar glaze. Right before pulling it off the spit, feel free to get the pepper mill out and put a heavy crust of black/white peppercorn on the work of art you've just cooked.

Dammmmmmnnnnnnnnnn gooooooooooooddddddddd meallllllllllll


the mustard, jerk rub, brown sugar, bourban, bacon, and fresh ground pepper simply makes a complex tasting awesome dish.

For those text challenged, full step by step photos below.


































TRY IT!!!!!!!!

[vash]

OMG!!

dave..that is amazing!!

[GWN7]

Clam Chowder

Bacon (4-6 strips), ham (about a lbs), potatoes (3 depending on size), clams (2 cans), onions (2 medium), butter, salt & pepper

Wash, peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2" cubes, add the water from the clams and the potatoes to the pot with the butter (two tablespoons worth). Finely chop the onion and add to the pot. While this is all heating chop up the bacon and fry. Drain the crumbly bacon. When the potatoes are cooked add the bacon, cubed ham and the clams. Simmer for 15-20 min. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy

[imcarthur]

Yes, we got chiles . . .



Ian

[javadog]

Mole Poblano de Guajolote

Turkey:
1 young turkey, 8 pounds, cut into serving pieces
16 cups water
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 tablespoon salt

Place the above ingredients in a Dutch oven, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for an hour, or until the turkey is cooked. Drain and reserve the stock. Set turkey aside.

Sauce:
1/2 cup oil
7 oz. ancho chiles, seeds and membranes removed
3 oz, pasilla chiles, seeds and membranes removed
10 oz. mulatto chiles, seeds and membranes removed
4 chipotle chiles
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
10 cloves garlic
5 oz. blanched almonds
3-1/2 oz. shelled peanuts
8 whole cloves
1 1-1/2 inch stick Mexican cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon aniseed
3 oz. raisins
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons salt, or to taste
4 black peppercorns

Garnish
1/2 cup sesame seeds

With a small knife, or scissors, slice open the chiles and remove the stem, seeds and membranes. Heat a dry iron skillet to medium. Place the chiles on the hot skillet and press the down with a spatula. Turn when they begin to change color. Place the chiles in a bowl of warm water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain them and then puree them in a blender. (Or, you can fry the chiles in a couple tablespoons of oil, and then soak them.) Set aside. Roast the tomatoes and peel their skins. Toast (sauté in oil) the chipotle chiles. Combine both in a blender and puree them. Set aside.

In the same oil, sauté the onion and garlic for 2 to 3 minuets. Transfer to a blender. Then sauté the almonds for 5 minutes. Add the peanuts, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon and aniseed and sauté for 3 more minutes. Transfer to the blender. Add the raisins to the blender, then puree until smooth.

Heat the 1/2 cup of oil in a Dutch oven. Combine all of the purees together, add to the pot and boil them for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chocolate and sugar, stirring constantly. When it returns to a boil, add 4 cups of the reserved stock. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the salt and taste for seasoning. If it's too thick, thin with more stock. Add the turkey pieces, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden. Serve the turkey hot, garnished with sesame seeds.

Notes:

To adjust the heat:
Mild mole - no chipotle chiles (big sissy)
Medium mole - 1-2 chipotle chiles (wimp)
Hot mole - 3-4 chipotle chiles (now you're catching on…)

If you don't like the texture of the dried chile skins, put the chile puree through a food mill, or work the puree through a sieve or chinois with a rubber spatula.

Use real, whole spices. Do not use pre-ground spices from a can. Mexican cinnamon is the real stuff, unlike normal cinnamon.

[imcarthur]

Thanks, JR.

That is a big recipe. I was thinking about cutting it into 1/3 & using a chicken . . . that way it is family size here . . .

Ian

[tabascobobcat]

II started the smoked brisket and ghost pepper chili today for tomorrows game

[Monza_dh]

Homemade pizza!!!

[peppy]

Tried the steaks on the stove and was told, I will not be doing that again. They really make a lot of smoke.


I love cookies.

[TimT]

Never made Chili Verde before, so based on a recent thread I decided it would be a nice Stupidbowl meal..

Chilies and tomatillos being roasted over oak lump charcoal.



Berkshire pork butt after a few hours on the Weber...



Meat is resting now... will cube it soon....

Chili sauce in anticipation of pork goodness,

[Brian 162]

[QUOTE=peppy;6539008]Tried the steaks on the stove and was told, I will not be doing that again. They really make a lot of smoke.


I've done steaks the same way. It stinks up the house for a week but worth it. Mostly I use the BBQ outside year round but the cooking the steak on the stove with a skillet tastes so good I still do it every once in a while.

[PorscheGAL]

Meatloaf: Veal, Pork, and Buffalo wrapped in bacon



Half eaten

[vash]

peppy. you would get alot less smoke if you lightly grill the meat, and not the pan.

i have a small home and searing steak makes a huge impact on how my laundry smells. so now cook a steak backwards.

i cook it low and slow in an oven, and then sear it on a pan. the oven dries it, so there is very little smoke.

[imcarthur]

Mole

A cold, snowy day in Toronto seemed like a good day for attempting JR’s Mole recipe above. I had amassed all of the ingredients – except for the sesame seeds which my wife went out for. I decided to use a chicken since turkey isn’t a crowd pleaser here. I cut the recipe by 1/3 ahead of time & I calculated the chili content.



I boiled the chicken pieces . . .



I fried the chilies . . .



I soaked the chilies . . .

[imcarthur]

I blended the chilies . . .



This is when the serious mess started. I started with a standard blender but the chilies wouldn’t sink to the blade. I switched to a smaller batches & a Magic Bullet. There was chili paste everywhere by now. And it will stain anything it can.

Then I fried & blended the rest of the ingredients (I had pre-baked the tomatoes). The aroma of the frying nut & spice stage was pretty intoxicating btw. By this point I was getting exhausted & I was heavily sampling a nice Rioja . . .

I combined all of the sauce incredients . . .



It looked like unappetizing mush. Really. I added more liquid & boiled it covered. It tasted like a mole but it needed sieving to reach a visually appetizing stage. More serious mess ensued. By now, I had used & washed & reused a whole jumble of pots & fry pans – especially since my wife decided to boil the carcass for soup concurrent to my cooking adventure. I finished the sieving & combined the sauce with the chicken . . .



And forgot the stupid sesame seeds altogether until we sat down to eat.

It was . . . just OK. Pungent & sweet with nutty, chocolaty, perfumed aroma & taste. A little bit went a long way – if you know what I mean. I had sampled as I cooked so I was tired of it by the time we ate. And my other critic said “Not worth the time, effort & mess”. I couldn’t argue with that.

Ian

[javadog]

Well, I'm sorry that the mole didn't turn out right. Something seems to have gone amiss, as it isn't supposed to look like that, exactly. Your sauce seems to have broken down and it looks like it has too much oil in it. It generally looks like this:

[imcarthur]

The oil would have been chicken fat from the broth I added. Blending the chilies was my biggest hurtle. As I was draining the chilies I was thinking that I should save the soak water for something . . . a little in the blender would have smoothed out the result no doubt. After I sieved the sauce it actually looked just like the sauce in your picture.

Anyway, thanks for the recipe, JR. I wanted to try it & I did. I am sure that with refinement I could get a better result.

Now I have a whole mess of chilies to play with.

Ian