Cookaholics Bulletin Board

...just in case it is my last.

Most of what we made was from Santibañez's books. Ideally, I would have made a mole, but there were only 4 of us, so most of the things were for tacos. And we went through a LOT of corn tortillas! I made a batch of carnitas, p. 140 in the taco book, which has coca cola in it! I had to have a friend bring it, and that was the only ingredient I was without! Turned out very good, and it supposedly replaces the flavor from using unlined copper pots in Mexico. The carnitas were used for tacos, along with the pork and chorizo, (p. 39), with the fresh green salsa (p. 133), pecan and chipotle salsa (p. 140), and crema, as sides. The salsa negra (aslo served on the side, with a warning) on p.82 of Truly Mexican I used in a shrimp and chipotle dish (p. 334) from Bayless' Kitchen book, and from that book I also made the drunken pintos, since we had to have beans in our last Mexican meal, and, as one guy put it, who wouldn't want bacon in their last meal! And from that book I also made a favorite veggie dish - crusty chayote casserole (p. 224). Then, though not traditional Mexican, I served some Talenti double dark chocolate gelato; after all, I had to finish with chocolate! However, I had some B&Js Mocha Heath Bar Crunch, for those who wanted to leave the chocolate for the chocoholics.

I hesitated brushing my teeth, as I wanted the chocolate in there, but it is cinnamon toothpaste, which is almost appropriate for Mexican.

All the new dishes were delicious. I wish I had another carnitas recipe to compare that to side by side, as it was different and delicious.
The pecan and chipotle salsa was the hit - totally different from any other salsa I have had, and fantastic. We were even taking some of the shrimp from the chipotle shrimp, and putting some of that salsa on it (a tip for next time, if there is one). The green salsa was about the same as others I've made, and best on the chorizo tacos, though also good on carnitas. The Chayote casserole I have made several times in the past, but I made a suggested variation this time - kohlrabi, in place of some of the chayote, since I had some left from my garden. The flavor was very good, using 1/3 kohlrabi, though I think all kohlrabi would be a little too much.

Oh yeah...we had some tequilas, and one guy brought some high hops beers (not Mexican, but great with these). Another requirement of a last Mexican dinner.

The only bad thing is all those leftovers. What if we can't eat them?

I hear thunder - I wonder if that's it...

Dave,

Wait, where's the Chayote Casserole from?

FWIW, in Truly Mexican there's an adobo with dark peppers and chocolate which works as a "weeknight mole".

We had a belated b-day dinner for me, so I'm satisfied if it's my last. Seafood casserole (scallops, shrimp, crab and salmon in a white sauce, gratined and served over rice), snow peas, carrots, homemade rolls, salad with raspberry vinaigrette, and chocolate zucchini cake with cream cheese icing. Lovely white wines to go with. So far no apocalypse, but we're on the east coast, so maybe it's just time shifted a bit for us.

The "Crusty Chayote Casserole, W/poblanos, Corn, and Two Cheeses" is from Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, p. 224. A lot more vegetable dishes in that book than the other ones, and we were looking for something with rajas, since I had a pint of them in the freezer, which saved a lot of the work.

That xico (is that the one you mean?) was one of the moles we looked at, as well as the hazelnut mole for the shrimp (already had the salsa negra made, and wanted to try it to compare to Bayless's, that I have made countless times) but by that time we were looking for a veggie dish - the rajas, a 6 lb. bag of pork shoulder cubes, and some chorizo had been taken from my freezer to use. SOW, what veggies would you serve a mole on?

It is now 59º here - what made it get so hot????

Dave,

It's not a mole, it's an adobo, in the adobo chapter. But it has mexican chocolate, chiles negros and cinnamon, and makes a passable mole substitute ... in 1/2 hour of prep/cooking. I don't have the book with me, or I'd give you the exact title and page.

I can't actually think of vegetables which would work in a mole by themselves. What's wrong with a salsa or adobo? Or make my nopales/pumpkin recipe: http://www.fuzzychef.org/archives/Nopal ... -2012.html

That makes more sense, Fuzzy. Even the xico mole was fairly complex, even though he simplified it.

I only ask because I thought that maybe you made a totally vegetarian mole. Not that I was going to try it, but in case I had some vegetarian friends, down the road, that I could save a little mole sauce for, so they could sample it on something. I usually cook Asian for vegetarians - much easier than Mexican.

I usually have a side dish or salad for the veggies in a Mexican menu, but rarely with a sauce on them. It's sort of a break from all those meats and seafood with the sauces, as good as they are. And those nopales look good! I copied the recipe for future use. Another nopales recipe I like is the roasted nopales salad, in Bayless's Kitchen book. And I am lucky - one of the girls in a Mexican grocery here de-spines them before she sells them. I still look close, but she never misses any!