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Cincinnati Chili!

Pamcakes!

Ooohh--carne adovada.

mrmoonpie, I actually made Cincinnati Chili last time I was just cooking for myself. The smell when it is simmering is just....*drools*.

Buy tortilla chips. Make salsa and guacamole... then go nuts from there.

Anything with nutmeg: potted shrimp. Best. Snack. Ever. (I think shrimp might mean something different in America, though? It's not the big pink creatures you want, but the tiny little brown ones.)

And the mention of jerk chicken made me think of curry goat.

Pulled Pork.

Take boneless pork loin or pork shoulder and marinate for a couple of hours in a mixture of 1 can of cola (not diet), Worcestershire sauce, a splash of vinegar, and garlic. Then slow-roast about 6-7 hours in a dutch oven or in a normal oven on the lowest setting.

When it's done, remove from the pot and shred the meat. Serve with fresh, crusty bread, coleslaw, etc.

I love these little spice packets made from Goya. They're great to have on hand.

They're called Sazon Goya. I like the Con Azafran variety. They can be found in the "ethnic" food aisle. It's basically a spice rub that can be rubbed over any kind of meat, and it goes with just about everything. I like to rub it on pork spareribs to be grilled and then baste with a doctored-up barbeque sauce.

made by Goya.

I make the most kickass chicken mole outside of Oaxaca. Seriously!

Here's what I do..

Take a jar of Dona Maria mole and add the obligatory chicken broth. The sauce base really needs more flavor, so first I always melt in more mexican chocolate (I like a lot of chocolate & more spices). I use either Ibarra or Abuelita usually, sawing off pieces and melting them one by one to taste. Meanwhile, I sautee some onions and tomatoes and garlic in a pan. Sometimes I will also find a bunch of various chiles or peppers & I'll seed & chop them & throw them in to sautee too. If I have no chiles, I'll just sprinkle some ancho, pasilla or chipotle powder in... & drip a bit of TJ's chili oil.

I'll fold the sauteed stuff into the sauce & stir... then I'll let it simmer together for a bit while everything kinda combines. Later I'll taste it and see if it either needs more chocolate or to be spiced up or if it is getting too thick & needs more broth. I like it to be a perfect combination of everything & just experiment until it tastes right to me.

Then I go to my little Forman-esque grill and throw some boneless/skinless chicken breast tenders on there until they're grilled nicely but undercooked. Sometimes I will wait until I'm at the table to pour the sauce on top of the chicken, but this recipe is almost even better the next day after the chicken has been immersed in the sauce... so people tend to like it when I throw the chicken into the sauce and let it cook together for a few minutes before serving it.

I serve the whole thing with some warm whole-wheat tortillas, some brown rice and bowls of chopped cilantro & chopped onions. Kind of a make-your-own burrito thing, 'cuz I'm from San Diego & that's how we do Mexican food.

Anyhow, people do love this. 'Cuz I'm sorry... you just can't go wrong with chocolate. Ever.

I love Sazon Goya, but can't use it much anymore due to the MrsMoonPie's MSG sensitivity.

I come in this thread quickly to say that miss lynnster rules! Mole?!!! Okay I did not exactly love it to death, but it's something any self-respecting chocolate lover has to try.

No, the real reason I came in here is for Abuelita. Can you get this stuff in NY, I wonder. I brought 5 boxes from Mexico and I am running quickly out of it. It is divine. A totally other take on chocolate, them Mexicans, have.

Actually in Oaxaca they have another kind of chocolate with nuts and spices mixed into it. I want that one! Abuelita is very common there.

Bet you'd love my mole! Seriously. SO YUM.

Abuelita and Ibarra are the same things, just different brands. It's all the same Mexican chocolate/sugar/cinnamon combination, though. You can order the stuff from Amazon or MexGrocer. Moctezuma is another brand of it.

I'm SURE it's in some specialty food store somewhere! Just make sure you buy the stuff that comes in hexagon-shaped stacked cakes. They're hard to break apart, but make sure you saw them into pieces to melt them, too... otherwise it takes forever.

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. I will keep this thread handy for future reference.

miss lynnster, your mole sounds delicious. But after looking at some recipes, honestly, mole scares me. I think I'll leave it to the professionals for now.

essexjan, thanks for the pulled pork mention. I've done something a bit similar in the past with a pork shoulder, Dr. Pepper, and cilantro. I'll have to try the Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar route. If I call it "pork roast," rather than "BBQ pulled pork," I can probably get my family to eat it.

I decided to go with option three and make some chicken enchiladas. I'm going to use this sauce recipe, which has cocoa powder in it, so it's a little mole-ish. I picked up some Queso Asadero to go on it. I'm also going to do some homemade refried beans. Let's face it, it's best to be alone when you are cooking up a huge pot of pinto beans to eat.

Mole SCARES you? I mean honestly, how can anyone be scared of chocolate?

You must reconsider & try it someday. I have handed you a recipe for magic, my friend.