Making Thanksgiving More Interesting: Mole

Making Thanksgiving More Interesting: Mole

Thanksgiving is a big holiday at our house – we’re usually joined by 25 or more family members and local friends, and, open-minded Oak Parkers that we are, we usually have a few vegetarians at the table…and this year, real live Australians!

Still, despite the company, I find the food at this annual chowdown rather uninspiring – the spicing is, according to tradition, somewhat restrained, and even the turkey, though it has symbolic significance, is less than a gustatory rush.

To liven things up, I’m going to make two moles this year. I’m thinking of using Diane Kennedy’s recipes for Negro and Coloradito (I chose these two because they use different sets of chiles, will both look cool on the plate, and they freeze well – I want to make enough to use throughout the holiday season).

Given logistics of the event, I will not be cooking the turkey in mole (though I will definitely warm left-overs in the sauce); rather, I’m just going to put warm bowls of the stuff on the table. Not optimal, I know, but I’m not sure how I can make it work otherwise.

I plan to pick up some ingredients at our Maxwell Street Foray next weekend: http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=159134#159134

There will probably be some other Mexican items as well, as I feel the folks in lower North America have some indigenous foods that would be appropriately represented on the Thanksgiving table.

I’m very open to opinion and suggestions here.

Hammond

For contrast, I'd probably favor a green pipian based mole.
Hmm... I've actually got a couple cups of that in the freezer, maybe I'll bring it along to the family gathering this year.

JoelF wrote:For contrast, I'd probably favor a green pipian based mole.
Hmm... I've actually got a couple cups of that in the freezer, maybe I'll bring it along to the family gathering this year.

Actually, green pipan was one of my first choices, but Kennedy felt that this was one of the moles best served soon after making because the "fresh" flavors tend to diminish. I take it this hasn't been your experience?

Great idea...I did this with Kennedy's mole poblano for Christmas 3 years ago. One of my favorite holiday meals ever.

Chiles en nogada was a great supplementary side, as were the blind tamales.

I don't have the recipe in front of me, but I don't recall any logistical problems with serving the meal in a timely manner...not sure what challenges you're facing, though.

It was an incredible amount of work in the kitchen for many days, but well worth it in my mind. I was surprised how nicely everything came together, but then again, my memory tends to gloss over mishaps or other peoples' discomfort.

I posted a bit about the process...I wish I had pictures up, as it was visually very appealing.

Some cilantro and epazote blended with a little stock or water can be added as an herbal infusion when the green pipian or mole is reheated for service to brighten it up a bit if that's the concern.
Frijoles de olla (black to go with the Oaxacan mole) can be done days ahead of time. Roasted sweet potatoes in their skins are very Mexicano, and can be mashed with true cinnamon, butter and orange zest to mimic some of the flavors in cafe de olla. Capirotada-the Mexican bread pudding, can be wonderful if all the traditional ingredients are incorporated. Roasted chayote, cactus paddle salad...
Whew, glad I'm only making the suggestions-this will take eons to prepare...

David Hammond wrote:Actually, green pipan was one of my first choices, but Kennedy felt that this was one of the moles best served soon after making because the "fresh" flavors tend to diminish. I take it this hasn't been your experience?

Well... I've only got a stash of it in my freezer, I haven't thawed or tasted it yet. Some fresh herbs do sound like a good idea.

JoelF wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Actually, green pipan was one of my first choices, but Kennedy felt that this was one of the moles best served soon after making because the "fresh" flavors tend to diminish. I take it this hasn't been your experience?

Well... I've only got a stash of it in my freezer, I haven't thawed or tasted it yet. Some fresh herbs do sound like a good idea.

My guess is that it will probably be just fine. Kennedy was suggesting that taste would be optimal if fresh...which, you know, applies to a lot of things.

David Hammond wrote:There will probably be some other Mexican items as well, as I feel the folks in lower North America have some indigenous foods that would be appropriately represented on the Thanksgiving table.

I’m very open to opinion and suggestions here.

There is nothing more indigenous than corn. For Thanksgiving, I like to make Patricia Quintana's torta de elote con chile poblano, delicate little cakes that are a cross between a souffle and corn bread, served with a poblano cream sauce. Good stuff.

Bill/SFNM

I think Thanksgiving might very well be one of my favorite holidays because it hasn't been taken over by commercialization. I do have to agree with you in that the traditional food "is less of a gustatory rush" though. How I dislike the traditional offerings!

In recent years I've attempted to update the normal offering with mixed results. A raving success from last year was adding some chipotles in adobo to the creamed spinach. A horrible failure was using a recipe from epicurious that combined pumpkin and pecan pie in one shell. I wanted to make a couple of different desserts (read: non-traditional desserts) and didn't want to bother with two pies that only two people would eat. This year the traditional pies will be back on the table in addition to a non-traditional offering.

I had considered making a mole to doctor up the turkey, but your post pushed me over the edge. So thanks for the inspiration to add more flavor to my, if not their, meal. Now I just need to dig out The Essentials and figure out which mole I want to make!

Yesterday, returning from the Maxwell St. Market with guajillos, pasillas, anchos and a few chipotles, I made a big batch of Mole Negro (Susana Trilling receipe). I was surprised at how relatively "easy" it was -- I had heard accounts of it requiring hours of work by multiple mujeres. I don't actually cook that much any more, but I cut my teeth as a novice and only partially competent chef on French cuisine, so I was somewhat surprised that it only took about 3.5 hours to prepare and required relatively little finessing to get a decent pot of sauce going.

It was a fascinating process, and I was particularly intrigued by the roasting of the chile seeds. These are the most challenging ingredient and quite difficult to grind down, but they definitely bring something to the pot.

I had toyed with the idea of making another mole for Thanksgiving in addition to the black stuff, and I'm not sure I will do that, but I am inspired to set as a New Year's Resolution the task of preparing all of the Seven Moles of Oaxaca.

Like Hammond I procured the ingredients needed for the Mole Poblana in Diana Kennedy's, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. I had intended to make the mole on Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday, but never got to it. Mid-morning on Thursday with everything else in order I decided that I had plenty of time to make the mole before our 4PM dinner.

My mom and I each worked on different parts of the recipe and in total spent just over 3 hours making about 8-10 cups of mole. The processes were very simple, but it just took a long time to put together. First the chiles had to be fried and soaked, the broth needed to be made, the tomatillos needed to be cooked, then all of the other ingredients had to measured, toasted, ground or fried and finally the mole was prepared and it cooked for almost an hour.

The sauce was excellent when served on Thanksgiving but it was even better yesterday when I had some for breakfast yesterday. I'll use the remaining refrigerated mole to make enchiladas tonight. All of the other mole is safely tucked away in the refrigerator.

I saw Monica from Amanecer Tapatio earlier in the week and she, Rosalia and Rosa will come to my house to learn to roast a turkey next month. I plan to surprise them by serving the turkey with a side of the now frozen mole poblano. I'll be interested to hear their review.

Because of you, Hammond, my Thanksgiving meal was full of flavor! Thanks for the inspiration.