Mole poblano de guajolote

I'm making Diana Kennedy's recipe for Christmas, and I'm seeking suggestions for what else to serve. I'm thinking either rice or blind tamales, refried beans, hot tortillas, guacamole, and maybe something with poblanos, either rajas or rellenos. For drinks I'm thinking dark beer, either Mexican Bohemian or a high alcohol doppelbock, and/or mid-range Rioja. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Aaron

Aaron,

That is just about exactly what I made last Christmas except I didn't serve beans since I thought they would be lost. Stuffed chiles en nogada are a tradition in our house this time of year. And of course, sweet tamales (pineapple/pinon) were the dessert. Feliz Navidad!

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:I didn't serve beans since I thought they would be lost. Stuffed chiles en nogada are a tradition in our house this time of year.

Yeah, I thought the beans might be too much. Do you serve chiles en nogada at the same time as the rest of the meal? I was somewhat worried that the richness of the mole and nogada would compete.

What did you drink?

Thanks,

Aaron

P.S. Kennedy makes a big deal about how fresh the walnuts need to be--any tips here? I can see it being a big pain to skin the walnuts. Would I be better off buying whole walnuts, unsure of freshness, and removing shells and skins, or just buying a bag of shelled nuts?

Aaron Deacon wrote:

Bill/SFNM wrote:Do you serve chiles en nogada at the same time as the rest of the meal? I was somewhat worried that the richness of the mole and nogada would compete.

Kennedy makes a big deal about how fresh the walnuts need to be--any tips here? I can see it being a big pain to skin the walnuts. Would I be better off buying whole walnuts, unsure of freshness, and removing shells and skins, or just buying a bag of shelled nuts?

Aaron,

It wasn't a sit-down dinner with paired wines. It was an open house: come-on-in, grab-a-plate, serve yourself, and sit a while to share some cheer. The mole and the chiles did not conflict at all.

I agree with Kennedy about the freshness of the walnuts. In this area, there is a health-food chain called Vitamin Cottage. They have super-fresh nuts of all kinds which they keep under refrigeration. Made the best nogada sauce I've ever had with shelled walnuts.

Bill/SFNM

Thanks, Bill, for the tips. I went with chiles en nogada and nixed the beans. What a wonderful and festive Christmas meal, highly recommended! The more time I spend with Diana Kennedy's book, the more I like it. Sure, some of the stuff is time consuming, but it always turns out so darn good.

The mole poblano and chiles en nogada, both from Kennedy recipes, were both delicious. The walnuts were not particularly fresh, and it took a while to shell and skin the broken pieces, even from the relatively small quantity (20-25 walnuts required). I'd love to try it with freshly picked walnuts. We made blind tamales, from Maseca's especially-for-tamales masa harina. I'm not quite sure how this differs from Maseca's regular product, but these tamales were good enough to greatly reduce the chances of grinding my own nixtamal. You've got to love a recipe that instructs you to "beat the lard until fluffy." Who knew you could beat lard until fluffy?

Speaking of lard, it was with a mixture of great satisfaction, horror, and the anticipation of sudden cardiac arrest, that I placed into the frying pan the final scoop of a 2 lb. container of freshly-rendered lard (bought from a local mercadito), the entirety of which was required to make this meal.

The meal was rounded out with arroz blanco, guacamole, and hot tortillas from a local (Tulsa) tortilleria. Dessert was a continuous feast of Christmas cookies, chocolates and other holiday treats. There was talk of pies or flans, but in the end, we were all quite happy to do without. Oh and the beverage served was Chimay Gran Reserve (blue label), which turned out to be a very nice accompaniment.

This is a great holiday meal for many reasons, but the thing that stands out most is how much opportunity there is for many different people to contribute and really make it a communal experience--we had a whole household full of willing accomplices. Peeling the papery skins off walnuts is a far less tedious task when sitting around a table with loved ones, sipping a glass of wine or a tumbler of bourbon.

And the various tasks involved are relatively easy to delegate and not particularly time sensitive...mixing the tamal dough, roasting the peppers, frying the turkey pieces. And much of the work can be spread out over several days. And the meal holds up quite well even if you don't serve it immediately--the chiles are served room temperature and the mole can sit on the stove for as long as you like.

And if there's a more delicious and appropriately Christmas-y dish, visually, than chiles en nogada, I have yet to meet it. Beautiful green poblanos covered in a creamy, white sauce and generously garnished with the green of parsley leaves and the red of pomegranate seeds sparkling like Christmas lights. Thanks again, Bill, for the rec. And Merry Christmas to everyone.

Cheers,

Aaron

I made Rick Bayless's recipe (plus half a mashed ripe plaintain and a pinch of allspice) for the same dish for Christmas Day, breaking the sauce-making up over a two-day period and then gently reheating the sauce the third day, as Bayless suggests. Awfully, awfully good. I roasted a turkey breast as the sauce vehicle, and served it with rajas, rice, and tortillas. Tonight's dinner will be duck confit enchiladas, coated with more mole and sprinkled with queso fresco. Mmmmm...

I do have a question - the mole recipe makes an enormous amount (3+ quarts). Can I freeze it? It's not the sort of thing you make - or necessarily want to eat - every day, but after all that work, I certainly am loathe to get rid of it. Any input?

sundevilpeg wrote:I do have a question - the mole recipe makes an enormous amount (3+ quarts). Can I freeze it?

I've been told it is best to freeze the mole concentrate - that is the point right before you add the stock. However, I have frozen the finished sauce with no problem. Just the perfect thing to throw into an enchilada casserole.

Bill/SFNM

Boy, I feel blest tonight. Our neighbours, an elderly couple that has lived in this neighbourhood for a long, long time but originally is from Mexico, gave us a bunch of their own home-made tamales this morning and we just ate most of them for dinner. They were excellent and, I believe, the best I've ever had. A beautiful filling of pork with a little chile that was offered in more substantial amounts than is usually the case in tamales, at least in my experience. All in all, what made them so good was the balance: everything worked together to make a greater whole.

Wow. I've got to learn how to make those things...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Wow. I've got to learn how to make those things...

I'm telling you, the masa harina stuff always seemed to me like a shortcut that just wouldn't yield suitable results (thanks, Ms. Kennedy), but homemade tamales from that stuff with fresh lard are amazingly easy and absolutely delicious and easily worth the (relatively) minimal effort. Cheers!

Aaron

Bill -

Thanks, and much obliged! If you can't trust a person from NM on chile-related matters, you can't trust anyone!