I've been watching the latest series of "Iron Chef America" (I particularly
enjoyed the one where Ming Tsai beat Bobby Flay). I record the show on my
DVR, and I generally pause it when the theme ingredient is announced. Then I
make up a menu of dishes I'd make if *I* was in the competition. Usually, my
items bear at least a passing resemblance to dishes made by one or both
chefs.

This latest episode has me saying, "Hmm...." There were two theme
ingredients, chocolate and coconut, but there was also a twist: At least
three dishes had to be savory rather than dessert. I was a bit taken aback
to see that none of my choices were anything CLOSE to what was made by
either chef. Here's the menu I came up with:

Two soups, served in two separate cups (I've got teacups that are just the
right size: they're bigger than demitasse cups but smaller than most coffee
cups): Shrimp-Coconut Soup and Turkey-Mole Soup. The shrimp soup is based on
a Thai coconut-milk soup with chicken. And for those who don't know, "mole"
is a complex Mexican sauce; the recipe I have in mind contains garlic,
onions, green peppers, almonds, raisins, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon,
unsweetened chocolate, and orange peel.

Cocoa-Pastry Empanadas with Ham, Mango, and Coconut filling: I'd use diced
fresh coconut rather than shredded. This would be accompanied by an
Apricot-Ginger sauce.

Lime-Grilled Chicken Skewers with a Coconut-Peanut-Cocoa Dipping Sauce: The
chicken is basted with sweetened lime juice while cooking, and the sauce is
made by incorporating cocoa powder into an Indonesian sate sauce recipe.

Cocoa-Crusted Tilapia with Yellow Curry (which contains both coconut and
coconut milk)

Caramelized banana with a scoop each of coconut ice cream and chocolate ice
cream, with a syrup made from reducing orange juice, topped with whipped
cream and sprinkled with grated chocolate and toasted shredded coconut


So what would the culinary gurus in this group have made?

Bob

On Tue 15 Feb 2005 03:09:12a, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> I've been watching the latest series of "Iron Chef America" (I
> particularly enjoyed the one where Ming Tsai beat Bobby Flay). I record
> the show on my DVR, and I generally pause it when the theme ingredient
> is announced. Then I make up a menu of dishes I'd make if *I* was in the
> competition. Usually, my items bear at least a passing resemblance to
> dishes made by one or both chefs.
>
> This latest episode has me saying, "Hmm...." There were two theme
> ingredients, chocolate and coconut, but there was also a twist: At least
> three dishes had to be savory rather than dessert. I was a bit taken
> aback to see that none of my choices were anything CLOSE to what was
> made by either chef. Here's the menu I came up with:
>
> Two soups, served in two separate cups (I've got teacups that are just
> the right size: they're bigger than demitasse cups but smaller than most
> coffee cups): Shrimp-Coconut Soup and Turkey-Mole Soup. The shrimp soup
> is based on a Thai coconut-milk soup with chicken. And for those who
> don't know, "mole" is a complex Mexican sauce; the recipe I have in mind
> contains garlic, onions, green peppers, almonds, raisins, cumin, nutmeg,
> cloves, cinnamon, unsweetened chocolate, and orange peel.
>
> Cocoa-Pastry Empanadas with Ham, Mango, and Coconut filling: I'd use
> diced fresh coconut rather than shredded. This would be accompanied by
> an Apricot-Ginger sauce.
>
> Lime-Grilled Chicken Skewers with a Coconut-Peanut-Cocoa Dipping Sauce:
> The chicken is basted with sweetened lime juice while cooking, and the
> sauce is made by incorporating cocoa powder into an Indonesian sate
> sauce recipe.
>
> Cocoa-Crusted Tilapia with Yellow Curry (which contains both coconut and
> coconut milk)
>
> Caramelized banana with a scoop each of coconut ice cream and chocolate
> ice cream, with a syrup made from reducing orange juice, topped with
> whipped cream and sprinkled with grated chocolate and toasted shredded
> coconut
>
>
> So what would the culinary gurus in this group have made?
>
> Bob

I don't think I could top the list you just presented! Everything sounds
delicious.

Could you post your molé sauce recipe? I haven't made molé in a long time
and never did have a really good recipe.

TIA
Wayne

On Tue 15 Feb 2005 04:08:06a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
> :

>> I don't think I could top the list you just presented! Everything
>> sounds delicious.
>>
>> Could you post your molé sauce recipe? I haven't made molé in a long
>> time and never did have a really good recipe.
>>
>> TIA
>> Wayne
>>
>
> I agree Wayne. Unfortunately chocolate would never make it in this
> household. It would be gobbled down long before a recipe was thought of.
>
> Michael

Chocolate wouldn't last long here, either, Michael. But the Mexican
chocolate usually used in molé is more like baking chocolate with a bit of
cinnamon in it. It's either totally unsweetened or only slightly
sweetened. Anyway, it's not the type I would "inhale". :-)

Wayne

On Tue 15 Feb 2005 04:31:25a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
> :
>
>> On Tue 15 Feb 2005 04:08:06a, Dog3 wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>
>>> Wayne Boatwright > wrote in
>>> :
>>
>>>> I don't think I could top the list you just presented! Everything
>>>> sounds delicious.
>>>>
>>>> Could you post your molé sauce recipe? I haven't made molé in a
>>>> long time and never did have a really good recipe.
>>>>
>>>> TIA
>>>> Wayne
>>>>
>>>
>>> I agree Wayne. Unfortunately chocolate would never make it in this
>>> household. It would be gobbled down long before a recipe was thought
>>> of.
>>>
>>> Michael
>>
>> Chocolate wouldn't last long here, either, Michael. But the Mexican
>> chocolate usually used in molé is more like baking chocolate with a
>> bit of cinnamon in it. It's either totally unsweetened or only
>> slightly sweetened. Anyway, it's not the type I would "inhale". :-)
>>
>> Wayne
>>
>
> We would find a way You are talking to a person that will eat semi
> sweet chocolate chips out of the bag when nothing else is around.
>
> Michael
>

LOL! Same here, but the Mexican chocolate has very little cocoa butter in
it and has a rather dry, dusty texture. It does, however, make a killer
hot chocolate!

Wayne

Wayne wrote:

> Could you post your molé sauce recipe? I haven't made molé in a long time
> and never did have a really good recipe.

Sure, I got the recipe from a post here, but I tinkered with it. (By the
way, I'm pretty sure the accent isn't supposed to be there. If the word had
an accent, it would be móle, but that isn't how it's spelled.):

Chicken with Chocolate Sauce (Chicken Mole)

Enough chicken pieces for 6 people (I use 12 chicken thighs)
1 Ancho chile pepper, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
2 dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed, seeded, and torn into pieces
2 1/2 c Chicken broth
4 Tb Olive oil
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Onion, chopped
1 Green pepper, chopped
3 Slices canned pimiento, chopped
2 Large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 c Slivered almonds
1/4 c Raisins
1/2 ts Cumin
1/4 ts Nutmeg
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1/4 ts Cinnamon
1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
1 ts Sugar
Grated rind of 1 orange
2 Tb rum
2 Squares bitter chocolate, chopped
Salt, pepper, sugar, and cayenne pepper to adjust as needed

Instructions

Salt and pepper the chicken pieces.

Toast the chile pieces in a dry ovenproof pan until they just begin to color
and turn fragrant. Heat the chicken broth until it's steaming. (I do that in
the microwave.) Put the chiles along with the chicken broth in a blender
and blend until the chiles are pulverized.

Add oil to the pan and cook garlic over medium-high heat for a few moments
to flavor oil; add chicken and brown. Remove chicken and lower heat.

In remaining fat, cook onion, green pepper, pimiento, and tomatoes over
gentle heat for 10 minutes. To onion mixture, add chicken broth mixture,
almonds, raisins, seasonings, orange rind, and rum; simmer, covered, 30
minutes longer. Add chocolate, stirring until melted. Taste and adjust with
salt, pepper, sugar, and/or cayenne. Replace chicken, spooning sauce over.
Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender.

Serves 6

NOTES:

1. The hardest part of this recipe is choosing the pan. You want a lidded
pan big enough to hold everything, which can go from the stovetop to the
oven, and which is shallow enough to see what you're doing as you toast the
chiles.

2. Sometimes rather than toasting the chiles in a pan, I roast them in the
oven. When I do that, I also roast the tomatoes; it's a good way to
concentrate the tomato flavor in the off-season.


Bob

On Tue 15 Feb 2005 09:22:03a, Bob wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> Wayne wrote:
>
>> Could you post your mol‚ sauce recipe? I haven't made mol‚ in a long
>> time and never did have a really good recipe.
>
> Sure, I got the recipe from a post here, but I tinkered with it. (By the
> way, I'm pretty sure the accent isn't supposed to be there. If the word
> had an accent, it would be m¢le, but that isn't how it's spelled.):

You're quite right, there is no accent. Reflex action from typing a lot of
French words that have an accented final "e".

> Chicken with Chocolate Sauce (Chicken Mole)

< recipe snipped >

Great recipe! Thank you! I will make this in the very near future.

Wayne