A fragrant gift from an old comrade.

My dear friend, David Romanelli, has the knack for finding me the perfect gifts. I suppose it is a sign of our long and strong friendship. On the wall of my office is a rare, signed Bob Marley album that inspires my work and reminds me of my bond with Yeah Dave, yogi extraordinaire.

After a trip to Portland, Oregon, David surprised me with a specialty salt that he uncovered in a little, fantastical shop The Meadow on 3731 N. Mississippi Avenue. The Iburi Jio Cherry salt has a unique smoked cedar aroma. Have you ever been on a ski trip and noticed at the end of the day, as you walk back to your chalet, that dry smoky wood smell in the air mixing with the aroma of fresh snow? Tired winter sportsmen have ignited mountain forest wood to warm their extremities and in doing so, they send smoky fumes up through their chimneys. When I close my eyes and breathe deeply from this jar of salt, that is the memory my mind conjures.
How to use this aromatic salt? It is good on everything from reindeer meat to stream river trout.

Once you’ve used one salt, you have not used them all.

A simple formula: NaCl. Together, the elements sodium and chlorine form molecules of salt. This happens all over the world, in the seas, on land and in caves. Salt is a magical mineral that has such a deep role in our lives, far beyond the pleasure it produces on the palate. The very cells of our bodies swim in a saline solution, tying us to the vast oceans from where we are believed to have evolved.

Much like grapes, various salts have terrior picking up the aromas and flavors of the land and surroundings where it is formed. After salt is gathered in its natural form, the mineral can be smoked and finessed to create additional flavor profiles.

I have always used salt to counteract the sweetness in chocolate. But, a handful of years ago, my exploration of salt became more specific. Just as I match the proper chocolate with each recipe, a salt is also specified for each creation and carefully chosen for its flavor characteristics. Delicate Pink Himalayan salt balances the crunchy, buttery Bapchi’s Caramel Toffee. Large Fleur de Sel crystals crown the Organic Peanut Butter Bonbons offering texture, a welcome crunch and a strong salty balance to the rich peanut chocolate ganache. Alder wood smoked salt brings out the smoky bacon flavor in all my bacon + chocolate creations.

For all who cook, I encourage you to expand your salt repertoire. Once you begin experimenting, you will never go back to a solitary white table salt in your pantry. Start your collection by finding a local spice or specialty food store. You can also order a variety of salts online here or here.

Surprise Holiday House Guests with Heavenly Bread

The smell of fresh baked bread pressed with cinnamon and a hint of cacao wafts from the kitchen. We can barely wait for the hot babka to cool enough so that we can still melt butter and yet not burn the tongues.

The yeast has done its work, creating airy layers weighted only by cinnamon and chocolate. Sprinkle coarse sea salt on the best butter you can find and slather it atop the sweet, yeasty bread. Tug at the crust of your warm slice and feel the layers effortlessly unravel. The first, warm, sweet, buttery bite will stop time for a moment.

The first time I met a babka was in a Jewish deli in NY called Russ & Daughters where they offer either chocolate or cinnamon varieties. Babka is a sweet, yeast bread that is popular in Eastern European and Jewish bakeries. As I experimented with my own babka formula, I found I liked it best with dark chocolate and cinnamon together. In my particular version I love to use whole wheat flour as the basis for the streusel to add a nutty, coarse texture to the crunchy top.

If you plan to have house guests this holiday, make one of these loaves in the morning and let the smells from your oven awaken them and coax them downstairs.

Chocolate Cinnamon Babka
Yeast Dough
1 1/2 cups warm milk, whole heated to 110 F
2 (1/4 ounce each) packages active dry yeast, Fleishmanns
3/4 cups sugar, plus a healthy pinch of sugar for yeast starter
3 whole large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg yolks, room temperature
6 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature,
1 teaspoon salt
2 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Cinnamon Filling
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus more for bowl and loaf pans
2 pounds 55-62% cacao chocolate, very, very finely chopped (use a Cuisinart to chop ultra fine) not too bitter (red fire would be delicious, banana victoria or really any bar would be great here…) Or omit chocolate and just use cinnamon
2 vanilla beans,
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, Ceylon is using Cassia reduce to 2 Tbsp
3/4 cup sugar

Egg Wash
1 egg
1 Tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk

Streusel Topping
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup oats
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

The most important tip in making a babka is that your eggs are really at room temp, around 70 and not too cold or it can stump the growth of your yeast. The butter needs to be truly at a warm room temperature also along with the milk being at a true 110F. I suggest warming up your house and adjusting your thermometer up a few degrees so it truly is in a warm environment. Yeast is a tricky ingredient. So, let’s get started.

Warm milk in a saucepan when you reach 110F, sprinkle yeast and a healthy pinch of sugar over milk. Allow the mixture to stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 3 eggs, and 2 egg yolks. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture, and whisk to combine. (Reminder: make sure your eggs are not cold to touch but at a balmy room temperature.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add egg mixture, and beat on low speed until all the flour is incorporated, about 45 seconds. Change to the dough hook. Add 2 sticks butter cut in to tablespoons, and beat on medium-low until flour mixture and butter are completely incorporated, yielding a smooth, soft dough that’s slightly sticky when touched, about 10 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead a few turns until smooth. Butter a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, and turn to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 -2 hours. Do not pull it out until it truly has doubled in size. (Alternatively, let dough rise in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours; bring to room temperature, 3 to 4 hours, before baking.)

Prepare chocolate cinnamon filling: chop chocolate using a cuisinart, or by chop by hand until very fine. Put the chocolate in a bowl. Cut open two vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds, adding them to the bowl. Add sugar, 1-inch pieces of butter and cinnamon. Using your hands, combine all ingredients, creating a soft mixture. Set aside.

Prepare the streusel : In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, oats and butter. Using a fork or pastry cutter, blend until fully combined with clumps varying in size the more variety the better the texture will be when baked.

Generously butter 3, 9″ x 5″ x 2 3/4″ loaf pans; line the bottoms with parchment paper. Make egg wash by beating remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of cream or milk; set egg wash aside.

Punch back the dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Let rest 5 minutes. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Keep remaining pieces covered with a warm/damp towel while working with other piece. On a generously floured surface, roll dough out into a 16-inch square; it should be 1/8 inch thick. Use flour to smooth out evenly with rolling pin. Brush edges with reserved egg wash.

Take 1/3 of the chocolate filling (reserving 4 tablespoons for center of the babka) and evenly crumble over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Roll dough up like a tightly rolled log. Pinch ends together to seal. Bring ends of log together to form a ring, pinching to seal.

Twist 5 turns. Sprinkle reserved spoons of chocolate filling on right half of the dough then fold left side on top of that and twist 3 more times. This will give you a great marbling effect and it is ok if the dough breaks a bit.

Place twist in your prepared bread pan. Brush top of roll with egg wash. Carefully crumble 1/3 of the streusel on top. Repeat with the remaining 2 pieces of dough and remaining filling.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Loosely cover each pan with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place 20 to 30 minutes.
Bake loaves, rotating halfway through, until golden, about 55 minutes. After the 55 minutes, lower oven temperature to 325 F and continue baking until babkas are deep golden, about 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven, and transfer to wire racks until cool. Remove from pans; serve with your favorite butter. You can wrap and freeze if desired.

Another tip: Use a great loaf pan like Rema hot air baking pans.

With what will chocolate NOT marry?

This is a question I have been asking myself regularly of late. To me, chocolate is as necessary an accessory to taste as salt. It rounds out flavors, adds depth and rewards the palate with layers of tasting sensation. For me, chocolate is not a matter of if, but a matter of which chocolate will best marry the food I am presently creating.

It is easy to understand how this particular combination works. Sweet, fried plantains wrapped in salty, smoky bacon and drizzled with dark, barely sweet chocolate? All of the flavor profiles are touched and the myriad of textures are represented from liquid to soft to slightly crunchy.

Make this recipe and try just one of the bites before drizzling the dark chocolate over top. Then, drizzle high quality dark chocolate atop your next taste. See? Continue on this path with me and find my understanding. You can no less have a proper kitchen without salt than you can a recipe without chocolate!

When buying plantains, be sure to choose specimens that are almost completely black. Since bananas are a more familiar food, it is hard for most to get used to buying the black-skinned fruits. But, plantains truly must be black to be ripe enough for recipes calling for sweet plantains.

Your bacon choice is also important. I have yet to find a bacon I enjoy more than Nueskes. Whatever you choose, find a smoked option to add flavor. And, a thinner cut of bacon will wrap around the plantains better for this recipe.

Bacon Wrapped Plantains with Dark Chocolate

Chocolate Sauce:
3/4 oz butter, unsalted
3 oz dark chocolate, 62%

Plantains:
2 sweet plantains, completely black and soft
2 oz Butter
1 package Nueskes bacon

Peel plantains and cut in 1/2 thick pieces at a slight angle. In a large sauté pan on medium high heat place your butter to melt. Work in batches and fry the plantain slices in a single layer until they are deep golden brown. About 3 minutes each side. I like to press on the plantains while I cook them to flatten them out slightly. When finished, place on a towel to absorb excess oil.

Wrap each plantain in a piece of bacon and sauté in a large saute pan until the bacon is crispy on both sides.

Make your sauce while crisping your bacon wrapped plantains. Melt your chocolate and butter on the stovetop on very low heat stirring all the while.

Place plantains on a plate and drizzle with chocolate sauce. They are great along aside black beans and rice with jerk rubbed chicken.

Inspiration finds me in a variety of places. Sometimes, it is actually found on non edible piece that drive me to create a recipe.

While meandering in Lexington, Kentucky, one of my favorite cities in the world, I found my way into a haunted, old antique shop that had vintage punch bowls, sterling silver mint julep cups and carved wooden knives. Next to the old football team photo with a line up of lovely, burly gentlemen, I spied a wooden disk haloed in a red, painted edge with a buxom knife.  It is a seemingly simple piece but its unknown history called to me. I imagined it was a hunting marker and that southern farmers used it as a cutting board to fillet their venison.

My instinct was to use the round, weathered board as a serving piece, offering up simple fare to some last minute lunch guests. A few figs and some good cheese were the perfect mates to a bunch of lucky arugula that was dressed in a dark chocolate vinaigrette. Chocolate salad dressing? Yes. Don’t spend time questioning it, refocus your energy on buying the ingredients so you can give it a try.

Chocolate Sherry Vinaigrette

1/4 cup melted dark chocolate
1/4 cup balsamic or sherry vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil ( I used Apollo olive oil Gold Series from California)

Combine oil and vinegar in a bowl. Whisk in dark chocolate. Toss over organic, fresh greens.

Chocolate Enhances an Age Old Traditional Dish

In the past year, I have been seeking out interesting and healthy recipes for my two-year old son. Ground meat is easy for him to eat and also serves as a good vehicle to sneak in all the kale I desire !

From my old Moroccan and Syrian cookbooks, I was inspired to try my hand at kefta. Kefta is a traditional Middle Eastern food made by combining ground meat with an assortment of spices. It is often shaped into cylinders of meat instead of balls. The omnipresent kefta is found on street corners, as appetizers and as the focal point of meals. Each Middle Eastern chef is as likely to adjust and personalize her kefta recipe as an Italian is her bolognese.

I remember when I was in Israel, a peaceful time in March of 2000. I went with this very cheap boyfriend who had a friend that attended the London School of Economics and who then worked for the Palestinean goverment. We stayed with this friend because my boyfriend didn’t want to spring for a hotel.  Anyway… our host was living in Ramlah and my boyfriend was Jewish, so it was a very interesting stay and conversational ping pong.  The point of this journey down memory lane is just to tell you that my first experience with kefta was on the second floor of a romantic, dilapidated Palestinian grill house.   It was by far my most memorable and romantic experience (with the kefta)  in Israel and will forever hold its place as the kefta mecca.

When I began experimenting with my own kefta recipe, it of course wasn’t long until the appropriate chocolate found its way into my mise en place. Along with the Mo’s Bacon Bar, I use cilantro, parsley, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, coriander and smoked salt. The recipe is easily adjusted based on what you have in your pantry.

Serve kefta with a salad and tahini dressing. Pickled purple cabbage would be good with this too. I prefer to toast and grind my spices in a mortar and pestle fresh. You will be rewarded if you take the time! And, if you want to make these for little ones, try chopping in a few leaves of kale cut in a chiffonade and remove the paprika from the recipe.

Chocolate Kefta

2 lb ground lamb
1/4 cup parsley, curly finely chopped
3/4 cup cilantro
2 oz bacon bar, milk grated red fire, organic milk, naga try what you like
1 medium onion, minced (1 1/4 cup)
1/2 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp coriander
1/2 tsp smoked salt

Mash all together wearing gloves. Shape into 3 inch long logs about and 2 inches in diameter. Place in refrigerator wrapped until ready to cook. When ready, sprinkle with smoked salt and black pepper. Broil in the oven for 5 minutes or grill a few minutes on each side.

Chocolate Rubbed Ribs

The past days have been gorgeous – Chicago is showing us her grandest moments… blue skies, warm sunlight, colorful gardens, a rustling breeze and the smell of fresh cut grass. As I drive home in the evening with the window down, I often catch a sniff of smokin’, hot wood grills. Chicagoans make the most of summer even if we don’t have a backyard, we have small grills perched on decks, on the sidewalk, at the park or atop a rooftop illegally.

This coming weekend, I’m thinking about making my BBQ Chocolate Ribs. For years, we have had a grumpy UPS driver named Harold who comes, begrudgingly to take away all of our chocolate parcels at Vosges Haut-Chocolat and start them on their journeys to new homes. Every now and again on a lighter day his levity comes out in a jestful joke, “Hey, you need to sell some chocolate ribs. How about making chocolate ribs?” He chuckled as if it was a joke. Little did he know, chocolate invades ALL food groups in my kitchen!

The dark chocolate rub soon emerged and found a wonderful compliment to the pork ribs – think umami bath. It is important to cook them long and slow at the beginning for the best flavor. Then, top the ribs with Harold-Inspired Vosges Haut-Chocolat BBQ Sauce.

BBQ Chocolate Ribs

Serves 4 people
Ingredients:

3 racks Baby back ribs

Dry rub:
¼ cup Balinese peppercorn or telicherry
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chipotle
1 tsp garlic salt

Preheat the oven to 300F
Mix dry rub ingredients together.
Coat your baby back ribs on both sides with dry rub. Place ribs in a baking sheet, they can overlap. Fill with water half way up the pan and seal tightly with aluminum foil. Cook for 2 hours. This can be done in advance, just keep the ribs wrapped in aluminum foil as they cool.

Turn on the grill or light up the hard wood charcoal.
Place ribs over medium heat (careful it’s not too hot or it will burn), bone-side down. Cook for 5 minutes flip the ribs and with a brush, baste them with chocolate barbecue sauce. Continue to shellac them a few more times until they are well sauced and crispy. Remove from heat, place on a platter, brush again with BBQ sauce and cover with aluminum foil until ready.

Place the ribs on a cutting board and cut the ribs into individual pieces and serve with extra sauce.

The ribs may be grilled up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, in which case do not brush extra sauce at the end. Wait until you heat through the next day and finish with a hefty brushing of chocolate BBQ sauce.

Accompany with coleslaw, cocoa Habana corn on the cob and extra Harold-Inspired BBQ Sauce

Harold-Inspired Vosges Haut-Chocolat BBQ Sauce

1 medium onion minced
2 tbsp corn oil
1 dried ancho chili
1 1/2 sea salt
1 1/2 crushed telicherry peppercorns, coarse ground
1 cup apple cider vinegar, organic
28 oz. Canned whole tomatoes, organic
8 oz. Tomato sauce, organic
1 tbsp Volcano Island ginger honey, organic
2 tbsp molasses
1/4 cup dark molasses brown sugar
1 tbsp exquisite grade sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 1/2 oz Red Fire Bar {4 squares}
1 cup Aztec Elixir Couture Cocoa Mix
1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 cup cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and ancho chili pepper in hot oil stirring often until golden brown, about 10 minutes. De-glaze pan with apple cider vinegar cook on hi heat for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to extra low and simmer, uncovered until thickened. stirring occasionally, cook time roughly 2.5 hours.

Puree sauce with a immersion hand blender, transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate overnight, {I love using old jars I save from Martinelli’s mini apple juice bottles, they are the perfect gift size too} this will really let the flavors set in. The sauce can be refrigerated up to 2 weeks.

When ready for use, add cilantro. Brush chicken, ribs or vegetables with sauce 2 minutes before they are finished cooking and brush again after removed from the grill.

Dark Chocolate Mole-Inspired Panini

The Vosges Haut-Chocolat Oaxaca bar is the Exotic Candy Bar with the darkest chocolate and most cacao content of any other. The single origin Tanzanian bittersweet chocolate is 75% cacao and has an earthy, fruity flavor. The dark chocolate stands up well to the two kinds of chillies, both guajillo & pasilla chillies that reinforce the bright, plum skin fruitiness in the bar.

Chocolate was first discovered by westerners when they visited the Aztecs over 500 years ago. The ancient people drank cacao ground together with vanilla, annato, herbs, cornmeal and chillies. The xocatyl was frothed and the foam was sipped numerous times a day. When Cortez, the explorer, and his men first drank the holy beverage, they believed they were being poisoned and were catching fire from the inside. When the Spanish crew brought cacao beans back to Europe, sugar was added to make the drink more palatable. And the rest, as they say, is history.

My many chillies + chocolate creations pay homage to chocolate’s origins. Oaxaca, Mexico is revered as the birthplace of chocolate. They are known for their thick, hot beverage and their wondrous mole sauces. Pairing raisins with the Oaxaca bar in this panini recipe was inspired by the fruits that are an important part of mole recipes. A little sweetness offsets the tannic nature of this incredibly dark chocolate while bringing out its fruity undertones.

Oaxaca Raisin Panini
yields: 1 panino
Ingredients:
2 slices of ciabatta or Italian country bread
1 tsp unsalted butter, softened Vermont butter is our favorite Maldon salt crystals
1 oz. Vosges Oaxaca Bar (3 squares), chopped
6- 8 plump raisins

Heat a panini press. Lightly butter both sides of each slice of bread. Spread chopped chocolate evenly across one slice of bread with the raisins and sandwich the other slice atop. Grill the sandwich in the press until brown and crispy on the outside, about 4 minutes.

Chocolate Polenta Poached Eggs

It is my dream to someday open a breakfast salon. I first fell in love with the ritual of breakfast when I was going to college and the had-to-go-breakfast spot was The Pancake Pantry where invariably you’d wait 1 hour+ to get a table. But it was all worth it when you first sunk your fork into their buckwheat and buttermilk cakes.

Later when I was traveling around the world and my palate was being trained in the subtlety of flavor and balance, I had the most blissful breakfast experience of modern, simplicity and cool at bills in Sydney, Australia. One of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. I’ll never forget it.

So, now that my world is filled with chocolate I am most curious to see how far its boundaries can reach. Chocolate and eggs… oh certainly yes.

Chocolate Polenta Poached Eggs

Yields 6 servings:

Guajillo Paste
1 tomato, large and organic
2 guajillo chillies, seeded and stems removed leave in the veins (this is the hottest part)
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp canola oil
¼ tsp smoked salt (Iburi Jio Cherry by The Meadow is lovely)

Chocolate Polenta
2/3 cup polenta, I like Moretti fioretto
2 cups of whole milk
2 tsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 pinches of salt to taste
pepper
2 tbsp butter

12 Poached eggs

Garnish
Chopped cilantro
Avocado slices
Sour cream
Olive oil

Guajillo paste:
With a mortar and pestle, crush coriander and cumin seeds. Heat a griddle, cast iron skillet or a comal over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Add the tomato and turn occasionally with tongs until each side is completely charred. Do the same thing with the chillies for about 30-45 seconds per side. Then soak the chillies in boiling water to soften for 15 minutes. Drain the chillies and place in a blender with tomato, coriander, cumin, canola oil and smoked salt and pulverize into a paste. (The best blender is a Vitamix.)

Polenta:
To make the polenta, heat the milk in a sauce pan, when it is just about to boil add the polenta, and cocoa powder. Stir continuously over a low heat until it is a thick and smooth mass. Cook for about 30 minutes stirring slowly and evenly. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Poaching Eggs:
Poach your eggs by bring a water bath to a hot simmer (140F) and add 2 teaspoons of vinegar. The vinegar helps the egg congeal more easily. With a spoon swirl the water aggressively to form a mini tidal pool and crack a couple eggs at a time into your water bath. The twisting motion of the water helps the whites fold over the egg yolk. You can also nudge the egg whites closer to their yolks with a spoon. Turn off the heat. Cover. Let sit for 4 minutes, until the egg whites are cooked. Lift eggs with a slotted spoon and rest on a towel to absorb excess water.

One trick to make the eggs stay somewhat contained is to take a cookie cutter ring or the ring part of a lid from a mason jar and place it in the pan. Drop the egg over the ring and let the egg settle in the ring, then turn off the heat and cover.

Assembly:
Take your warm plate, place a nice dollop of the polenta in the center. Place 2 poached egg atop then drizzle with the guajillo chili paste, slices of avocado, chopped cilantro, sour cream and a touch of olive oil.

yummmmm

Chillies, Nuts, Seeds, Fruits and Savory

Not long ago, I found myself up in the middle of the night and decided that I would make some mole sauce. Mole is not exactly something that you usually “whip up” on a whim but since I had been planning to perfect my recipe, I happened to have all the ingredients in house. After studying many Oaxacan mole recipes, I found a combination of ingredients that I feel balance  the sweetness, savory and spiciness just right. After hours of preparing chillies, nuts, seeds and spices, I found myself devouring a poached chicken breast drenched in Mole Negro at 9 o’clock in the morning.

The word mole stems from the Nahuatl word molli, meaning “mixture” and covers a whole range of sauces. Contrary to popular opinion, mole is not just “chicken in that Mexican chocolate sauce” which admittedly, can be a little off putting. Though chocolate is an ingredient in some moles, it is added to deepen and enhance the flavor of a rather complex sauce and only a mysterious hint remains when served. It’s not a surprise that mole negro is my favorite type of mole.

There are said to be seven classic moles, each distinctly different in ingredients and usually color. They are typically attributed to a few Mexican states, namely Puebla and Oaxaca but in reality, there are infinite varieties derived from these seven found all over Mexico and Oaxaca is probably most closely associated with the mole most of us are familiar – mole negro. The one common denominator in moles? Chilies. Fresh, dried and usually a combination of the two.

According to Rick Bayless, our local Chicago authority of all things Mexican, mole ingredients can be grouped into five distinct classes: Chiles, sour (tomatillos), sweet (dried fruits and sugar), spices, and thickeners (nuts and tortillas).

The ingredients are all roasted, usually on a comal or flat griddle, and then ground into a fine powder or paste. The process can be rather laborious if done by hand, however, I take full advantage of modern technology and break out the food processor. Traditionally, this work was shared by several generations of women in the family for a very celebratory meal, and I love the idea of several generations of women gathered around the kitchen working to produce this special dish.

Since making mole is no easy task, perhaps you might call on your loved ones to spend a day together with you in the kitchen with the promise of a delectable feast to follow.

MOLE NEGRO
Chillies
1 cup sunflower oil or lard
8 dried mulato chillies, stemmed, seeds and membranes removed
6 dried pasilla chillies, stemmed, seeds and membranes removed
5 dried ancho chillies, stemmed, seeds and membranes removed
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 large yellow onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges
12 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

Nuts and seeds
½ cup whole almonds, raw
¼ cup pecans, raw
1 tablespoon unsalted roasted peanuts
¼ cup shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds), raw
3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup vegetable broth

Fruits
¼ cup sunflower oil
2 large ripe dark-skinned plantain, peeled, thickly sliced
¹/³ cup pitted prunes
1 pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, coarsely chopped
1 pound plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
²/³ cup raisins

Savory
5 whole cloves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 whole allspice berries
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon aniseed
1 1-inch piece cinnamon stick,
Ceylon preferable
1 teaspoon dried Mexican Oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt, fine grade

Chocolate
9 ounces Red Fire Exotic Candy Bar (ancho & chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon dark chocolate), chopped
¼ cup cocoa powder, unsweetened, Dutch style
½ cup chopped piloncillo** or (packed) dark brown sugar
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, low sodium (if necessary)

CHILI PREPARATION:
After you seed the chillies, your hands may have spicy capsicum oil on them. To rid yourself of the oil, cut a tomato in half and rub your fingers in the center pulp and rinse.

Heat ½ cup sunflower oil or lard in large skillet over medium-high heat. Wipe the chillies clean with a damp cloth. Fry chillies 5–6 at a time until they begin to blister and deepen in color. Press down on the chillies to fry all parts. This should take about 15 seconds per side, be careful not to burn. Using tongs and shaking off excess fat, transfer chillies to a large pot filled with 5 cups broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until chillies are very soft, about 35 minutes. Reserve any oil remaining on the side to sprinkle on homemade pizza or pasta dishes.

Dry roast onion and garlic cloves in dry, heavy, medium skillet over medium-high heat until they begin to blacken, blister and soften, turning often, about 10 minutes. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop onion; peel garlic and place in a blender with chillies and broth. Blend until smooth.

Heat remaining ½ cup sunflower oil or lard in same pot over medium heat until almost smoking. Slowly pour chili purée into pot; be careful as the mixture will sputter and bubble vigorously. Stir until purée thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes, then remove from heat.

NUTS AND SEEDS:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds and stir until color deepens, about 1 minute. Add pecans, peanuts and pepitas, stirring and shaking the pan for another minute. Transfer 2 tablespoons sesame seeds to small bowl and reserve for garnish. Place remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds in blender with nuts. Add 1 cup vegetable broth and blend until thick purée forms. Add nut-and-seed purée to pot with chili purée. Cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.

FRUITS:
Heat ¼ cup sunflower oil in same skillet over high heat. Add plantain and sauté until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain excess oil. Lower heat to medium. Slowly add tomatillos and tomatoes to skillet; sauté until slightly softened, mashing with fork. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Add raisins, prunes and plantains; simmer 10 minutes, stirring often. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, purée tomatillo mixture in blender with 2 cups reserved chicken or vegetable broth. Strain mixture through sieve into chili-nut purée, pressing on solids to extract as much mixture as possible; discard solids in sieve. Continue cooking purée over very low heat for 15 minutes, stirring often.

SAVORY:
Heat cloves in a skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Transfer cloves to spice mill or coffee grinder; add peppercorns, cinnamon, allspice, cumin seeds, aniseed, oregano, thyme, sea salt. Grind finely. Add to blender. Add 1 cup reserved chicken or vegetable broth; blend until smooth. Stir spice mixture into chili-nut-fruit purée. Simmer mole over very low heat 30 minutes to blend flavors while preparing thickeners, stirring often (mole will bubble thickly).

CHOCOLATE:
Add chocolate, cocoa powder and piloncillo** to mole; simmer over low heat 20 minutes, stirring often, scraping bottom of pot and adding more vegetable or chicken broth if necessary by ½ cupfuls if mole is too thick (up to 2 cups more broth may be needed). Season with salt. Continue simmering over low heat until streaks of oil form on mole surface, about 10 minutes longer. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Re-warm over low heat, stirring and adding more broth if desired, before continuing. (Mole can be made 3 days ahead.)

Sear chicken, tofu or protein of choice. Add to hot mole; simmer until protein is heated through, about 10 minutes. Arrange protein slices on platter. Spoon mole over, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

**Mexican raw sugar shaped into hard cones. Smaller chunks are sometimes labeled panocha. If neither is available, substitute an equal weight of packed dark brown sugar.

Yum Yum.