Cook the Books: Easiest Ever Chicken Mole Enchiladas

Like water for chocolate is part love story, part fantasy and a whole lot of food. It is a tale of true love, family traditions and family secrets. Tita and Pedro are madly in love, but they are forbidden to marry because Tita is bound by family tradition, as the youngest child, to take care of her mother. Tita's mother is a force to be reckoned with and forbids Tita to marry Pedro. In an act of desperation, and also to remain close to Tita, Pedro asks for the hand of her oldest sister. Heartbroken, Tita stands by as the love of her life marries her sister.

Tita, who was born into the kitchen, puts all of her love and emotions into her food, preparing elaborate meals. Her food is magical, illicting powerful emotions to those who eat her meals.

A tragic love story with magical food, Like Water For Chocolate, was a great read.

Inspired to make a recipe containing chocolate, I had my heart set on making Mole. I found the perfect recipe while watching the new Food Network show, Mexican Made Easy with Marcela Valladolid. Her Easiest Ever Chicken Mole Enchiladas looked amazing and take only one hour. I was instantly sold on making this recipe.

Marcela's Mole is about as quick and simple as they come. The sauce begins with 5 dried ancho chiles which are reconstituted in hot water for 15 minutes. While the chiles are reconstituting, grill two corn tortillas until crisp and crumble into pieces. In a saute pan, saute one and a half onions (chopped) and 2 cloves of garlic (minced) until translucent. Transfer seeded chiles, crisp corn tortillas, onions, garlic, one tablespoon of sugar, 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter, 1-3/4 cups chicken broth, and one teaspoon oregano to a blender and blend until smooth. Add sauce back to saute pan and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in 5.5 ounces of Mexican chocolate (Ibarra preferred) and season with salt and pepper. (Here is a picture of the Ibarra Mexican chocolate. I was expecting it to be bittersweet, but you can actually see how crystallized it is with sugar. It has a cinnamony bite and is delicious all on it's own).


The enchiladas go together pretty easily. Two chicken breasts are coated in oil, salt and pepper and baked for approximately 20 minutes. When removed from the oven, shred the chicken with two forks.

Marcela suggests dipping the corn tortillas in hot oil to soften them and make them pliable. Once dipped in the oil, she dips them into the mole sauce, fills them with 1/3 cup shredded chicken and rolls them up. Extra mole is poured over the enchildas and they are topped with Queso Fresco and Mexican crema.


Disclaimer: I'm sure that this is probably the easiest mole ever, but it was still messy and quite time-consuming. I'm talking lots of pots and pans, blenders and so on. Saying that, as far as moles go, it was really easy, quick and a lot less ingredients than a traditional mole.

Notes/Results: I enjoyed making this recipe. I love the chance to cook with new ingredients and explore in the kitchen. The Mexican chocolate is literally delicious and I can see myself using it for many other recipes. The recipe was well-written and went together perfectly. The mole had a very complex flavor, a little spicy, a little sweet, a little nutty. The smell of the mole reminded me of my favorite authentic Mexican restaurant. The recipe was good, just not my personal favorite. I'm glad I had the chance to try it, but I still prefer my enchiladas with red sauce.

Queso Fresco is also my Cheese of the Month. I went to a special Mexican grocer in Lexington looking for Queso Fresco(fresh cheese) and I was very happy to find it. It has a crumbly texture and a mild flavor which paired nicely with these enchiladas. True Queso Fresco will become soft when warmed, but does not melt. It can be used as you would use any other mild crumbly cheese, but mostly is served as a topping or a garnish. Marcela suggests using Feta cheese in place of Queso Fresco. The two cheeses do have the same texture, but Feta is full of flavor whereas Queso Fresco is really mild. I'm anxious to use the Queso Fresco in a simple recipe where it can really shine as part of the meal.

This is my submission for this round of Cook the Books, hosted by Rachel of The Crispy Cook, Johanna of Food Junkie Not Junk Food, and Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.

Cheese of the Month: Camembert

This year I made a new year's resolution to try a new cheese every month. So many cheeses, so little time. I know you understand.

I decided to do a Cheese of the Month feature, highlighting each of the cheeses and recipes I try along the way. Last month, I featured a Red Dragon Mustard Seed and Ale cheese, which I served with a pretzel baguette from Whole Foods.

This month, I am featuring ILE DE FRANCE Camembert. I have had Camembert once or twice before, but each time it has been served alone with bread. I've been wanting to try Camembert in a recipe to test out it's creamy melting abilities.

While watching a recent episode of Alex Guarnaschelli's new show, Alex's Day Off, I saw her make Cheese Fondue Hash Browns. Alex fried chunks of potato until golden brown, topped them with a wheel of Camembert, and baked them in the oven until the cheese melted and oozed over the potatoes. Those cheesy fondue hash browns looked irresistible and I instantly marked them down on my "things to make" list. How could I not try them? Fried potatoes with a wheel of Camembert melted on top- a stroke of genius!

You can find Alex's recipe for Cheese Fondue Hash Browns by clicking HERE. It requires very few ingredients and is quite simple to make.

Notes/Results: Brie and camembert are known as the crown jewels of French cheese. They are both a semi-soft cheese and can be used interchangeably in recipes. I love both of these cheeses for their soft, smooth, thick and creamy consistency. Alex's recipe for cheesy fondue hash browns is quite a decadent treat and really is very tasty. Crunchy potatoes and oozing cheese is the all-time comfort food and everyone enjoyed this recipe. I think this is a great recipe and would make for an impressive breakfast/brunch menu, but I will say that my favorite way to enjoy this cheese is simply all on it's own, served over bread.
How do you like to serve Camembert?

Pretzel Baguettes and Cheese of the Month: Red Dragon with Mustard Seeds and Ale

It's no secret that I love bread and cheese. I may have even shared my unnatural love for mustard a time or two. Imagine my surprise when I found this Red Dragon Mustard Seed and Ale Cheese for sale at my Whole Foods. There was only one wedge left and it had my name written all over it. As I stared at the cheese, admiring it's red casing and it's visual appeal, I started to daydream about all the ways I could use it. I must have been off in another world, which happens a lot by the way, because the cheesemonger was talking to me and I didn't hear him. He said "We have a pretzel baguette that goes great with that cheese." MAMA SAY WHAT?

Imagine my delight at the words he spoke! Pretzel baguette. That's genius, I thought to myself, as I squealed in delight running to the bread section. However, he also mentioned "if we have any left", which kinda of made my stomach sink a little. It must have been my lucky day because there were several pretzel baguettes sitting in the basket and I was in love with them. I picked up two baguettes at $1.99 each and went happily to see the cashier.
We know that pretzels pair well with mustard and we also know they pair well with cheese, but cheese with mustard - yum!

Results/Notes: This is a classic combination. Both the pretzel baguette and the mustard seed and ale cheese were wonderful. The baguette was just like a soft pretzel, but in loaf form; soft and chewy. The cheese is a tangy Welsh Cheddar, made from pasteurized milk, mixed with mustard seeds and ale. It is creamy and almost spreadable at room temperature. Besides pairing well with the pretzel baguette, this cheese would be a great addition to any sandwich that would otherwise call for mustard. I think it would also be great melted into Welsh Rarebit or even added into some homemade macaroni and cheese. This is a great combination for any Superbowl parties coming up. All in all, it was fairly inexpensive. The baguettes are only $1.99 each and my wedge of cheese was about $4. A somewhat healthy and unique snack for around $5. These two goodies get a definite "thumbs up" from me and I will seek them out each and every time I happen to get to Whole Foods.

If you don't happen to have a Whole Foods in your area, you can buy this cheese online at Amazon, here. More often than not, you can ask your cheesemonger for specific items and they will order them for you without the added shipping charges.

In case you would like to try your own pretzel baguette, there is a link to a recipe here. I haven't tried this recipe, but I would definitely like to.

This is the first in my series for Cheese of the Month. Each month I am going to try a new cheese and feature it alone or in a recipe.