Did Somebody Say Bacon?

Bacon & Cheese (inside) Omelette ..
With Bacon & Cheese on Top ..
And Bacon On The Side
... Bacon

Enchiladas Con Mole Rojo

Im half Italian and half...other stuff. Pretty sure no Spanish or Mexican genes. Not that there's anything WRONG with that! ;) At some point in my life since my parents made the move to Southern California, I fell in love with Mexican cooking. Initially my exposure was the typical "American" Mexican cooking ... lots of cheese, rice and beans. Not really Mexican .. not much cooking going on.

Eventually, something something .. Two Hot Tamales .. something something .. Mexican Cooking For Dummies .. Etc etc .. Hey! MEXICAN COOKING IS LESS ABOUT CHEESE AND MORE ABOUT FRESH INGREDIENTS AND SLOW COOKED FLAVOR!! I started simple with the crowd pleasers: Guacamole, various salsas combined with grilled fish tacos and some Mexican inspired salad type dishes. Good eats. Not that inspiring.

A year or two ago, I was watching the finals of Top Chef - Masters. Rick Bayless was in the final and made his signature Oaxacan Black Mole. He won and I was intrigued. I hauled out a Bayless cookbook that had been gathering dust (recipes were too complicated) and there it was. Something just short of 30 ingredients. After a visit to my local Vallarta and 5 hours of nearly non-stop roasting, blending, and pureeing .. I did it. And dang if it wasn't pretty darn good. Actually, it was a sublime. Such complex flavors all in one sauce. I was hooked. I've made it about 4 times and it gets better each time.

Oaxacan Black Mole is a special treat, and a major undertaking. When I'm in the mood for homemade Mole, I fall back on the Bayless Mole Rojo. "Only" 17 ingredients and less than half the cooking time, but still a ton of flavor. The usual suspects:

It all starts with roasting. Garlic, chiles...

Almonds, onions, raisins...

Two sets of ingredients go into separate blender runs:

The first puréed concoction goes into the pot with some hot oil for a little reduction:

Second brew gets added in and then some chicken stock:

While we're waiting for the Mole to cook down, how about some roasted corn and pepper salad?

Time to assemble, fresh corn tortillas, "fake" meat cooked with taco seasoning, Monterey Jack, Mole Rojo and Cotija cheese:

Dinnertime...Adios!

World Famous Veggie Burger

After a three day weekend in Palm Springs with the usual trips to Las Casuellas, Cheeky's and various snack and drink opportunities at The Ace, we packed up and headed for home. On the way, we got a call from Bree: "Are you gonna do something for dinner?" Translation: What is Dad making for dinner?

For some reason, I've had fried chicken on the brain lately. I've never made it, but I've been meaning to. This post is not the fried chicken post, as you may have noticed, so I decided to make some veggie burgers ... Yeah.

So anywho, I was in the mood to kick the doors off and really go for something epic. Some sautéed onions? With worste.. wurstech.. umm, that W sauce and hot pepper sauce for good measure.Yes:

For the meat-eater, some thick-cut bacon? Oh. Yes. Very yes:

Oh, and the other stuff: Homemade black bean veggie-burger, havarti cheese, mashed potatoes with kale and mascarpone cheese, the sautéed onions and on top, bacon. Oh, and all on a toasted wheat bun brushed with melted butter:

I need to get a bigger bun.