gulfporter

DH made cranberry squares from decades' old Bon Appetit recipe. He increased recipe to use all of the bag of cranberries and ended up with two tins of cranberry 'rounds.'

Step 6 of the mole', toasting nuts and seeds. Almonds, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, black and white sesame seeds.

I am lucky to have a DH who is my sous chef and (more importantly) my dishwasher! I am sure this is a farmed turkey.....the thighs (only part I am using) are quite large. 4 thighs that average over 3/4 kilo each (or 1.7 pounds each). I've made mole's before (though never turkey, and never in an instant pot). I'm dragging it out over 4 days because I can (retired) and due to pandemic we aren't doing much else 🙃

I have finished Step 5 of the 8 steps for the mole' sauce. Today was an easy one, charing tomatillos and jitomates. Yesterday was rough---toasting, soaking, blending and finally sieving a combo of 30 chiles, ancho, guajillo and pasilla. Even with all the windows open and my exhaust fan on high, the smoke from the toasting still lingers in the house today.

We are celebrating "Thanksgiving USA" here in Mexico. I am already on Step 4 of my 8 Step Turkey Mole' which I will attempt in an instant pot. Today must be my lucky day. The 4 frozen turkey thighs I ordered were ready for pickup (total weight 3 kilos). Then I walked by a local fruteria where I had seen camotes al horno (baked MXN sweet potato) for sale a few weeks ago, but not since. A new wooden crate of them had just arrived! For the photo I split one open to show the inside of it.

If you look hard enough you can see our light dinner of shrimp in a corn and black bean salad, spread over some avocado.

Lunch today was a new potato hash with bacon, onions, sweet peppers, poblanos and (mostly) runny eggs. Sadly, there's always one bad egg in the group 🍳

Korean pork tenderloin (marinated in gojuchang bbq sauce) with a Brussels sprouts Asian slaw.

Huitlacoche crepes; filling of huitlacoche, bacon, fresh corn off cob, shallots, caramelized onions and peppers. With a poblano cream sauce.

Grilled merguez lamb sausage, with a couscous salad with dried cranberries, green onions with lemon-garlic vinaigrette. Dipping sauce of harissa yogurt.

@BonVivant Love that bucatini!!

EZ lunch today. Kimchi pork burger with gojuchang sauce.

Had half a tuna steak leftover from last night's poke'. Seared it. Sliced it into soft fusion tacos with pickled red onion, cilantro, gojuchang sauce. Schmear of wasabi mayo on the side.

For my birthday dinner last night, I requested a pasta, with no red or cream sauce. Mi esposo made penne with cauliflower, bacon and toasted bread crumbs.

For his birthday dinner last night mi esposo requested duck confit. Served with Brussels sprouts in a butter-garlic sauce and a berry-morita chile dipping sauce.

One of the big buying points for this house in 2017, was the 4 foot wide, double-door, walk in pantry at one end of the kitchen. After we bought the house, we rented nearby for a month while we had some renovations done. During that time we stocked up on hard-to-find items we knew we'd need having owned a Mexican home before, mostly hardware-type supplies. Since we came into the house from the garage next to the kitchen, and to stay out of the workers' way, we stashed these supplies in the pantry. Well, here's what the "pantry" still looks like. You won't find a lick of food in it, but if you need to borrow an extension cord just give us a call.

Last night was our anniversary so we cooked together. Mi esposo made a spicy Moroccan marinade for a butterflied boneless leg of lamb (actually half a leg, since there are just the 2 of us). Plated with a few leftover potatoes, chimichurri sauce and some pomegranate seeds. He marinated 24 hours and the grill time was surprisingly fast...22 minutes brought the thickest part to 110 and after a 15 minute rest it was perfect. Even the more well-done parts were great! Nice char....and no flare-up! MXN meats are not know for tenderness, but this was the best large cut we've had here in over 10 years!

Made a stack of crepes (first time in years). Filled with ham, cheese and peas in a bechamel.

An Ooey-Gooey version of Mary Berry's Banoffee Pie. Bananas courtesy of our garden. I used a chocolate cookie base in place of her digestive biscuit base. Mi esposo se gusta chocolate; bananas, meh.

Grilled pork tenderloin with pipían sauce (pumpkin seeds), new potatoes fried in duck fat, grilled zucchini and pickled red onions.

Hot smoked salmon. And very smoky with a complex rub, on the sweet side. Personally I can't stand the mouth-feel of cold smoked, ala lox.

Take-away. Indias Vestidas. Never heard of it or seen it offered here before. Filling was cheese, corn kernels, jalapenos. Served with a chile morita dipping sauce. Description from Larousse Comida Mexicana, followed by Google Translation: Indias vestidas Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana Preparación a base de un alimento relleno, generalmente flor de calabaza, capeado o empanizado, que se consume como antojito o entremés. Es un platillo de creación reciente que se puede encontrar en diversos restaurantes. En Hidalgo, por ejemplo, puede ser un triángulo de tortilla de maíz doblada, rellena de queso, capeada, frita y bañada en caldillo de jitomate. En los restaurantes del Distrito Federal suelen ser flores de calabaza rellenas de queso y epazote, capeadas o empanizadas y fritas, que se sirven acompañadas de una salsa picante. Conocida también como indios vestidos. Dressed Indians Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy Preparation based on a stuffed food, generally pumpkin flower, battered or breaded, which is consumed as a snack or appetizer. It is a recently created dish that can be found in various restaurants. In Hidalgo, for example, it can be a triangle of folded corn tortilla, stuffed with cheese, battered, fried and bathed in tomato sauce. In the restaurants of Mexico City, they are usually pumpkin flowers stuffed with cheese and epazote, battered or breaded and fried, which are served with a spicy sauce. Also known as Dressed Indians.

@heidih I hear you! I am usually in the category of, fish+cheese = no thanks. But at a restaurant we were served a pasta dish with smoked salmon and goat cheese...liked it so much I usurped much of the dish into the quesadilla recipe. When I get smoked salmon I buy enough for 2 meals; the q's shown above; and also a cold plate that I serve with a olives, pickled onions, chutney, apple or pear slices, deviled eggs, good bread, mustard, horseradish, etc.

A local Canadian expat sells his own smoked salmon. It is quite luscious! This is my go-to use for it. Quesadillas with local goat cheese and caramalized onions, yellow pepper, poblanos. Not shown is the Big Squeeze of straight chipotle and handful of chopped cilantro. I grill them until the cheese gets very smoooshy. Mmmmm.