February 6, 2011 new recipes

Sunday, February 6 had a Mexican theme. We started with Rick Bayless' Grilled Garlic and Orange Guacamole, from Fiesta at Rick's. This was a new recipe for us. We also made Spanish rice, using a recipe we learned from Chef Ana Garcia at her cooking school in Tepoztlan, Mexico, La Villa Bonita. This was accompanied by Spicy Jicama Salad with Tangerine and Fresh Coriander, from Rick Bayless' book Authentic Mexican, and Frijoles Borrachos and Chicken in Mole Teloloapanse from his book Mexican Kitchen. As I have learned to do for my vegetarian friends, I left the bacon out of the Frijoles, and used a little more oil and some smoked paprika to get the smoky flavor. We made the mole a year ago, and made a double batch of the sauce to freeze, so we could use it for occasions like this evening, to make a chicken mole without the hassle of making the sauce quickly. It still has fabulous flavors.

You can see in the guacamole photo that I forgot to take the picture before it was all eaten!

Tonight's wine was the 2009 Garnacha del Fuego Old Vines, which is still a great choice with spicy food, especially with the spicy earthy flavors of the mole and frijoles.