Kendall's Kitchen - Fall 2019

KENDALL’S KITCHEN - Fall 2019

The Dawg Days of Summer are upon us, but after such a wet winter and spring, can we really complain?  But, regardless of Mother Nature's challenges, we were able to finish the renovation at Vinewood Stables.  The outcome is not only beautiful, but now we have a comfy conditioned space for our guests no matter what the weather.  Special thanks to David Hickfang, Patti Lotspeich, David Carroll and Dee Ann Hansel for the hard work bringing home the project on time.  Special thanks to Amy Britt for trusting us to deliver! I hope everyone gets a chance to see the Stables soon. It has that “Magic” quality all of our venues deliver.  

TRAVELING + TASTING

Mole + Mezcal

Holy Mole!  The beauty of Oaxaca, land of the seven moles, was the perfect backdrop for this year’s magical Flavors of Mexico trip with the Mexico Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier.  We pulverized chilis and spices for mole. We ate mole verde, blanca, rojo and negro. We ladled mole on pork and chicken and fish, and even brought mole home.  

7 Moles of Oaxaca

Yes, Oaxaca boasts an impressive 7 kinds of mole, each one more necessary than the last.  As you can see from the photo above, a lot more goes into mole than ground chiles, chocolate and sesame seeds. This is especially true when you venture outside the confines of your “typical” mole, mole poblano, to the other kinds of the thick, slow-cooked sauce drizzled over food all over the Mexico. 

Negro 

The “typical” savory-sweet mole mentioned above, and the one most frequently found on American menus. An intricate recipe with a lot of ingredients and steps, you’ll be grinding and stewing the following together: onion, garlic, whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and cumin, dried chiles, pumpkin and sesame seeds, herbs like hoja santo (which contributes to the dark color)and cilantro, bread for thickening and sometimes dried fruit for extra sweeteness.  Oh, and plenty of dark, bitter chocolate. 

Rojo 

Red mole, also known as mole poblano, is similar to black mole, using many of the same spices and base ingredients and also contains chocolate, but less. Instead, this sweeter, spicier and more versatile version is amped up with several kinds of dried red chile like pasilla, guajillo and ancho as well as pulverized raisins and almonds or peanuts. When the sauce is done, browned chicken, pork or beef is typically added and stewed until tender, although you can seriously enjoy thick slices of queso oaxaca, a stretchy, soft mozzarella-like cheese, floating in mole rojo with fresh tortillas for breakfast.

Coloradito 

This brew translates to “a shade of red,” or “on the naughty side,” depending on what you’re doing in the kitchen. Somewhere between rojo and negro in color, this brown mole shares the base ingredients of whole spices, onions, garlic, seeds and chocolate and features an awesome secret ingredient for thickening and sweetening: mashed ripe plantain. 

Amarillo 

Leave the chocolate at the door, this mole will have none of that. Picture all the goodness of the first three moles without the sweet stuff and you have a delicious basic sauce to pour over or use as a cooking base for myriad Mexican purposes. It’s not unlike a simple Indian curry sauce, the sky’s the limit. 

Verde 

White on the outside, green on the inside - that’s a pumpkin seed. Extra pepitas or pipian, along with fresh tomatillos, jalapenos and cilantro are the key ingredients in bright green mole verde. It can be diluted with chicken stock when it’s finished and poured over cooked chicken to make a soupy sauce mopped up with tortillas or bread. 

Chichilo 

This one’s a little more intense. RRound up all the beef bones you can find, you’re going to need them. This dark, spicy sauce starts with rich, homemade beef stock. The stock rehydrates dried chiles de arbol, anchos and guajillos which you then blend with the usual slow-cooked garlic and onions. Mole chichilo is thickened with either masa harina, lime-cured corn flour, or crushed fresh tortillas. No chocolate here, either. Excellent for braises. 

Manchamantel 

This “tablecloth-staining” mole lives up to its reputation: between the bright red chorizo grease, tomatoes and ancho chiles, you do not want to get this stuff on anything white. Featuring fresh pineapple in addition to plantain, manchamantel is a sweet, spicy, fruity sauce any protein would be lucky to cook in.

Plenty of partying to be enjoyed with all the festivals of Mexico, aided and abetted by our sponsor Jose Cuervo.  Our opening night in Oaxaca was the reneactment of the annual Guelaguetza celebration, where the 16 ethnolingistic groups of Oaxaca come together and dance.

Equally impressive was the gala dinner of El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) where we all dressed up as Catrina's.

Mezcal vs. Tequila

Tequila is simply the legal name for one type of mezcal.  Mezcal can be produced from up to fifty different species of the agave plant, including the one that tequila must be made from:  Agave tequilana weber. For this reason, the flavors in tequila can be far less varied between brands than those in mezcal. The agave root for tequila is also usually steamed in ovens instead of roasted underground, so the definitive smoke characteristic that mezcal delivers is often absent.  

Mezcal Ginger Paloma

A peppery alternative to tradition, bending the ingredients of the Paloma ever so slight, this spicy update is primed to cut the edge off any sweltering “dog day” afternoon.

2 ounces Del Maguey Vida Mezcal

1/2 ounce fresh ruby red grapefruit juice 

1/4 ounce ginger syrup 

2 1/2 ounces Jarritos grapefruit soda 

Shake all ingredients except the soda with crushed ice. Pour into an ice-filled Collins glass, top with soda and garnish with grapefruit wedge and a pinch of kosher salt for that essence of a salty dog. ¡Olé!