Mole, Ole!

I love Chicken Mole, order it is a staple in my house.  Growing up I always loved the smell of it, more about the cinnamon and chocolate, clinic the earthiness of it, I could eat it almost every day.   We never made it from scratch as that was considered way too much work.  Thankfully chefs have been able to shorten the normal 2-3 days it takes to make this chocolate, cinnamon goodness.  Unfortunately I have not done this, but one day I will conquer this mammoth task.  Until then I refer to my childhood version, or the closest I can come to it.  Being on the East Coast has made life a little more challenging to make my Mexican comfort foods but I have and continue to seek out the ingredients I need and the foods I crave.  Usually  I end up making it myself, like west coast Chorizo.  Here in NYC the Spanish version is popular.   It’s good but its a hard, almost salami like sausage, as apposed to the crumbly spicy sausage I am used to.   I grew using  a can of dry Mole spices that you add to stock, here on the east coast it’s a jar of paste.  I had seen it on the west coast when I lived there but always went for the dry can.   I usually add a little more cinnamon and a small amount of sugar, just to get it the way I like it.  I have also come to the conclusion that onions are key to helping get that sweetness that I remember.  Now I’m not big on super sweet Mole but there should be a hint of that sweetness in there.  Also a little heat is nice.  I find when I order it at restaurants they skip that part and I am usually disappointed.  So last night to continue with my comfort food week,  I made Chicken Mole!!!  I paired it with the beans I  made on Sunday along with some flour tortillas and had a great flashback to my childhood and the comforts good food can bring.