GRILLED CHICKEN MOLE

Grilled Chicken Mole is delicious served with Mexican Coleslaw and guacamole. You can also serve it with Spanish rice. Ancho chiles are dried poblano peppers. Guajillo chiles are dried mirasol chiles. . .both are delicious with chicken.

1 whole chicken, cut in half lengthwise and patted dry

Dry Rub

2 t of your favorite chile powder

2 t granulated garlic

½ t sea salt

½ t fine ground black pepper

1 t ground cumin

1 t onion powder

¼ t ground cinnamon

Place chicken on a platter and rub with the Dry Rub ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Mole Sauce

1 dried ancho or guajillo chile, chopped, stems and seeds discarded

1 T avocado oil

½ medium yellow onion, chopped
1  jalapeño, seeds and membranes removed

2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

3 T semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 t New Mexican chile powder
1 t ground ginger
½ t ground cinnamon
2 T tomato paste
2 to 3 chipotle peppers with sauce (freeze the rest)

½ t sea salt
½ t ground black pepper

½ cup toasted sliced almonds

½ cup chicken stock

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Place the chopped chile into a small bowl with ½ cup boiling water and set aside to rehydrate.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Add the onion and jalapeno and sauté for 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté another minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate and dry chile pepper.  Simmer 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and add the chocolate and stir until melted. Spoon mixture into a blender and add the chile and chile water.  Puree until smooth.

In a charcoal barbecue grill with some mesquite wood, grill chicken directly over coals for 2 minutes, to get grill marks. Move to the cooler side of the grill and cook 6 minutes on each side. 

Brush chicken some of the Mole Sauce and grill another 2 minutes on each side.

Pour the rest of the mole sauce into a bowl and sprinkle chicken with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4 

CHICKEN, BROCCOLI, & CABBAGE STIR-FRY

Here is another quick chicken stir-fry dinner. If you don't like broccoli, add snow peas instead.

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
2 boneless chicken breasts

Sea salt and black pepper
¼ cup chicken broth

¼ cup low sodium soy sauce

¼ cup dry sherry

2 T rice vinegar
t toasted sesame oil

1 T cornstarch

2 T avocado or coconut oil

½ savoy cabbage, shredded (or any green cabbage)

1 yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Pinch red pepper flakes

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 T toasted sesame seeds

In a wok or large skillet, add about ½ cup water and bring to a gentle boil.

Cook the broccoli florets until bright green, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove to a bowl and pour out the water; saving the wok or skillet.

Thinly slice the chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy, sherry, vinegar, sesame oil, and cornstarch.

In the same wok or large skillet, heat half of the oil and stir fry the chicken until lightly brown on each side.

Remove to a platter and set aside.

Heat the rest of the oil and stir-fry the cabbage, onion, celery, and bell pepper for 3 minutes.

Add the red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry another minute or two.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the soy sauce mixture.

Cook another 2 or 3 minutes and serve over cooked rice or noodles.
Top sesame seeds.

Serves 2 to 4

GRAPEFRUIT-POMEGRANATE VODKATINI

This is another refreshing version of a Cosmopolitan. The grapefruit juice makes it less sweet.

4 oz Pomegranate juice
4 oz red grapefruit juice
4 oz vodka
2 oz Contreau or Triple Sec
1 oz lime juice

Stir or shake with ice in a pitcher or cocktail shaker and pour into 4 martini glasses.

IZETTA'S FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

If you have green tomatoes still in your vegetable garden, here is a perfect way to serve them. My mother made these and she also fried ripe tomatoes for breakfast.

6 medium green tomatoes

1 t sea salt

4 slices of applewood smoked bacon, cut into small pieces

½ cup avocado oil

½ cup all-purpose flour

Sea salt & fine ground black pepper

1 ½ cups corn flour

½ cup panko bread crumbs

1 T garlic powder

1 t smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pepper to taste

2 eggs                                     

½ cup buttermilk

2 T sugar

2 dashes Crystal or Louisiana hot sauce

Cut each tomato into even size ¼-inch slices, about 3 to 4 slices per tomato.

Lay the tomatoes on a wire rack with paper towels beneath

Sprinkle with sea salt and allow to sit for salt to pull water out of the tomatoes, approximately 30 minutes. 

Remove paper towels beneath rack and blot tomatoes dry.

In a large cast iron skillet, cook bacon until crisp. 

Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towels. 

Discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease.

In a shallow bowl, add the flour and season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a second shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, and hot sauce.

In a third shallow bowl, combine the corn flour, panko, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and pepper. 

Dip the tomatoes in the flour mixture, then into the buttermilk mixture, and finally dredge them in the corn flour mixture, coating both sides well.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat and fry the tomatoes in two batches until brown and crispy on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side. 

Keep warm in oven on a baking sheet lined with a rack while frying the second batch.

Sprinkle with bacon and serve plain or with the Remoulade Sauce on side, if desired

Remoulade Sauce

½ cup mayonnaise

1 t Creole mustard 

½ t prepared horseradish

½ t lemon juice

1 t Worcestershire sauce

2 dashes hot sauce

Mix together and refrigerate until ready to serve

GRILLED TURKEY BREAST

This turkey cooked in 2 ½ hours on the grill and I added extra coals two times.  I served the turkey with mashed potatoes and Smoked Paprika Green Beans.

1 (8 to 9 lb) bone-in turkey breast
Applewood chunks, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
1 cup apple juice 
1 T avocado oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prepare about 30 coals on each side of the grill for indirect heat.
Place aluminum foil on the bottom of the grill and place a pan on top with the apple juice or water.
Clean the grill with a wire brush and rub the grill with a folded paper towel dampened with some avocado oil.

Remove any excess fat and skin that is hanging from the turkey.
Rub the oil all over the turkey's skin and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place turkey directly on the grill in the center, with the top of the breast up.

Cook with vents partially open and add any coals as needed.

Check every 30 minutes. 

After the first 30 minutes of cooking add the wood chunks to each side of the hot coals.

Turkey is done when the internal temperature of meat is 165 degrees F.

REFRIGERATOR BREAD & BUTTER PICKLES WITH ONIONS

Whenever I see pickling cucumbers in the grocery store, I buy them and make either Garlic-Dill Pickles or Bread & Butter Pickles. I actually like the Bread & Butter Pickles on a hamburger, hot dog, or smoked sausage rather than dill pickles. These are not overly sweet.

6 pickling cucumbers, (about 6 inches long) thinly sliced

1 ½ T pickling or Kosher salt

½ sweet onion, such as Vidalia, thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar 

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 t multi-colored peppercorns

2 t mustard seeds

1 t minced dry onions

1 t minced dry garlic

1 t celery seeds

½ t ground ginger

½ t ground turmeric

Place sliced cucumbers in a large bowl and stir in salt.  Cover with and refrigerate 2 hours. Transfer cucumbers to a colander and rinse under cold water.

Rinse out the bowl.

Drain cucumber slices well and return to the bowl.

Add sliced onions and toss to combine.

In a medium saucepan, add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes until sugar is dissolved.

Let mixture cool for 30 minutes, then pour over cucumber mixture in the bowl and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. 
Ladle into clean canning jars and refrigerate for up to 1 month, if they last that long.