(For samhenderson , who's been very patient) :)

A somewhat involved vegetarian entree, but a perfect dish to make a lot of. The leftover polenta can be pan-fried till crispy edged and then covered with salsa and cilantro for a healthy lunch treat, while the mole sauce is ideal for coating some chicken tenderloins and stuffing into a tortilla.

Mole sauce is very much a "kitchen sink" sort of sauce.  The one thing that remains constant across all the different regional and home to home variations is the hint of chocolate in the first taste followed by the gradual experience of the peppers. 


Here's how I do my version:

 

 

Certain people have made the claim that I do not know how to cook without using garlic.  My Chicken & Dumplings recipe below should send those naysayers scrambling for their soup bowls. :)

Here's what I started with.

And here's how it ended up.

Made a batch of my ::buffs nails on shirt:: pretty darn good baked beans today and figured I'd share another of my secret recipes for posterity and the festive enjoyment of anyone out there who reads my LJ.   :D

Lon's "Get Invited Back" Baked Beans

1 lb bag dried Navy Beans
1/2 tsp. kosher or sea salt.
1/2 lb sweet italian sausage
1 cup finely chopped vidalia onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp each cumin seed, mustard seed, black peppercorn
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (regular or smoky, but not honey BBQ)
            I use  KRAFT Original for this, nothing fancy needed
1/4 cup honey
1 cup tomato sauce (8 oz. can)
pinch each of chili powder and mustard powder


Soak beans at least twelve hours. Discard water, rinse well and put in large stock pot. Fill pot with water to about 3 inches over beans, add kosher salt,  bring to a boil, then let simmer for an hour.  Skim most of the foam from the top every twenty minutes or so.

While that's bubbling along, grind your cumin, mustard seed and peppercorns (you do have your own mortar and pestle, right?) and mince the vidalia onion. I use one of those handy automatic choppers to get the onion good and slushy. Put the ground spices and the minced garlic and onion in a pan with the sweet italian sausage and saute until the onion is all nicely carmelized and the sausage is fully cooked.  Make sure to break up the sausage really well, like you would ground beef.  Drain and set aside.

Now to make the sauce. Whisk together the barbecue sauce, tomato sauce, honey, chili powder and mustard powder.

Preheat oven to 350.

When the hour is up on the beans, check for tenderness.  They should be easily split with a fork at this point.  If they are still a little crisp don't worry about it, the oven time will finish them off.

(NOTE: If you like your baked beans with runnier sauce, save up to about 1-1/2 cups of the simmering bean water before the next step.)

Drain the beans in a colander and put in a 2 quart casserole with cover.  Add the sausage mixture and the sauce (plus the water, if you saved any --I don't, but you might like it all runny.)

Bake covered for two hours. Remove and serve when it's cooled down enough, or lug it across town to a cookout somewhere, what have you.  :D

(*Ahem. No, mtrimm1, not a crack-pot, and certainly not a crack-pipe. I mean a slow cooker.)  :P


Lon's Peppery Cabbage and Sausage

1 head cabbage, ripped into little pieces like my Shadow Regions contract
1 can low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 can spicy diced tomatoes (I like the ROTEL medium-hot for this)
1 heaping tbsp minced garlic
1/4 stick butter, in slices
1 green pepper, sliced longwise
1 med. onion, cut in eighths and separated
about 1 lb of smoked sausage or kielbasa, sliced  (Turkey works well for the health-minded)
pinch of salt
double pinch of black pepper
pinch of cayenne
double pinch of hand-ground pink peppercorns (added in the last hour, because I'm crazy like that)


Ready in 3-4 hours on high, or 5-6 on low. Serves 4-6.