Moles come in various flavors and colors. Many recipes for mole are out there but the common ingredient is Chili Peppers. Classic Mole Sauce is called Mole Poblano that may be dark red or a brown color and is usually served over Chicken, Turkey or Pork. Usually Mole is made of Chili Peppers, Spices, Seeds, Nuts, Fruit, Toasted or burnt Bread and or Tortillas and a little chocolate. Traditional Mole Sauce can take a few days to prepare and usually will contain FOURTY or more ingredients. I added a few non-traditional ingredients to my Mole and that is why I’m calling this mole Non-Traditional Pumpkin Mole. I used fresh roasted Pumpkin and dates in addition to other usual Mole ingredients. I took liberties with the cinnamon and the anise seeds since they accent pumpkin so well.  Only two things that I would do different are that I’d put the sesame seeds in a food processor or spice grinder next time so they’d be smooth. You do need to know that mole doesn’t have to be smooth….I just prefer the smooth style. The other thing I might do different is to add mulato chili pods to the recipe. I didn’t have them so I went without but I assure you that I added plenty of peppers. I can’t say for sure how I’d change up the other ingredients if I used mulato chili pods so your on your own if you add mulato. I’m very pleased with the way it came out. I thought it went well with chicken but I think the sauce actually popped more when I served it over turkey breast that I pan fried in a pan. I served it very heavy over the chicken pictured because one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants serves it that way. They serve it that way with rice and tortillas on the side.

Ingredients for about Eleven Servings

3 oz guajillo chili pods (washed off, soaked a few minutes, stem and seeds removed)

2 oz pasilla chili pods (washed off, soaked a few minutes, stem and seeds removed)

non- stick spray ( canola or vegetable )

1/4 cup peanuts

1/4 cup pepitas

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3/4 teaspoon anise seeds

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 sweet onions – chopped fine

1 cup dates – chopped – small

2 cup pumpkin – cooked and mashed

1/4 cup chipotle chiles in adobo

1 lb poblano peppers – (about 4 large) – roasted -remove stem and seeds and chopped small

4 garlic cloves chopped fine

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 Tablespoon coriander

1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 cup masa

2 cup vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon salt

1 oz Mexican Chocolate

Directions

Set your oven to 400 degrees F on roast.

Spray your baking sheet(s) and in a single layer lay out the guajillo and pasilla chilies. leave in oven until very fragrant (the peppers I had got that way in eight minutes)

Remove the pods from the baking sheet and boil them in water. (just use enough water to cover the chilies)  Then reduce to a simmer for about an hour.

Use immersion blender and blend them up as smooth as you can. Then strain the mixture. Use a spoon to squish out everything you can get out of it.

Set the strained mixture to the side and throw out the stuff left behind in the strainer.

In your sauce pot on medium heat and toast up the nuts, seeds, spices for about three minutes or until the pepitas and sesame seeds turn toasted looking. Put them on the side.

In your pot add onions and garlic and sauce till lightly browned.

add pumpkin, poblanos, tomato paste.

Add the seeds and nuts back to the pot.

Start blending.

Add masa.

Blend

Add stock

Blend

Stir and Blend….stir and blend…after about 1/2 an hour add the chili pod mixture. Stir and blend for about ten minutes and reduce the heat to simmer.

When you think it’s about done add the chocolate.

Stir and blend some more.

Take off heat and enjoy! Freeze leftovers.

Complex flavors with heat that you don’t get at first. Great for pouring over chicken, turkey or pork. I think it goes especially well with turkey breast.

 

 

 

These Baked Scotch Style Eggs Spicy Turkey Asian Style come out moist, a little crunchy and Forking Delicious! If you are a fan of spicy Asian Food you will LOVE these scotch Style Eggs. This is an easy to make recipe but you do need some Asian ingredients that might not normally be in your pantry. I note that you should only make what you need within the week because whole eggs don’t freeze well so you can’t freeze leftovers. The recipe is easy but has steps that you should read before you attempt.

Ingredients for six servings

6 XL eggs (these are the centers of the Scotch Style eggs)

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon shaohsing rice wine

1 Tablespoon garlic minced

2 Tablespoons gochujang

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 Tablespoon ginger – fresh grated

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon hoisen sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 lb ground turkey 85% lean

1/4 cup sweet onion minced

2 XL eggs – beaten (this is for meat mixture)

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs (Plain not flavored)

1 Tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 oz French Style fried onions (like French’s Brand – The onions are the coating)

non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

Put six eggs in a sauce pot and cover well with water. Put your pot on the burner and turn burner to high and as soon as the pot is at a full boil shut it OFF and put a timer on for 5 minutes. After the five minutes pour all the hot water out of the pot and add cold water and two  large glasses of ice. The eggs will be hard to peal but not impossible and will have nice moist creamy centers and in the baking process instead of chalky.

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, shaohsing rice wine, garlic, gochujang, red chili flakes, ginger, honey, sugar, hoisen, sesame oil. Mix well. Use your quarter cup measuring scoop that you use for solid food to remove a “dry” 1/4 cup of the sauce and add it to your large bowl where you will be mixing up the turkey. They rest of the sauce will be used as a dipping sauce for the Scotch Style Eggs. Set in refrigerator.

In your large bowl where you have a “dry” 1/4 cup of spicy asian sauce add beaten eggs, onion, salt pepper and turkey and mix well. Once well mixed add the panko and mix well.

The mixture will be too soft so you have to refrigerate the meat mixture for about ninety minutes. During this time you should peal the eggs.

Now divide the mixture into six even portions. Kinda like this patty and start with one and sit an egg in it.

Pull the ends of meat up, wrap around egg and roll in your hands like a big meatball.

Repeat and do the same to the five remaining meat patties.

When you have them done.

Use two bowls and divide the French Style crispy fried onions. You are using two bowls instead of one because it will be easier to divide up the correct amount fried onions to roll the meat coated eggs in. Roll one ball around in the bowl and eyeball one third of the onions on the ball. Roll your second ball and leave enough for the third ball. Now move on to your next bowl with the other three balls and repeat.

Now turn on your oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray your baking sheet(s) with non-stick spray.

Space out balls on the baking sheet(s)

In my oven they were fully cooked and perfect in 20 minutes.

Serve with a side of the sauce or just drizzle it on. You don’t need much sauce. A little goes a long way and it really is ….Forking DELICIOUS!

Even re-heated these Scotch Style Baked Eggs still come out awesome! (in my oven at 350 degrees F covered with foil 30 minutes).

These Spicy Asian Turkey Baked Scotch Style eggs are FORKING DELICIOUS. You will love them if you are a fan of Spicy Asian Food.

 

Here in Phoenix Arizona we get these really delicious Hatch Chiles in the fall that are so delicious fire roasted. Most people love the aroma of these Hatch Chiles so we try to serve them any imaginal way. Here I came up with Spicy Cheesy Polenta that you can use as a dip if you care too. You usually have to pair the Hatch Chile with something creamy like cheese to balance out the heat. Hatch Chiles do come in mild, medium, hot, very hot and too hot. 80% of the time no matter what the chiles are marked you get hot or very hot so you have to be able to tolerate some heat to enjoy these chiles. For any recipe with hatch chiles they must be fire roasted with the skin, stem and seeds removed.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

6 oz hatch chiles – fire roasted with skin, seeds, stem removed and chopped (about 1/2 a cup)

1 cup polenta (not the instant kind)

4 1/2 cups water

1 garlic clove – grounded up

2 oz unsweetened butter – cut in a few pieces

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh epazote chopped fine (if you can’t find leave it out- it’s a very strong herb that should be used very sparingly but it adds an authentic taste to Mexican Style Foods)

4 oz extra sharp aged white cheddar – cut or sliced in small pieces

8 oz monterey jack cheese – cut or sliced in small pieces

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 scallion – for garnish

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

In a sauce pot put the water with salt on to boil. Once the water is boiling turn down slightly and add the garlic, hatch chiles, butter and polenta. Keep stirring. The more you stir the creamier it will be. you will slowly be turning down the heat and you don’t have to stir the whole time but you do need to stir periodically. When the polenta starts to look like it’s getting thick…about 10 minutes. You should lightly cover the polenta with foil and turn down the heat to low. You still need to stir the polenta occasionally for about 1/2 hour and then slowly add the cheeses and the epazote. Real polenta takes 45 to cook. This polenta will come out thin for a just right cheesy dip. If you let it sit in the refrigerator the polenta will harden but you can still get it softer by reheating it but it will not come out as thin.

Spicy but Forking Yummy!

These Indian Spiced Turkey Meatballs come out light, fluffy, juicy, flavorful and spicy. Go ahead and make a big batch because they will get gobbled up as soon as they come out of the oven. Gave my husband a sample bowl and he marched back in a few times for repeats. Should you have any leftovers they freeze well and reheat juicy.

Ingredients for about  12 servings

2 lb ground turkey 85% lean

1/2 cup sweet onion – finely chopped

2 Tablespoons ginger – fresh grated

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 very hot hatch chiles – fire roasted, stem, seeds and skin removed – chopped small

1 teaspoon chili powder

10 cashews – crushed to powder

3 garlic cloves – grounded

1 teaspoon garam masala

4 branches fresh curry leaves – chopped fine

4 XL eggs – beaten

2 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1 cup water

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 Tablespoons kosher salt or sea salt – slightly scant

non-stick spray canola or vegetable

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Spray non-stick spray on your baking sheets.

In a large mixing bowl add the turkey and bread crumbs.

In a medium mixing bowl combine everything that’s left but the non- stick spray.

Mix in medium bowl’s contents to the large bowl and mix till incorporated. I do note the mixture will be VERY SOFT and you will have to use a small scoop and not your hands to make the meatballs.

Pinch of about the size of a marble and pop it in the microwave for about 16 seconds and check the seasons or place in the oven on a sheet pan and wait for it to be cooked threw and then try. After you decide the seasons are correct for you then get your small scoop and start laying out the meatballs like this. Sixty meatballs.

After twelve minutes in my oven they were done but oven do differ so make sure yours are done.

 

Delicious, light, fluffy and juicy!

If you can handle a some spice and a little heat you will FORKING love these Indian Spiced Meatballs! These came out Forking DELICIOUS!

 

 

Making an icing rose is easy but it might take a whole night of practice before you get it down. You also need to know that your ornamental icing must be very thick with lots of sugar or it will be too soft for decorating and will fail.

So pick up a decorating kit and give it a try if you care too.

First you get a pastry bag …with a Rose Tip.

I used a 104 Wilton Tip…..I prefer the disposable pastry bags…because the reusable pastry bags are hard to clean and will always split on you when you least expect it….so you will have to replace them after a few times anyway.

You snip the end of the bag for your tip to fit in (or add a coupler to use with multiple tips)….and curl down the ends so they stay clean.

Insert frosting and twist the end so frosting doesn’t fall out.

Get a Frosting  and apply pressure to the frosting bag and make a blob of frosting on the nail.

Now go slightly above the blob and spin the nail in your hand while squirting out the frosting  around the frosting blob and make it look like a rose bud center.

Start a little lower and squirt out three petals around the bud center.

Start near the middle and make around five petals.

Then near the bottom make about seven petals.

Remove the flower with a small spatula or butter knife or a scissors by cutting into the rose bottom and releasing on the cake.

If this sound like too much trouble no fear…….

Russian Decorator Tips are budget priced and easy to use. I think  I was searching on eBay for the style tips I used when I worked in a bakery that I liked better than what I have and accidentally came across Russian Decorator Tips. I thought they were interesting and including shipping they were around $5.00 so I thought I’d give them a try.  They look so unusual to me. I’ve never seen tips like these before.

I think most of the tips look like drop tips. Most of the tips look like how you make press cookies.

I used the above tip to make the drop flower. I didn’t notice numbers on the tips so it seems you have to recognize the design of the tip to know what you want. I just applied a small amount of pressure and wah-la my flower was done.

Pretty easy and no practicing.

I suggest purchasing a coupler with the Russian Tips. The Russian Tips are very large and changing them in the bag is a major production.

I showed you how to make an Icing Rose and a Forking Easy Drop Flower…isn’t that sweet 🙂

 

 

It’s kind of trendy right now to coat cauliflower and disguise it into another food. Here I basically made a tasty tortilla tasting coating for the cauliflower that’s baked. It very important to use Masa Flour or don’t even bother with this recipe because Masa has lime (not the citrus) in it and is that tortilla kind of taste. My other hint for this recipe is to use orange cauliflower because it is the PERFECT roasting cauliflower and isn’t as watery as white cauliflower and doesn’t burn it fast like purple cauliflower. This recipe is easy and quick to prepare and comes out delicious! Just top with shredded cheeses, salsa, a few thinly sliced jalapeños or fire roasted hatch chiles and cheese  pop it back in the oven a few minutes and your ready for a party! Unlike some other coated cauliflower recipes you might have tried this one holds up well to a re-heating too.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

1 orange cauliflower – broken down into bite size florets

1/4 cup corn mesa flour (make sure you are using the correct flour)

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup corn starch

3.2 oz dry fat free dry skim milk (one envelope)

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground annato

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

3/4 cup water ( it’s possible that you might need a tablespoon more because different brands of flour are ground slightly different – also make sure that you are using a liquid measurer)

non-stick spray either canola or vegetable

Directions

Set oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl combine all the ingredients except the cauliflower and the non-stick spray. Your cauliflower and coating mix should look like this.

Spray your baking sheet(s) with non-stick spray.

Dip each cauliflower floret in the batter and shake off as much as you can then space out the florets on your baking sheet.

Place in the oven for about ten minutes or until the cauliflower looks like this.

Now your ready for some fun!

You can top the cauliflower like nachos!

With Cheddar and Jack Cheese, salsa, jalapeños, scallions…..sour cream and guacamole if you like……or Hatch Chile and Cheese would also be delicious.

Ummmm Forking Tasty! You will make everyone happy with this one! #crowdpleaser

 

This Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower “Wing” Recipe is by Branne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips. They come out sweet , savory, sticky and tasty. This recipe certainly makes cauliflower more exciting.The recipe is very easy to prepare and anyone can do it.

You might have to make a few minor adjustments to the recipe.

Depending on your flour you might need to add maybe two tables more milk.

You might also need to double the cauliflower batter (four and milk) recipe.

I ran out of batter and still had much of the cauliflower left to batter.

For the remaining cauliflower I poured the batter on and mixed it covering the cauliflower much lighter.

Now back to the recipe.

Ingredients for 6 servings

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 garlic clove crushed

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon salt

a few grinds black pepper

1 large cauliflower – broken down into florets

1/2 cup flour (Brianne used brown rice flour, I used white rice flour)

1/2 cup milk (Brianne used almond milk, I used buttermilk in my first batch and nonfat in my second batch…for me the buttermilk came out with a nicer crust)

Directions

In a smaller bowl combine balsamic, soy sauce, honey, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and get out and spray or oil your baking sheet(s)

Whisk the milk and flour together and toss the cauliflower in the batter till coated.

Arrange cauliflower on baking sheet(s) in a single layer.

Bake 15 minutes or slightly less.

Remove from oven and pour on sauce (too much sauce I didn’t use it all)

Put bake in oven for 5 minutes.

Take out and gently flip the cauliflower.

Put back in another 5 minutes.

They are tasty but on the sweet side.

I added a sprinkles of oregano, basil and shredded parmesan cheese to balance the sweetness out for me.

It’s a great recipe and after you make it then you can personalize it for your taste.

For next time I am leaving out the soy sauce and will cut back on the honey.

Thanks to Brianne@Cupcakes&KaleChips for a really great creative recipe that makes cauliflower more exciting.

 

 

I’m always trying to think up another way to serve eggs and here is a breakfast casserole sort of quiche that’s pumped up with vegetables, flavorful Hatch Chile, eggs and cheese lined with a potato crust. It’s pretty easy to prepare. This isn’t a real custardy quiche. It gets a bunch of healthy volume from chopped roasted cauliflower that’s snuck in. It very flavorful and doesn’t need a thing added. I think it would be nice to serve with a side of fresh fruit.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

3 medium/small potatoes (about 9oz)

neutral non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

1 hatch chile – fire roasted – skin, seeds, stem removed and chopped – small

2 cups roasted cauliflower – then chopped large bean size – I roasted my broken down cauliflower at 350 degrees F with a good sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil for about a 1/2 hour till it browned and then added fresh ground sea salt and black pepper

4 XL eggs – beaten

2 Tablespoons scallions – chopped

4 oz monterey jack cheese – shredded

2 Tablespoons cooked onion – diced – sautéed in a fry pan with a non-stick spray

2 Tablespoons cooked red pepper – diced – sautéed in a fry pan with non-stick spray

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Set oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a round smallish casserole pan or cake pan with non-stick spray.

With a mandolin slice one potato at a time very thin and start layering potato slices like this.

I did a little more than the last photo but forgot to photo it. I went around with more potato slices. It wound up and three slices thick. The potatoes do fall a little in the oven so don’t worry about it because you will have enough potato crust.  I then added a light layer of canola spray to the potatoes and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes. Until they looked like the photo below.

Turn your oven down to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine ingredients and pour into potato crust.

Cook covered in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the middle feels like the ends and seems done. You can serve warm but not hot or you can chill and reheat because this isn’t a very custardy quiche.

Forking Yummy!

 

Easy to prepare tasty Cauliflower Salad Recipe. This salad come out tender crisp and is easy to prepare. I find that I like to add the boiling brine to the vegetables and for me that makes the perfect tender-crisp. I do note that the salad might take on more flavor if you drop the cauliflower in boiling water briefly  (like less than one minute) but I really like this texture and this flavor so I didn’t. The salad comes out not too sweet, spicy, salty or acidic. I think the flavor will be just right for the majority of people. The only thing I would do different is to cut the scallions in smaller pieces and maybe use a pepper spicier than a Jalapeño if I want some heat.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower – broken down in bite size pieces – ( I cut in quarters and sliced up each quarter in three wedges including the core, sliced off and kept cores and broke down each wedge a bit.

4 celery ribs – peeled, cut in about one inch pieces

2 carrots – peeled, cut in quarter inch slices on a diagonal

2 scallions – cut longways and short ways

3 jalapeños – stem and seeds removed – chopped

3 garlic cloves – grounded

1 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup rice wine vinegar

3 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt or sea salt

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons yellow mustard seeds

1 Tablespoon coriander seed

1 Tablespoon black peppercorns

3/4 Tablespoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Directions

In a large bowl or pan combine the cauliflower, celery, carrots, scallions and jalapeños. Mix them up and in two sterilized containers or tubs divide them.

Get a sauce pot and add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a slightly slower boil and let it go about ten minutes.

Pour the boiling liquid evenly between both tubs. Let the tubs cool for about a half hour on your counter and then lid them up and place in your refrigerator. You might need to push the vegetables down just a little with a spoon to get them all under the hot liquid.

Put your tubs in the refrigerator and tomorrow you will have Tasty tender crisp Pickled Cauliflower Salad. Be careful not to eat the peppercorns and allspice berries.

Tender crisp and Tasty.

This time of year Hatch Chiles are very popular in the South Western United States. The Hatch Chile is Prized for it’s unique flavor and plays a staring role in New Mexican Cuisine. Not all but many people love the Hatch Chile so much that they fill up their home freezers with enough Hatch Chiles to last till next year. This easy to prepare casserole is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Everyone loves potatoes and cheese flavored with these Forking Delicious Fire Roasted Hatch Chiles!

Here’s my Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole.

Ingredients to make about 12 generous servings

1 large sweet onion finely sliced

3 lbs potatoes finely sliced (alternate slicing and mix with onions so potatoes don’t brown)

4 oz unsalted butter – melted

6 XL eggs – beaten

10 oz colby cheese – shredded

9 oz pepper jack cheese – shredded

1/2 cup flour

3.2 oz non-fat dry milk (one packet)

1 1/2 cup water

2 Hatch Chiles – roasted with seeds, skin and stem removed – finely chopped

1 Tablespoon kosher salt or sea salt

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

non-stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

Set your oven to 350 degrees F

In a large bowl is your thinly sliced potatoes and onions that you slice in an alternating way and are mixed together so they don’t brown.

In another large bowl mix up all the remaining ingredients excluding non-stick spray.

Get a very large pan and spray it up with your non-stick spray.

As best as you can mix the two bowls together and press the mixture down into the pan.

Cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray so the potatoes don’t stick to the foil.

In my oven this pan took 90 minutes to cook threw and I need to mention I did have another pan in my oven so the timing might differ some.

After 90 minutes I wanted to brown the top more so I removed the foil and put the pan back in for around 20 minutes.

I prefer to chill the casserole in the refrigerator and reheat so it’s nice and neat like a lasagna but you can serve right away if you prefer but it won’t come out nice and neat.

It’s just Forking YUM yum Delish!