Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé, Olé!

This is definitely a "throw it into the pot, job done" meal. The sauce is dark and warm, the chicken is fork tender, and clean-up is quick.

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé

Molé is one of those food terms, like confit, that has been generalized and now is more of a description than a true food. This Slow Cooker Chicken Cherry Molé is like the original form of a Molé in that it has many flavor building spices and ingredients, it contains chili pepper and chocolate, and it is dark and robust.

It is also EXTRA SIMPLE to make, and once you put it all into the Slow Cooker and stir, the only job you have is waiting to eat.

Molé (or mulli) means "sauce". The history of this concoction includes Spain and Mexico, with influences from Africa and beyond. Today, it is considered one of Mexico's culinary prides. In its most original form, a paste from blended and ground spices is made and cooked into a very fragrant and dark starter. To this is added many things, with every family having their own secret combination and traditional styles. Some of the ingredients include cilantro, nuts, sesame seeds, tortillas for thickeners, dried fruits and several different kinds of peppers.

For this labor and time friendly recipe, I have included dried cherries which pair well with the cocoa that is almost always in a Molé. The sauce is commonly served over turkey, chicken and sometimes pork.Rick Bayless, whom I obviously admire, serves one of the best Molés in his Frontera Grill in Chicago. If you ever get the opportunity, definitely try it.

In the meantime, pull out the Slow Cooker or Crock Pot and get ready for a very flavorful Mexican style chow down.Recipe: Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Cherry Molé-Olé

1 onion, chopped
3 cups Tomato Sauce (or large can of seasoned tomatoes)
1 cup water or chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbls. honey
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (canned), chopped
3 Tbls. cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 Tbls. chili powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cumin
pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
2 lbs. Chicken breasts or combination with thighs (boneless)

1) In a Slow Cooker, add the onion, tomato sauce, garlic, peanut butter, honey, dried cherries and Chipotle chile. Stir together.

2) Stir in the cocoa powder, the chili powder, the cinnamon, cumin and nutmeg.

3) Put the chicken on top of this sauce, season with salt, close the lid and cook on low for about 5-6 hours.

4) When done, use 2 forks to pull the chicken into shreds and fold into sauce.

This is wonderful on a little slider bun, or served as an entree with rice, potatoes or polenta. Everyone will be wanting mo' Molé. :D

Handmade Mushroom Pasta w/Pork Tenderloin & Sage

Oh Mama, don't you love Umami? That's the earthy warm 5th taste that shows up, even in the air, when you heat up mushrooms. When you add that flavor to the dough for handmade pasta - - - Che buono!

HANDMADE MUSHROOM PASTA with Pork Tenderloin & Sage

I love being a multi-tasker so I'm constantly looking for ways to add to, double up, and extend things. One of my very favorite things to make is flavored pasta. Being able get some of my "vitamins from vegetables" while practicing my "addiction to carbs" just makes me smile. I've made Dandelion Pasta, Roasted Red Pepper Pasta, Chocolate Pasta, you name it. And this Mushroom Pasta Dough is one of my favs. It's very simple and the only real work comes in the kneading, which is so important. I really enjoy the feel of dough and kneading is like therapy, but a lot cheaper. I'll warn you; While showing the steps to this process there's no way to make a mound of mushroom paste look pretty, but it's a lot like pate at that point. Start with 1/2 cup of Dried Wild Mushrooms and 1/2 cup sliced Baby Bellas. Cover the Dried Mushrooms with a cup of boiling water, to reconstitute them. Drain them and reserve the mushroom water for later. Saute the mushrooms on Med/High in a small amount of Olive oil for just a few minutes to bring out the juices. Let cool, then add the mushrooms from the pan to a blender with 2 eggs. Puree to a smooth paste. On a work board, make a mound of 2 cups of All Purpose Flour and 1 tsp of salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the mushroom paste into the well. Gradually pull the flour from the sides into the mushroom paste, kneading as you go. When and if you need moisture, add a couple Tbls from the mushroom water that you reserved. Continue kneading the dough for about 10 minutes until you have a smooth, blister free dough that when pressed with your thumb returns quickly. Cover the dough and let rest for 20 minutes. Cut the dough into two parts and cover the half you're not working . Press or roll out the first half until it's flat enough to be rolled through the widest setting on a pasta machine. Continue to roll the dough thinner through the machine, cutting sections as you go to make it manageable. Roll the cut sections through the Fettuccine blades to create your Mushroom pasta.

To hold the pasta for cooking, toss serving size amounts in a bit of flour and make mounds of them on a parchment covered baking pan. These can also be frozen, then bagged for later. Cook fresh pasta in salted boiling water until it floats to the top, or about 3 minutes. Drain and serve with your chosen sauce, optionally adding chopped sun-dried tomatoes, capers or olives. Ingredients: 1/2 cup Dried Mushrooms 1/2 cup Baby Bella or other button (sliced) 1 cup boiling water (for reconstituting dried mushrooms and reserve this) 2 Tbls. Olive oil 2 Large Eggs 2 cups All Purpose Flour salt/pepper to taste *Optional* Sun-dried tomatoes olives capers chopped parsley chopped fresh sage.


To prepare the Pork Tenderloins as shown in the picture:

6 oz. Pork Tenderloin (slice into 1/2 inch rounds)
2 Tbls. Olive oil 1/3 cup white wine
1 small onion (sliced )
12 oz. Stock (veggie or meat)
2 Tbls. chopped fresh sage
1/4 cup cream

Saute the Tenderloins in olive oil on Med/High just til browned and reserve. Turn down to Low/Med and add onions to the pan. Cook onions til caramelized, adding salt to taste. Deglaze pan (add in) white wine (or just a bit of stock if you don't want to use wine). Cook this til most of the moisture is gone, for about 5-10 minutes. Put the Tenderloins back into the pan, add the stock and cream. Cover the pan and cook on Low for about 10 minutes. Add sage and turn up heat to reduce liquid by 1/3, about 3-5 minutes. Stir to make sure nothing sticks. The Pork Tenderloin is ready to serve. You can add the pasta into the pan, or serve separately over the pasta when ready. Garnish with chopped parsley.