Last week presented a new Iron Chef Night (ICN) challenge, and a good reason to finally make mole (pron: mo-lay), something I’ve shied away from for years because of a childhood memory.  I don’t actually know if I ate mole that didn’t taste good or if the combination of flavors just sounded horrible to my undeveloped palate.  Either way, I haven’t ventured a taste since, despite having the famous-for-their-mole Red Iguana restaurant just 5 miles from my door.

Hosting our most recent ICN,  though, made me turn to this most obvious of cocoa-infused entrees.  I’m glad I did – both for the experience and the flavor.

To find some of the ingredients I needed, I went to the Mexican grocery store down the street.  I really wish I’d been to this store sooner.  The yucas and tiny Mexican limes, home-made corn tortillas, dried chiles and fresh pineapple, cinnamon sticks and little burro bananas I plunked down onto the checkout conveyor belt were just a sample of what I would have bought if I thought I could use it before it spoiled.  And, if I could eat it, the pan dulce, tres leches, and tortas might have also made it in my basket.  This store has definitely made it onto the regular shopping rotation.

For the chocolate, I used Endangered Species’ Supreme Dark Chocolate.  ES’s products are certified gluten free and a lot of grocery stores seem to carry their chocolate in the health food aisle.

Having never made mole before, the last thing I wanted to do was experiment.  I found a recipe from the Food Network’s Tyler Florence that sounded good.  The only deviations I made from the recipe were to double it and to cook the completed mole sauce, broth, and browned chicken in a crock pot on high for 4 hours, rather than simmer them for 20 minutes on the stove.  The chicken was so tender that it came apart when I spooned it onto white rice.  Mmmm.

Despite thinking I would need 2 times the recipe, I wound up with 4 cups leftover.  I filled 2 quart-sized freezer bags  with 2 cups of the mole sauce (without broth) each and froze them.  Given the amount of time it took to prepare the sauce, I’m much more likely to try it again now that I can just toss it in the slow cooker with the chicken and broth.

As for the rest of the evening’s fare:  Yum!

• GF pretzels dipped in caramel and then dipped again in chocolate.
• Goat cheese mixed with dark chocolate nibs, rolled in balls and dusted with cocoa powder.
• Spinach salad with a cocoa-balsamic vinaigrette.
• Home-made chocolate cake.
• Dutch chocolate wine – ChocoVine (not so good).