Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Chocolate is a many-splendored thing

Zebulin would eat burritos all day every day if he could. Or chips and salsa. Or really just anything Mexican. Me...not so much. Before yesterday Mexican would have been my last pick. Along came El Toro Bravo and Chicken Enchiladas with Chocolate Sauce. Sounds disgusting? It's delicious. I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw this dish among the standard Mexi fare, but the nice server boy brought me a taste of the sauce and I was sold. It was a sort of savory chocolate that perfectly complemented corn tortillas and beans and onions and chicken and sour cream. Now I'll be begging to go out for Mexican food.
The chocolate enchiladas remind me of a dish we made on our honeymoon - Wild Mushroom Ragout. The base sauce was unsweetened chocolate with nutmeg, cardamon, white pepper and cloves. We dumped it over rice and had steak on the side. It was fantastic. It's gustatorily confusing at first to try chocolate out of its traditional dessert context but it's rich and versatile and makes one happy - why not use it whenever possible?

6 comments:

IndianaJones said...

mmmmm it's called Mole and it is quite possibly the most brilliant Mexican invention.
I too live with a mexican food fanatic, not so much since I started cooking but before I did we spent years eating burritos for dinner.
I agree lets put chocolate in everything! (just in case Marianne is reading this comment I will tell you I don't put chocolate in everything anymore as I have cut way way back on sugar but still it is a very nice thought:)

Valerie said...

Amen. Okay, that's it. What kind of German chocolate do you want? I've started going crazy over here because Ritter Sport just came out with a new line of chocolates: Jamaican Rum, Red wine, and my favorite, Williams pear truffle filled chocolates. Yummy. Oh, and I'll have to get the recipe from you when I get back so I can start making yummy chocolatey things too.

Mm said...

I have no objection to getting one's daily dose of Vit Ch from mole... just get it. It is a little known fact that Vit Ch deficiency-induced irritibility is the third most frequent cause of marital disharmony, surpassed only by financial tension and arguments over Christmas light installation.
Mm

Mm said...

I have no objection to getting one's daily dose of Vit Ch from Mole... just make sure you get it... vit Ch deficiency-induced irritability is third on the list of reasons marriages suffer... just behind fianacial troubles and arguments over Christmas light installation!

Mm said...

I'm a little confused about where these messages disappear to and how they get published before I proof them, but... ontihng

Sarah said...

Hi Momma!
Start a blog!