Dessert: Chess Pie with Pineapple Sauce and Caramel

Made this recipe tonight mostly on a whim. Well, this afternoon into evening. Only real alteration is using my usual blend of 50/50 whole wheat/white flour in the dough.

Very good, though I think I'd bake the pie dough a bit less in the initial part (it was a little dark by the end of the pie baking) and maybe whisk the egg mixture a bit better (it was, perhaps a bit textured). Or maybe leave out the corn meal (not sure what it's doing there...) or use Real Buttermilk instead of my usual substitute of slightly curdled (via lemon juice) normal milk.

But! I've got caramel down now.

Mole Chicken or is it Chicken Mole

I've fallen in love with Cook's Illustrated's line of cook books. They have very good recipes along with cooking tips/styles to help make sure things come out right. This one is adapted from their The Best International Recipe: Chicken Mole

You'll need:

• 2 Ancho Chiles
• Olive oil (~3 tbsp)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 oz dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or put through a garlic press
• 2 c chicken broth
• 2 cup diced tomatoes (or 1 can)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1/4 c tahini
• ~1 lbs chicken breasts, skin/bones removed. If large, slice to 1/2-3/4" thick

To do:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place chiles on a baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes, until puffed
• Remove chiles to cool, leave oven on.
• When chiles are cool, break into small pieces after removing stem and seeds
• Heat oil in skillet on medium head until shimmering
• Add onion and saute until soft, 5-7 minutes
• Add chile pieces, cinnamon, cloves, and chocolate and cook until chocolate is bubbly, about 2 mins
• Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds
• Add in broth, tomatoes,raisins, sesame seeds, and tahini and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally
• Transfer to a blender or food processor and process until smooth, about 20-30 seconds
• You can let the sauce cool and keep it in the fridge at this point for a few days
• Set oven to 400 degrees
• Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper
• Arrange chicken in the bottom of a shallow baking dish
• Pour sauce over the chicken, turning the pieces to make sure they are coated.
• Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes
• Remove chicken from oven and tent with foil, let rest for 5-10 minutes
• Serve and enjoy

And bad me for not updating recently. Will try to be more regular.