Mexican Mole Recipe Confuses Redneck Diplomat

On occasion, I must readily admit to my own ignorance.  The world is a big place, and it’s impossible to know everything.  I’m not at all embarrassed about this, because everyone hears this stuff the first time.  I am fairly surprised that it stung me at this particular moment, though.

The invitation came from one of my colleagues, whose boyfriend, Jorge, is from Mexico.  Since he is here in Peru at the moment, she extended an invitation to a small dinner party.  I don’t remember the exact words, but this was the phrase that got my attention:

            …You are cordially invited to a dinner of Mexican Mole…

And of course an image went straight to my head and refused to leave.

          

So…I guess the Mexicans eat it, and according to the invitation, it’s kind of a big deal, with regional recipes and everything.

I’ve eaten possum, squirrel, raccoon, and guinea pig, so I suppose if there is a place that wants to eat mole then that’s okay, I would be willing to try it if it was offered.

I kept wondering, though, how would you cook it?  Would it be fried, roasted, barbecued on a stick, or what?

I decided to Google it.

Okay, so there it is.  Mole (pronounced mo-lay) has nothing to do with small blind rodents –

(Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mōlli, "sauce") is the generic name for a number of sauces used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. (Wikipedia)

                          Photo by Alejandro Linares Garcia

So to make a long story short, we went to dinner, and we ate this stuff over chicken enchiladas, with cheese and raw onions on top.  It’s spicy, but also has a chocolate flavor to it.  Not something I would eat every day, but I’m glad I tried it.

I am also glad that no rodents were harmed in the making of this sauce.  Now, my redneck friends - you know, too.