Lobster (or Shrimp) Corndogs with Chipolte Ketchup and Wasabi Mustard

Ingredients

flour , cornmeal ,baking powder ,eggs,egg yolks ,green chilis , buttermilk , milk.

Instructions

Ingredients

• 1 cup hardwood chips for smoking

• 2 medium eggplants, peeled and sliced into 3/4-inch-thick discs

• 2 cups Mole Negro

• 12 ounces asadero cheese, cut into 16 thin slices

Instructions

Put the wood chips in a deep bowl and pour in hot water to cover them. Keep the chips submerged with a small plate or saucer.

If you are using a charcoal grill, light the coals. When the flames have died down, but the embers are glowing brightly, use a long-handled tool to separate the coals into two piles. Drain the wood chips and sprinkle them over the coals. When they start smoking, add the eggplant slices to the parts of the grill over the coals and cook, covered, 10–15 minutes, flipping once. As the slices become cooked, move them to the center where they will still get smoky, but not char.If you’re using a gas grill, preheat it to medium. Drain the wood chips and wrap them in a tightly sealed packet of two layers of aluminum foil. With the tip of a knife, make several holes in the top of the packet, then place it over the flames, under the grill’s rack. When it starts to smoke, add the eggplant slices; cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes, flipping once. As the slices become cooked, move them to a cooler part of the grill or an upper rack where they will still get smoky, but not char.In a small saucepan, reheat the mole over medium-low heat.

On a plate, put one smoked eggplant disk, top with a slice of cheese, and repeat 2 or 3 more times, ending with an eggplant disc. Transfer the stack to a baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining stacks. Place the baking sheet on the surface of the grill and cook, covered, for just a few minutes, until the cheese melts.

Top the stacks with the hot mole and serve immediately.

Mole Negro sauce

Ingredients

• 6 dried chilhuacle negro (or mulato) chiles, stemmed and seeded, seeds reserved

• 6 dried pasillas negros, stemmed and seeded, seeds reserved

• 6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded, seeds reserved

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds

• 1 (2-inch) piece canela (Mexican cinnamon)

• 4 whole cloves

• 2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

• 6 cloves garlic

• 1 small white onion, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 large tomato, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup dried plums, pitted

• 1 dinner-roll-sized bolillo, piece of challa, or brioche, torn into pieces

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

• Salt and brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat the grill to high. In a cast-iron skillet set on the grate, cook the reserved chile seeds until blackened. (You’ll want to stand upwind of the grill.)Back inside, bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.

In a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, toast the chiles on both sides until they soften slightly and become aromatic. Transfer the chiles to a medium-sized, heat-safe bowl and add enough hot stock to cover. Keep the chiles submerged with a small plate or saucer.

In the same skillet, toast the sesame seeds, almonds, canela and cloves until the nuts are golden and the spices become aromatic. Transfer the seeds, nuts, and spices to the blender.

Add the onion and the garlic to the dry skillet and cook until the onions char a little and the garlic gathers some golden patches. Add the tomato and dried plums and cook until the tomatoes release their juices and thicken. Transfer the mixture to the blender.

Add the bread, soaked chiles, and about 1/4 cup of the blackened chile seeds to the blender and puree, adding enough stock to make a thick, smooth sauce.

In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of lard or oil. Add the pureed sauce and fry about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chocolate, stirring until melted; reduce heat and simmer, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and brown sugar.