"The Mexican Slow Cooker" Giveaway and Review!

Do you love Mexican Food as much as I do?!  9 times out of ten, when we choose to go out to dinner, we go for Mexican.  Now that I have "The Mexican Slow Cooker",  Mexican food can now make it's way into my very own kitchen!  The recipes are easy to follow and it's full of beautiful pictures that will definitely entice you!

The author, Deborah Schneider, is the executive chef/partner of SOL Cocina, with locations in Newport Beach, California, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Dubbed "the reigning queen of San Diego chefs" by Bon Appétit, she is the author of the James Beard-nominated Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta; Amor y Tacos; ¡Baja! Cooking on the Edge, which was one of Food & Wine's Best of the Best of 2006; and is the co-author of Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Latin Cooking.

Here's one of the recipes to entice you even more....

Mole Manchamanteles

Red Mole with Chicken and Fried Plantains

Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts or 12 chicken thighs (about 4 pounds)

4 ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded

1 cup peeled, diced fresh pineapple (see Note)

¹/₂ apple, peeled and diced

¹/₄ cup whole shelled almonds

¹/₄ cup seedless raisins

3 cloves garlic, peeled

¹/₂ white onion, diced

2 small Roma tomatoes, diced

¹/₄ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 whole cloves

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 dried bay leaf

¹/₄ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons whole dried Mexican oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2¹/₂ cups Caldo de Pollo (page  95) or water, or more as needed

To serve

Toasted sesame seeds

³/₄ cup peeled, finely diced fresh pineapple (see Note)

Fried Plantains (recipe follows)

Directions:
   Place all the ingredients except the chicken in a 5-quart slow cooker, and set the chicken on top. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, or until the chicken is tender but not falling off the bone. Remove the chicken. If you like, you can remove the skin and bones now, or you can serve it as is. Set the chicken on a warm platter covered with aluminum foil to keep warm while you finish the mole.

Transfer the remaining contents of the slow cooker to a blender. Blend on high for several minutes, until perfectly smooth. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little more chicken broth or water and blend again. Taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary, remembering that moles are rich and thick but are never highly seasoned. For the perfect texture, pass the sauce through a food mill, but it is perfectly acceptable straight out of the blender.

To serve, liberally ladle the mole over the chicken. Lightly dust with the sesame seeds and garnish each serving with a few pieces of pineapple and fried plantain.

Note:

Canned pineapple may be substituted for fresh as long as it is well drained. If you are using it as a garnish, sauté the pieces quickly in a hot pan until dry and almost caramelized.

Fried Plantains

For the best results, use soft, ripe plantains with black skin.

2 large, ripe plantains

About ¹/₃ cup vegetable oil

Kosher or sea salt

Peel the plantains and cut into rounds 1 inch thick. Heat ¹/₄ inch of oil in a small, heavy skillet. Working in batches, fry the plantains on both sides until a light brown crust forms. Remove and let cool slightly, then flatten gently with a spatula to a thickness of ¹/₂ inch. Return the plantains to the oil and cook until brown. Drain well on paper towels and serve warm, sprinkled with a few grains of salt.

I have the pleasure of giving away 3 copies of this wonderful cookbook!  To enter, please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter Widget displayed below.  The giveaway will end at 12:01 a.m. EST on November 3, 2012.  Goodluck!

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*Disclaimer: I was given a copy of The Mexican Slow Cooker to review in exchange for this review and for holding this giveaway.  All opinions expressed here are entirely my own.