In my organizing frenzy, I discovered some chilhuacle chilis that I grew and dried last summer hidden on a back shelf behind the flour and sugar.
Now, I’m looking for a fabulous recipe for the famous Oaxacan yellow mole. Most American recipes use pasillas or guajillos, because chilhuacle chilis are impossible to find here unless you grow them yourself. (They sell the plants at Berkeley Horticultural Nursery last I checked.)
This got me thinking about a wonderful meal I had with friends last November in Mexico City at Patricia Quintana’s fabulous Restaurante Izote on Avenida Mazaryk in Mexico City.
Very glamorous . . . and the food!
We sat upstairs on a sunny autumn afternoon, the window lending a view of the delicate pepper trees outside and the large synagogue across the street. When the waiter brought a platter of sopes de camarones in a chipotle sauce and perfect margaritas, we were all in heaven.
(Here’s Patricia Quintana herself on the right. I would love to live in a place where I could dress like that everyday! Que alegria!))
I know that you are hearing terrifying story after terrifying story about Mexico City. All I can say is that with the same precautions I would take in any large city in the world, I feel safe. Safe and also having a fantastic time!
Anyway, I’ve just posted two more proofed chapters of Palace of the Blue Butterfly on this website.
Now, I’m a little closer to my goal of getting it on the Kindle. You’ll probably want to go back and read Chapter Five before you continue just to refresh your memory.
And since in the novel I mention Vivienne dining at Restaurante Izote, I’d thought I’d show you all what it looks like.
Now I’m wondering what sopes de pollo en mole amarillo would taste like, and if Sra. Quintana would approve.