Ancho Chile

This is the seasoning mixture that I use to flavor the Southwestern fries at my Mesa Grill restaurants. It’s not hot, just subtly spicy and earthy in taste. The fresh cilantro provides a bright touch of both color and flavor.

Who out there doesn’t love barbecue-flavored potato chips? Toss this seasoning blend with Homemade Potato Chips (page 98) or Perfect French Fries (page 86) to satisfy your craving at home.

This mustard gets its heat and color from ancho chile powder. Ancho chiles are dried poblanos and they have a flavor that I describe as that of a spicy raisin. I do recommend that you look for this variety for its pure deep flavor and don’t use a generic blend labeled “chile powder.” Red chile mustard is great on any beef or turkey burger and also makes a tasty dipping sauce for fries and onion rings.

I created this barbecue sauce to top the Dallas and Cheyenne burgers (pages 37 and 39), but it’s also an ideal dipping sauce for Perfect French Fries (page 86). After you’ve made this quick and easy sauce once, you’ll want to slather it on grilled chicken, steak, pork chops . . . you might never go back to the bottled stuff.

Oaxaca is a state in southern Mexico with a diverse and celebrated regional cuisine. One of Oaxaca’s best-known specialties is mole, a classic Mexican sauce that combines onions, tomatoes, chiles, fried corn tortillas, and often chocolate, which adds a rich, not sweet, deep note to the sauce. Traditionally, mole is time-consuming to make and involves many separate cooking techniques. This version is just as tasty as the original but is quick and easy to prepare. Tangy crumbled queso fresco, creamy slices of avocado, and pickled red onions provide the authentically Mexican finishing touches.

I have to tip my hat to my wife for this one. She is a Texas girl through and through, and she loves her beef brisket with coleslaw and pickles. I do, too, but I don’t necessarily have the patience to wait for the brisket. This burger satisfies her craving for a taste of home and my need for speed, all in one, making it a classic in our house. This burger has even proved popular with the patrons of Bobby’s Burger Palace.

Authentic, fiery mole sauces from the southern region of Mexico take days to prepare. This is a relatively quick version of the chunky, spicy, and chocolatey, mole negro or “black sauce.” To experience the full flavors of peppers, native spices, and fresh chocolate, book a culinary vacation to Oaxaca, Mexico, the Land of Seven Moles, where you can explore a district known as the Trail of Chocolate. In the meantime, get fresh ingredients from your local farmers’ market. You can substitute jalepeños for the poblano chiles, but the dark dried ancho and mulato chiles are important to bring the sauce to its characteristic deep chocolate brown. This will make a large batch of sauce designed to thin and use for a meal, then freeze and thaw as needed.