Confused on Where to Start with Mole Paste and Chiles?

[kam]

If you have a Trader Joe's or a World Market, they might have some of the specialty items. I've seen sesame oil at both places.

Oh, how I wish.

We have Giant and Weis. Neither provides good competition to the other so we are stuck with mediocrity - (sigh). We also have Walmart. And believe it or not, many times I must go to Walmart to find specific items for our recipes!

 

[elizabethfox]

Sofrito is a versatile, aromatic puree of tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions, and garlic. It's the foundation of many Latin Caribbean dishes.

Here is the link to a recipe for it Basic Sofrito Recipe

 

[PamperedLady1979]

ChefBeckyD ~ Do you live near a Horrock's market? The one in Lansing (by me) has an ethnic food section that I bet would have those things.

 

[letscook04]

Well - I went to the Super Stop and Shop near me - none of the peppers nor the Mole stuff - I think I might be in Beckys boat - We do have an area not far from me that is more hispanic that does have big chain stores as well - so I might try there - We are more "local" fare I guess because I check Walbaums as well and nope - the idiot in the produce department thought I was nuts and no sign in the mexican (tacos etc) area nor the Goya area for the Mole -

I was having a tough time finding the Balsamic Asian Salad dressing as well - got a dressing Asian by Newmans - doesn't say Balsamic though! (For the Satay Salad SB)

Hey Dor, try Pathmark for the Mole stuff. They have more hispanic food.(maybe you might find your rodent) LOL

 

[ChefBeckyD]

ChefBeckyD ~ Do you live near a Horrock's market? The one in Lansing (by me) has an ethnic food section that I bet would have those things.

I wish! The Horrocks in GR is on the WAY other side of town from me. It's in the Eastern Kentwood area, and I live west of GR. I could probably find the stuff if I went more in that direction, or if I went to Holland, but both ways would be 30 minutes or more....and I just can't see driving that far for a few ingredients.

 

[lacychef]

I was excited about this book too; until I read the ingredients. I do live in the boonies...well, I live in town, but in the middle of western KS! I haven't specifically looked for these ingredients yet, but am going to be really surprised if I find them around here.

 

[babywings76]

In the cookbook, does it tell you substitutes you can use? It would be great if it had a glossary. Maybe we can come up with a handout of explanations to give to our customers who buy this cookbook. My closest stores out here don't carry these items, but just 20 minutes away is a grocery store and also a Super Walmart who must have these things because of the higher latin population. I know I've seen sofrito at least.

Also, a little off topic here, but I remember a season or so ago on the Next Food Network Star, there was a girl who always talked about sofrito in all her challenges. The judges were always like, what is that? Explain to everyone what on earth it is...etc. Now they talk about it a lot more on the network and have some more shows where the person uses it.

 

[chefdiana2007]

Well, I am having the same problem. I live in se Oklahoma, 45 minutes from a large town, and I have checked in 3 different places and can't find any of these things except the mole. I would have to go all the way to OKC or Tulsa 85 to 90 miles to get them. I can't even find sun dired tomatoes in oil and had to stock up when I go to the city.

 

[nancycookspc]

I too was curious about ingredients, and dissapointed about lack of an index. I emailed test kitchens. I was UNPLEASED with the 1st repsonse.Just telling me to go to a spanish grocery store. WEll HECK the closest grocery store is 15 miles away!

Here is their responses-

Dear Nancy,
Thank you for contacting The Pampered Chef! Most of these ingredients
including cotija cheese can be found in the Hispanic section of your
grocery store. If not, any Hispanic grocery store will have these items.
Many times, Hispanic grocery stores are a better bargain than regular
grocery stores anyway. There really is no good substitution for the
peppers but these peppers are very common in either the Hispanic section
of your grocer or a Hispanic grocery store. The great thing is that
they're very inexpensive and have a long shelf life. For the cotija, any
crumble cheese will do, even feta if you don't mind the strong flavor.
If not, try just some roughly grated white cheddar. In the pork chop
recipe, you can substitute sour cream for the crema agria (this is the
cook's tip)but believe me, if you make a trip to a Hispanic store and
find crema agria, you'll never go back to regular sour cream again. It's
AMAZING!! I hope I have helped answer your questions. Please feel free
to contact us should you have any more questions.

Warm Regards


Damien Eftekhar
Senior Recipe Applications Specialist
The Pampered Chef
(630) 261-4079
[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Sime <[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2008 7:25 AM
To: Consumer Apps
Subject: Test Kitchens (Product Use and Care, Recipes)


Email = [email protected]
Message = HI,
I love the new Latin Flavors cookbook!
I have a few questions about the ingredients. I do not have a Latin
background. It would have been nice to have a glossary in the back
explaining the items.
anyway-
what are and If I cannot find them what is a good sub-

Dried dried guajillo peppers

Pasilla chilies

crema agria

cotija cheese

I look forward to making lots of the recipes, just need a little
clarification on ingredients

THanks!
Nancy

2ND RESPONSE-
Thanks Nancy,
Again, there really is no substitution for the peppers. I do apologize for this. It's hard to make certain Hispanic recipes without them as they are such an integral part of the cuisine. As far as the crema agria goes, sour cream is a good substitute. For the cotija, I think shredded white cheddar would be the best. The tostadas are fantastic. Take care!


Damien Eftekhar
Senior Recipe Applications Specialist
The Pampered Chef
(630) 261-4079
[email protected]

-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy Pampered Chef [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2008 6:14 AM
To: Consumer Apps
Subject: Re: Test Kitchens (Product Use and Care, Recipes)

thank you for your reply.
Not everyone lives near a hispanic grocery store.
I used to live in populated NJ where it would not have been a probelm, now I'm in rural VA nearest grocery store is 20 miles away. Haven;t a clue where I would find a hispanic store less than an hour away!
I was hoping for some insight on possible substitutions.

Nancy