Mole! There It Is! A 9.71 Masterpiece!
Jeff
4/23/20263 min read
Have you ever gone on vacation, tried a bunch of restaurants, and then found THE spot? The one where you just keep going back every single day because it’s so good…why risk it anywhere else? That was me in Cancun, 1998…and that’s where I met Mexican mole sauce. I had no clue what it was. Some dark mystery sauce poured over my burrito with raw onions on top. Didn’t ask questions. Just ate it. And it was so ridiculously good that I basically ordered it every day for the rest of the trip.
Fast forward back to America…I tried store-bought mole once or twice and it was trash. Total letdown. So I kind of forgot about it for, oh, 25 years.
Until now…Naturally the thought popped in my head…can I make mole sauce?
And then immediately…can I soup it? Same thing? Different thing? What even is mole?
So I start digging into recipes and notice some…interesting ingredients. Raisins. Peanuts. Cinnamon. Chocolate. I’m like…are we making soup or dessert toppings here? Oatmeal? Ice cream? What’s happening? Either way…we’re soupin it.
This build felt a lot like the yuca soup adventure. Same setting, Muskegon at Surgeon Jenn’s. Same level of uncertainty. Same “this could be genius or an absolute disaster” energy.
When you find yourself asking questions like:
“How do you peel a tomatillo?”
“Is this chocolate going to melt…or clump up and ruin everything?”
“Will the nuts stay crunchy?”
“Are these raisins about to turn back into grapes?”
…you know you’re in deep.
But somehow…some way…it worked. The tasting? Fantastic. Perfect consistency. Deep, bold flavor. Layers on layers. I had two big bowls…and could’ve easily gone back for more. I’m bias and am at a rock solid 10. Surgeon Jenn, again bias, 10. Daughter Riley will tell me like it is and apparently it is the “best soup I have ever had in my entire life 1000/10!”
Now comes the real test…What are the Soup Clubbers going to say about this one?
There was a calm vibe heading into the 11:30am start. TGMB was spotted sniffing around the newly remodeled kitchen…and considering this was the only pot in there, we all knew exactly what he was up to.
Alright, enough build-up…what did they think?
Kevin came in hot with a 9.9 without hot sauce and bumped it to a 10.0 with hot sauce. Reminder: these people do not hand out 10s easily.
Conlan skipped the usual “solid” lead-in and just dropped a 10.0. He said a bunch of smart stuff about flavor profiles, but I blacked out after hearing the score.
Tam pulled a Kevin…9.0 pre-hot sauce, 9.5 after. I’m giving that extra 0.5 to Habanero Harman – best hot sauce ever!
Andy has historically parked himself at an 8.9 for my soups. Today? Movement. A 9.0. It looked like he wanted to go higher…but stayed disciplined.
Adam hit me with a 9.75. I’ll gladly take that, especially if it means one less pigs-in-a-blanket for him.
Marketing Mike made the trek from Dexter and rewarded it with a 10.0. Love it!
Soup Club Average = 9.71 (my best ever!)
Now…most people would stop right there, take the win, and bring the rest home to daughter Riley. Not me. I got greedy and unleashed it on the Campbell’s Crew™.
Felton came pounding on the door holding up all ten fingers. When we opened it, all he could say was “ten…ten…ten…” like he was in some kind of mole-induced trance.
Marco dropped a 10.0 and said this belonged in a fancy Mexican restaurant…not a diner. I’ll take that all day.
Chris shared with Nick and gave it a 10.0…so yes, I’m counting that as two 10s.
And then…Ashley. Every group needs one. She said it was “good, but not as good as some of the others” and hit me with an 8.0. So apparently I’m only allowed one perfect soup. Noted.
Campbell’s Crew™ Average = 9.6
Side note…Soup Club and all our nonsense made it onto the University of Wisconsin Canvas site this week. Feedback from students included:
“This is such a neat and creative idea!”
“We have potlucks but they’re usually unhealthy. This would be a great twist.”
“Soup Club! Yes please!”
“This lowers the barrier to trying plant-forward meals.”
“Healthy doesn’t mean boring.”
“Your soups sound very flavorful.”
“We might need to borrow this idea.”
Not bad for a bunch of people messing around with soup in an office.
No meeting next week…next up is Kevin on Cinco de Mayo. Can’t wait.
