I'm slowly easing my way into Rick Bayless' world of terrifyingly complicated, anthropologically correct Mexican food. Now that I'm cool with a simple tomatillo sauce, I decided to branch out into the Yucatecan-style rubs.
Lessons learned? When Rick Bayless notes achiote seeds (aka annatto) are impossibly difficult to grind, believe him. I accidentally dropped and broke my metate, and was afraid all the bashing would break my molcajete as well.(By the way, I just found this article about molcajetes and seasoning them, and it is awesome.)
I'd never worked with achiote before, and was also surprised to note the scent. Despite what Wikipedia says, it's more like a light, complex lemon aroma than a peppery/nutmeg thing. I didn't find them to have much flavor, just aroma.
The rub was relatively quick to make, and made the house smell fabulous. If I'd felt like more work, grilling would have been the perfect cooking solution. The actual recipe recommends wrapping in banana leaves and steaming; instead, I poured the remaining marinade over the chicken thighs and baked them. They turned out delicious, but would have benefited from more sauce. More delicious, aromatic, garlicky sauce.
To accompany, I made a loose version of Bayless' jicama salad with bitter orange juice, red onion, chilis, and cilantro. It's refreshing and a great example of the magic of powdered chilis. I added cucumber instead of the recommended canteloupe, but next time I want to try mango.
Finally, the dates. It was sort of a crazy idea, based on Penelope Casas' recipe and my experiences with the gorgeous dátiles from Modesto. Unfortunately, despite living in Arlibamba, surrounded by Latino grocery stores, no one sells membrillo. And damn if I'm going to spend $8 on a tiny little tub of artisanal quince paste from Whole Foods. So I merely stuffed them with manchego, wrapped them in bacon, and broiled away. They turned out well, but we definitely missed the membrillo.
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