Making Tamales

Every Christmas Eve we eat tamales for dinner. We've done it for years. It's one of my favorite traditions.  We usually buy our tamales, though Cody and I did make them one year when Ava was a baby.  I remember that is was sooooo crazy hard to make them.  We had to search for the ingredients, it took us all day long, and it made a huge mess.  So I'm not surprised that a decade had to pass before I got the urge to make them again!

But last night, as plain as day, the urge to make tamales came over me.  It wasn't a slight urge either.  I had an intense desire to make tamales!  I slept on it, and sure enough this morning the urge was still there.  I reasoned it had to be easier this time because after 10 years I'm a much better cook.  Plus we have a dozen Mexican grocery stores within blocks of our house so finding the ingredients couldn't be that tough.

I sent Cody to the store with a list.  He was so sweet to brave the crowds today.

I decided on a chicken filling.  To make things even easier, I used store-bought rotisserie chickens.  I added lots of yummy things like tomatillos, poblano peppers, green chills, onions, cilantro, and lime juice.

Spreading masa and rolling up the tamales was just as difficult as I remembered.  My Anglo hands are pretty much inept when it comes to making that happen.  I got teary once.  The Youtube videos (I did my research) make it look so easy, but trust me people, it's not.   Cody took a turn and was much better at it than me.  Together we made a few dozen tamales and placed them to steam on the stove top.

A few hours later, we unwrapped the treasures and were delighted to find they had turned out perfectly.  Nate really loved them.  He ate 4!  It certainly didn't seem as all-consuming as I recall it being a decade ago and I can't wait to eat these on Christmas Eve this year!