Saturday, January 14, 2012

Daring Cooks: Tamales



Maranda of Jolts & Jollies was our January 2012 Daring Cooks hostess with the mostess! Maranda challenged us to make traditional Mexican Tamales as our first challenge of the year!

When I grew up I was not really exposed to a lot of ethnic foods.  There were some Mexican restaurants but at the time they were pretty Americanized and I don't remember ever seeing a tamale on the menu.  I do, however, have fond memories of my dad making tamales.  Well, not really making tamales, but preparing a jar of tamales.  It was kind of a special occasion thing that my dad made just for himself.  I always thought it was very cool - the way they were all individually wrapped in paper.  They took forever to heat up (this was pre-microwave).  I am not sure if I would still think these jarred tamales were any good, but in my memories they were very tasty.  As Miranda says in her description - "Tamales are not so much about the food but about the memories created when making and eating them".

Well now it is not so hard to find a good Mexican restaurant with good tamales so I have them quite often.  I had never tried making them though, so this this looked like a fun challenge.  I am not sure I have ever had chicken tamales but I decided to try out Maranda's recipe for Green Chile Chicken Tamales.  My first mistake was not reading the full recipe (cooking 101).  The ingredients said cooked chicken so I went about roasting a chicken.  After I had that started I checked out the rest of the recipe where it said to boil the chicken.  Oh well, I am pretty sure that roasting can only help.  The rest of the recipe went nice and smooth.  I had always thought tamales were difficult to make and required a lot of technique but it seemed pretty easy to put these together.  I made a simple enchilada sauce to serve on top of the tamales.

I made the tamales for a small family gathering at my mom and dad's on New Years Eve since I thought my dad might enjoy having one.  I was really expecting to bring a bunch home since I didn't think everyone else would eat them but I was very wrong.  They went over very well and got eaten up - I would have loved to brought some home - but it is even better to see others enjoy them.  The tamales were delicious - I can definitely see myself making these again.  My father told me about how his mom used to make tamales.  I had never heard this before and I wish I knew where it came from.  My father's family was from Paducah, KY and I am not quite sure how she would have got into making tamales.  Will have to ask my Grandfather if he knows next time I see him.

If you would like to try your hand making tamales yourself check out the recipe in the Daring Kitchen archives.  Thanks to Miranda for this fun and delicious challenge.



18 comments:

Steph . said...

Your tamales look perfect! A bit of work, but definitely worth it! Wouldn't it be amazing to find your grandmother's recipe? It would be fun to compare with the traditional recipe.

Rhonda said...

How great that you were able to make your dad "real" tamales since he obviously loves them.  Guess you'll have to make some more since you don't have any leftovers.  Your tamales, look fantabulous.

Lyuba1118 said...

Looks like you rose to the challenge! Great job! P.S. I still make many "cooking 101 mistakes" even after years of experience :)
Come check out mine at http://www.willcookforsmiles.com/2012/01/daring-kitchen-pork-tamales.html

meadot01 said...

I wish I could have a lot of her recipes but she wasn't really a recipe person. If she did have a recipe it was measured in handfuls and pinches.

Claudia Riley said...

The proof as they say is in the pudding.  Everyone ate them up, so now you'll have to make more.  I definitely want to make me another batch.

Barb Glennie said...

They look great! Nice job on this. :)

Jo said...

Your tamales look fantastic, no wonder your family gobbled them up!

Renee Foy said...

Muy delicioso!!  Your tamales look perfect and I bet they were yummy too.  Great job!

Barbara Bakes said...

Yours are perfectly wrapped. The corn and black bean salad looks like a great side. 

Suz said...

That's great your tamales went down so well. They look so delicious, I'm not surprised. I love it when people ask for seconds (or thirds), but a bit of me definitely feels sad about the lack of leftovers!

Mary said...

Tamales in a jar!? I think yours look so much better--no wonder they were all eaten. I hope you find out about your grandmother's tamales--sounds like an interesting story could be behind them.

Patri Vargas said...

Your little tamale bundles look so neat! :-) I'm glad they were all enjoyed, so that you'll end up making some more. Loved the story, keep on cooking!

Valerie said...

Excellent job! It's such a nice feeling when people gobble up all the food you've made, isn't it?

Sawsan@chef in disguise said...

I love how neat your tamales look..no wonder your guests loved them
Great job on this challenge

SeattleDee said...

Lovely story and wonderful photographs to add to the enjoyment. tamales-in-a-jar sound like an interesting twist.

saf said...

Roasting is far better. Boiling is just for convenience. (I use tamales to use up leftover roast chicken or pork.)

Those are stunning neatly packaged.

Jo Ann said...

Nice pics and the tamales look delicious!  This is the perfect dish to bring to a potluck - I can imagine how fast they would disappear. Well done.

Jenni said...

Fantastic job! I had never eaten a tamale before, so I was really pleased with how well mine turned out! Yours look fantastic!!