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.

Grandma's Enchiladas

Happy Tres de Mayo everyone! Unfortunately we will not be dining at home on the 5th and I was in the mood for Mexican food so I decided to make these up yesterday. I have made them before and I think it is currently my favorite Mexican recipe. With my wife not eating peppers or spicy food, it kind of limits the Mexican food, but this recipe has a lot of good flavor without being overly spicy. I love how you cook the meat until it is fall apart tender and are making the enchilada sauce at the same time in the same pot - way better than any canned sauce.

Grandma's Enchilada's

(Source: Cook's Country October/November, page 27)

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed and cut into 1½ inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, minced
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook half the beef, turning occasionally, until well browned all over, about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and beef.
2. Pour off ll but 1 tablespoon of fat from pot. Add onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin,coriander, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until spices darken, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and wine and bring to boil.
3. Add browned beef, along with any juices, to pot. Transfer pot to oven and cook, covered, until meat is fork tender, 2 to 2 ½ hours. Transfer beef to large bowl. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer, discarding solids, and set aside. You should have about 2 cups sauce.
4. Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spread 3/4 cup sauce over bottom of 13 by 9 inch baking dish; set aside. When beef is cool enough to handle, shred into bite-sized pieces. Add 1 cup cheese and additional 1/4 cup sauce and toss to combine.
5. Spray tortillas on both sides with cooking spray and arrange on baking sheet. Bake until they are warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Place 1/3 cup beef mixture in middle of each tortilla. Roll tightly and arrange, seam-side down, in prepared baking dish.
6. Pour remaining sauce evenly over enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve.