christmas tradition

In Austin it seems most everyone has tamales on Christmas eve and this year my family decided to attempt to make them. Normally you can get them just about anywhere, and everyone knows someone in town who makes them (or who has an aunt or grandmother who makes them).







The process was pretty involved but I think we've all gotten a little more adventurous with our cooking these days, and they weren't more difficult than a lot of other things I've made. My dad cooked pork for most of them and Aaron roasted a poblano so that we could make queso y rajas for me. We also threw some nopal into some of them.



My mom whipped up the masa and got the spreading of it down to a science. I rolled them up and after an hour in the steamer they were delicious!









Aaron and I also put ourselves in charge of the salsas. I made the verde (tomatillo, cilantro, jalapeno) and Aaron made one with red chiles and apple cider vinegar and a few other things I didn't see. I also made a mole, which had over 30 ingredients and took about 8 hours to cook. I have had some gross moles, but this one was really good. It was a Rick Bayless recipe that he apparently used to make "Lacquered Chicken" at the White House. I laquered my tamal with it.