Making Tamales

In my cooking class this past week, we made Mexican tamales. Now, I need to be perfectly honest with everyone. I've never actually eaten a tamale that I've enjoyed, mostly because of the corn dough in the middle of the corn husks. Also because I've never had an authentic tamale and really haven't tried too many in my life. However, when one of my co-workers mentioned that she used to make tamales all the time with her family and my students had been talking about tamales in previous classes, I decided to give it another try. Plus a rule in my class is that you have to take and least 2 bites of every food we cook but you don't have to finish it. My coworker gave me an authentic recipe that she used with her family and guess what? They were delicious :) I have extra corn husks so I'm excited to make some at home for my husband in the near future. Here's how you make it!

Mexican Tamales

1.     If using corn husks, soak them in enough warm water to completely cover for several hours or overnight to soften. Pat corn husks with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Otherwise you can just use aluminum foil. The corn husks are more fun though. 

2.   Combine 1 1/2 cups masa harina and 1 cup warm water. Mix well. Cover and let stand 20 minutes.

3.   Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook 1 chopped onion in 2 tbsp butter till onion is just tender.

4.   Blend in the 2 tbsp flour and 1/4 tsp salt. Then add 1 cup chicken broth. Cook and stir till mixture is thickened and bubbly.

5.   Stir in 1 1/2 cups diced chicken, 1/3 cup raisins, 1/3 cup toasted almonds, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp parsley, and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon. Set aside to cool slightly.

6.   In another small bowl, beat 1/2 cup shortening and 1/2 tsp salt until fluffy. Beat in masa harina mixture until well combined.

7.   Measure 3 tablespoons dough onto each tamale wrapper. With wet fingers, spread dough to form a rectangle.

 8.   Place about 2 tablespoons chicken-raisin filling, lengthwise, on each tamale rectangle.

9.   Tightly roll tamales jelly-roll style starting with the edge nearest filling.

10.Tie ends securely with strings of corn husk or string. Or you can fold ends under.

11.  Place the tamales on rack in a large steamer or electric skillet. Add water to just below the rack level. Cover and steam 40-45 minutes or until a tamale pulls away from its wrapper when gently unrolled. Serve immediately and enjoy! (Don’t eat the corn husk!)

Fire alarms and fun

I had my first super embarrassing moment at school yesterday. My after school cooking club and I were making Mexican corn cookies in the teachers' kitchen. Something was (already - I swear it was already there) on the bottom of the oven and when I opened the door to check on the cookies... smoke started billowing out! One of the kids said, “It would be funny if the fire alarm went off right now.” Guess what happened 10 seconds later.... Yup, the fire alarm started screeching and the lights started flashing. Everyone in the school evacuated, I told the principal what happened, and then had to show the cops/firemen (who were fully dressed in their gear by the way, complete with axes) where the problem was and explain it. Highly embarrassing. Even though I wanted to cry (I didn’t, go me!) I tried to make light of the situation with the other staff members. That wasn’t too hard since they were busy cracking jokes and mocking me (in a friendly way). I think my reputation at this school after I leave will be “Remember when that first year Spanish teacher had the school evacuated because of something she was baking?” At least it’s a great story. Oh and on the upside? The cookies turned out perfect!

Mexican Corn Masa Cookies

 Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine 4 cups instant corn masa mix, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Step 2: In another bowl, beat 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening and 1/2 butter together. (At room temperature)

 

Step 3: Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a firm but pliable dough. (I ended up not using all the dry mixture and mixing with my hands.) Work in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

 Step 4: Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough, shape into balls, and press onto ungreased baking sheet. Press 5-6 pumpkin seeds (I used sunflower seeds since I couldn't find pumpkin seeds in the store) in a petal form on each cookie. You can use a cinnamon candy as the center.

Step 5: Bake 10-13 minutes and enjoy! This is a picture of a cookie pre-baking time. I didn't get a picture afterwards because of all of the excitement from the fire alarm. It looked the same though, just a little more golden-brown. 

I've never had these before but I would make them again! Next time, I'll be sure to clean the oven before I turn it on.