That's one hot tamale!

I think I am going to try and make some tamales this week.  I like the idea of Christmas and New Year's Tamales.  It's like a food love story and this is just the beginning of our romance.  Each one I open is like a little present for me.  And I do love my presents for me!

I've always had this "thing" for tamales.  I don't know where it came from.  I didn't grow up eating tamales ...well.. I do remember some of the canned ones and being pretty excited about the whole thing .. but once you eat a good tamale you just KNOW it's right. You were always meant to be together and every day leading up to this one was just putting you on the path to meeting and running away together.  I have often pondered making some homemade tamales (and homemade tortilla's but that's another story).  "They are a lot of work!" friends advised me.  But still the idea persisted ... I don't know, maybe I'm just a sucker for a good cause.  And soft, steaming, corn bready wrapper wrapped around hot spicy shredded meat is a really ... REALLY good cause!  Tasty good. Then tonight I'm reading my new magazine and I see an ad for a store called "Hot Damn Tamales".  They ship all kinds of gourmet tamales including three cheese, spinach feta & olive, Ancho pork loin, pablano chicken, and Beef tenderloin beer & jalapeno.  And I thought to myself, "This is silly.  I can totally make these!"

And so I will.

Maybe I fell off the tamale cart and hit my head .. but maybe, just maybe, I'm a budding genius!