Being 45 and single has minuses. Lack of companionship heads that list. I don't want to go into the details of doing the friends with benefits thing, or the (in general) horrors of internet dating, or the way friends keep trying to set me up...as though being a 45 year old single heterosexual male means I can't recognize an appealing woman. No, those are the negatives. I can save those for future blogs.
I want to focus on the positive. I'm makin' Tamales for Thanksgiving!!!
Hey, I respect the rituals. And I know many of you American sorts will be having turkey, stuffing, etc. next Thursday and "enjoying" leftovers for some time after that. Well, I eat leftovers all the time because I cook for one. When I make any sort of normal recipe or use a slow cooker, it's days of food for me. I've got to really like Chicken with Mushroom and Wine Sauce, because I'm eating it two or three times a day for three days. (Please don't tell me to freeze things. Tried that.) And I don't like cranberries. Turkey is fine, but nothing special...come on, we eat Turkey all the damn time. Mashed potatoes? Please. Do we really want to talk about mashed potatoes being special in any way?
(I'm excluding the people who make from scratch mashed potatoes with extra sour cream and cheese...you're about one percent of the population. The rest of us use the boxed stuff or just crush boiled potatoes with salt.)
Tamales, on the other hand, are special. I'm talking about awesome tamales, the ones made from scratch with the killer Maseca Masa. I've made 'em in Mexico...used beef shoulder cooked with garlic and pico de gallo and a couple of other spices and some semi-sweet chocolate for the filling. They were scrumptious; they left turkey so far back in the dust, it was like Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.
I'm gong to spend part of Wednesday cooking the filling, then make the masa and spread it on the husks and fill those bad boys up and cook them on Thursday. By 1:00 p.m., I'll be in Tamale heaven. A six pack of Dos Equis Amber--my favorite beer for good food--will top it off nicely, thanks.
People always invite me over for Thanksgiving. It's kind of a pity date. It's very nice of them. But the only family I like to spend Thanksgiving with is mine...and until I get married, that means I either go to California to see my Mom or Sister, or stay solo. And if I'm solo, I'm going to sleep late and wear the sweats all day and watch old movies (because the football games have sucked recently). And eat what I want.
3 years ago
4 comments:
Oh, I so want tamales right now. And you're right about masa -- I use it in an "authentic" beanless chili recipe I got from a friend in Texas and it's worth the work.
I will be eating the traditional meal but only want to point out that I make "real" mashed potatoes. To me, it's not the mashed potatoes that are special though. It's the gravy. I want to be covered in gravy when I die. Or buffalo wings sauce. Either way, I'm cool.
Pearl
The upside of being alone on the holidays is getting to do and eat exactly what you want. Your tamales and beer combo sounds scrummy; don't ruin it with football!
I make real mashed potatoes with gravy from scratch, too. I have never had home-made talames. I see some sort of international exchange possibe.
Damn, that sounds good. I'm envious of your peace and quiet. And tamales.
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