[.ca] Tamales (ISBN 0764525670)

tamales:
A very trendy twist, on a very simple and delicate food. Too bad.

Odd book:
So where is written that lard is worse for you than oil? Do some research and you'll find it's high in oleic acid. Fat is fat and too much is bad. So that's how the book starts out. Thge authors are so busy being innovative (and often pushing reality beyond its limits) that they forget you how to make a delicious regular old tamal!

Not Traditional:
If you are looking for traditional tamale recipes DO NOT BUY this book.

CUT A TAMALE MANY, MANY WAYS:
TAMALES By Mark Miller, Stephan Pyles, and John Sedlar with John Harrison Photographer: Lois Ellen Frank If you are not Latino or never lived in the southwest, chances are your first tamale was a strange little package, wrapped and tied as a bundle inside an early TV dinner. Further, it was probably pale red, mushy and you liked the nearby enchilada better. Tamales become gourmet, fusion cuisine in this book, and your ideas for more can be endless. Basically think of a tamale as a house in structure. It has its foundation, living rooms and finally the roof. With tamales the foundation is a corn husk wrapper lined with masa dough, the living area is the filling and the roof a tantalizing sauce. Tamales can be vegetarian, seafood, poultry, any meat or desserts, depending on ingredients. Tamales, the lined corn husk wrapped around and filling and cooked over steam. The masa base for the dough is large-kernel corn which looks like hominy. It is dried, cooked in limewater, drained, dried again and ground into flour. You can also purchase it, then proceed with one of the book's intriguing flavored masa dough recipes. Some variations include: Roasted Corn Tamale Masa Dough Wild Mushroom-Chipotle Tamale Massa Dough Red Thai Curry Tamale Massa Dough Habanero-Blackened Tomato Tamale Massa Dough plus many more. Just a few of the filling and sauce recipes are: Wild Mushroom and White Truffle Tamales Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Tamales with Olive Oil and Saffron Salmon Tamales with Red Pepper Masa and Mole Amarillo Shrimp Tamales with Ranchero Sauce Clam Tamales with Fennel and Chayote-Melon Salsa Chicken Tamales with Mole Poblano Duck Tamales with Pineapple and Chipotle Bittersweet Chocolate Tamales with Anchos, Prunes and Raisins (one of several dessert tamales) Apt headnotes identify newly-introduced ingredients and clarify each recipe's mission. Helpful, too, is the book's section, Basic Recipes, Sauces, and Techniques. In it they cover such steps as blackening tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, and onions. It also goes into how to process chiles, toast herbs and spices and make delicious stocks.

An A++ bookýA great gift for Christmas!:
This book is rich with tradition and culture. With exquisite pictures of the finished dish and easy to follow recipes, this book is ideal for everyone. The desserts were especially appealing, specifically the Mom's Apple Pie Tamale. It took a unique approach to an American Favorite.