Originally Posted by TMOliver (Post 19790885)

No greater justification exists for "reading" FT, even its less well traveled roads, than the contents of this thread, informative with most posters anxious to share experience and knowledge, and entertaining (along with providing all with several new words for their Spanish vocabularies).

Originally Posted by youreadyfreddie (Post 19785863)

Oh ye of little faith! I DID make tamales and did it flying solo! The requisite ingredients are readily available in the DC-Metro area. I already had the corn husks, and I picked up a bag of Maseca for Tamales. They turned out OK, but I'm not thrilled with the way they taste. The meat is great--I used pork and prepared it the same way I prepare beef machaca. The masa part could taste better. I'm waiting a few days and then am going to steam a few for a retaste just in case I was burned out on them when I first made them. Also, while there was plenty of meat in each tamale (I hate it when there are just a few threads of meat in a tamale and then a giant mass-o-masa) but I need to work on making the masa layer thinner all around, and I need to work on making them a uniform size, which will come with practice. The masa was fairly easy to work with, and I found that a silicone spatula was better at spreading the masa onto the husk instead of the often-referred-to-n-recipes wooden spoon. The masa stuck to the wooden spoon, but slid nicely into place and was easy to achieve uniform thickness with the silicone spatula (my mom would have called it a "Scotch spoon" if that describes it better for anyone.)

I'm thinking of making tortillas this week.

BTW, for those of you keeping track at home . . . I'm a she not a he. :)

edit: st2, I just noticed that one of your home airports is DCA . . . I live about 15 minutes from IAD . . . there are a few bodegas around if I need to get stuff there, but I'm able to get the necessary supplies at Giant, Safeway, and/or Food Lion.

Originally Posted by silverthief2 (Post 19804476)

Glad to hear your adventure was (mostly) a success. I can get most of the basics at Safeway, but there is also a bodega in Shaw that carries spices and some other ingredients similar to what I grew up with in New Mexico, which differ in some slight ways from original Mexico. :) Anyhow, when I go home for Xmas in 3 weeks, I'll be asking about family tamale techniques.

Originally Posted by VivoPerLei (Post 27421528)

Still searching for that perfect home made enchilada and thought of this thread.

For the past several years I've been using this recipe for the sauce, so I think I have that down to my satisfaction.

http://www.cookingclassy.com/red-enc...-from-scratch/

Tried my hand at making corn tortillas from scratch and that didn't work so back to store bought. Currently using corn tortillas from The Cool Chile company in London.

Only problem is I just cannot replicate the exact texture I want. The tortilla is always somewhere between too soggy/disintegrating, or too dry. I want those tortillas intact, but soft!

Originally Posted by Pa Kettle (Post 27421684)

The way I do this is to brush the individual tortillas lightly with vegetable oil, stack them in a tortilla warmer, and microwave them for one minute. Then, dredge them quickly one-by-one in the enchilada sauce. Not sure this will yield the exact texture that you are looking for, but it works for me.



I usually finish them off by drizzling the sauce on top and topping with a light sprinkling of cheese, then into a 350F oven for 15 - 20 minutes.