GCC: Tamales filled with Carnitas in Pipian Sauce

in , , , , ,

I have been itching to try my hand at making Tamales from scratch for a long time.  The reason is simple – I love eating them.  And like anything that I love, I like to learn to make it at home and teak it to my taste.

So, when we choose the Gutsy Menu up for September and Mexican ended as our theme, I could not help sneak in a Tamale recipe to finally force me to try this labor intensive recipe.

Dishes that take days to make, hours to compose and unifies family and friends together to create memories is the ultimate reason for why people cook in the first place. Tamales is a dishes that fulfill all of that.  Ask anyone in Mexico, and they will tell you that Tamale making is a labor of love.  They vary from region to region as does the process, ingredients and tools used. Almost as much as they do family to family.  Recipes (and ingredients) are protected and protocols are followed.  In many cases the person making the tamales keeps their secrets to themselves and those secrets are passed on from generations to generation. 

Read More

Dinner Party 101

in , , , ,

Just as I love cooking, the other thing I love to do is throw a dinner party.  I think this goes hand in hand with most cooks.  In my case this need comes from my Italian genes (and Latin upbringing) which I’m totally convince have a code within my DNA called “need to feed everyone around you now or die!.

It is a known fact that the Italians are very serious about their food. Why shouldn’t they be? After all it is the food that brings together friends and families. This is why we find the Italians to be very fond of spending long hours on the table and meal times expanding over the span of a couple of hours.

When the Italians sit down to eat they literally forget about the world and are in no hurry whatsoever to gobble down their food and get back to life.

And that is what I needed, to sit down and forget about the world, at least for a couple of hours. And the best way to do this is to surround myself with funny and smart individuals – enter my main “chicas”

Read More

A very special Birthday Cake

in , , , , ,

Wondering what that picture is above right?

It’s cake, so let’s get that OUT OF THE WAY.

It’s also a very special cake.

Let’s just call it a “preview” for the “final” reveal at the end of the post.

A background story first…

Tomorrow’s is the little man (not anymore) birthday, which meant that our house became birthday party central over the weekend.  Mr. D (what we call him) decided he was old enough to have a grown up birthday, which involved four friends, lots of food, video games, movies, a bunch of sleeping bags and a full camp out in our living room and cake.

Take it from a ten year old again to know the simple things in life.

Read More