All the talk about tamales reminded me of a funny thing that happened oh, 20
years ago. I told a friend how good tamales are. So she went out and
bought a can of tamales. We were chatting on the phone when she casually
mentioned she'd decided to bake them rather than heat them on the stove-top
or in the microwave. She'd put them in a baking dish in a 350F oven and
they'd been there nearly an hour. I said, "Uh, you *do* realize those
canned tamales are wrapped in paper, right?" She exclaimed, "Oh [censored]!" and
ran to take them out of the oven. The "sauce" had dried up and the tamales
were... well let's just say even worse than they would have been. The paper
wrappings were practically burnt.
Now on to menudo (tripe & hominy stew). I've never made it; never tasted it
before. I've had tripe (it's *okay* but not something I search for). I
picked up a can of menudo to give it a try. It's La Costena brand, if that
rings any kind of bells; a product of the USA (hmmm) distributed out of
Laredo, TX. I'll heat it up and if necessary add to it some dried Mexican
oregano, a splash of lemon juice and maybe some hot sauce or ground chili
powder (I have ancho and also chipotle).
I've heard this is excellent for hangovers. Does this mean I have to get
drunk and be hung over before I can enjoy it? (j/k) It's my birthday but
I'm not drunk (too bad, eh?) We'll see if I like it. If not, I'm out a
couple of bucks for the oversized can and it's not a big deal. At least
I'll know if I might like it but could do better making it myself or simply
hate it and never attempt it 🙂
Jill
--
I used to have a handle on life...but it broke off.