There’s Nothing Wrong With Being Husky

I was running late for work the other day and realized I didn’t have time to make lunch.  The forecast of sleet and snow all day pretty much assured that I wouldn’t feel like going out to grab something midday so I pulled a few tamales from the freezer and was out the door. It wasn’t until I had unwrapped my first pickled jalapeno tamale that I realized, I had not written anything about  my efforts to make them a few weeks ago!

Depending what part of the country you are from, tamales may be easy to purchase at local restaurants and markets but I assure you that in upstate Pennsylvania, that is not the case. Thankfully part of my family is originally from south Texas so tamales have been part of many holidays and family gatherings growing up. I still get blamed reminded about the first family gathering with Wifey when I forgot to tell her to not eat the husk.

Tamales are as much about the time and comraderie that goes into making them as they are the rich, flavorful and sometimes spicy result. Years ago, I put no thought into how they were made but lately, I have  made a point in figuring out  a pretty decent version. Slightly intimidating due to the time required, if you take the time to try, you can easily test them in small batches and come up with all sorts of tasty combos. This last time we went with pickled jalapeno and peanut chipotle chicken varieties. The basic prep is below but feel free to play around with these true  hot pockets.

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