Apostasy

I did the unthinkable. I nuked some of the tamales.

Shut up. I needed to see if I was on the right track, and I didn't have time to steam them for three hours. I'll do it right tomorrow.

Nuking isn't bad, actually. I mean, you have to condition yourself to accept a somewhat rubbery tamale, but other than that, it's fine. I piled shredded beef and sauce on them, and I added sour cream, and I was in heaven.

Let's see. I like the beef theme, but I can see how other people might not. There is no doubt about it; using beef fat instead of lard and beef broth instead of chicken broth gives a pretty powerful beef taste. I think if I do it again, I'll use top-quality lard and replace half the chicken broth with beef broth. I just couldn't use the crappy Goya lard I bought today. It's not the same as El Cochinito.

The parchment worked really well. Zero problems. I think corn shucks give a little added flavor, though, so I would use them if I had the choice.

I really like the shredded beef. I won't change that at all.

The sauce is great, but perhaps too winey. And I'd like to try it with less tomato.

I'm thinking I may treat it like an Indian sauce. Tomorrow, I plan to get a red bell pepper and grind it to a paste with onion and garlic and chipotle. I'll fry it in a little beef fat, and then I'll add crushed tomatoes--less than today--and some beef broth. Then I'll reduce it.

I'm not going to use a regular steamer tomorrow. I'm going to pressure-cook the tamales instead. As far as I know, anything that tastes good steamed is a thousand times better pressure-cooked.

I also have to make blondies, which have to be turned over to Ivette immediately if they're any good.

My life is hard. Let's have some sympathetic comments.