Tamale Filling:

• pork loin
• large onion
• garlic
• dried California chile pods
• water
• salt

Tamale Dough:

• masa harina
• beef broth
• baking powder
• salt
• lard
• dried corn husks
• sour cream

My informant for this recipe is a Mexican-American classmate. I asked Darin if there were any special dishes that his family eats often, and he told me that one item his family always makes for Christmas is tamales. He says that every Christmas, his family and many family friends will all gather into the same kitchen to make batches of tamales. During this time, they are able to all come together, which he says is very rare because everyone is so busy. Darin says that this has been a tradition even since before he was born. Each person in the family will have a different job; the women will make most of the filling and the dough. The men do more of the “packaging,” most likely because the women are the ones who know the recipe. In fact, Darin had to ask his mother for the exact ingredients for the tamales, even though he has made tamales for more than 20 years. Making the tamales is an all-day event, so many of the family and family friends will go around telling stories. He says that the parents love to talk about their children and talk about family because family is very important in their culture.